December 16 - Starr Hill Snow Blind Doppelbock

Welcome to installment 3 of Winter Warmer Wednesday!  Only more more of these until Christmas!!

I was planning on saving this until we got some snow, regardless of whether or not it was a Wednesday.  I enjoy keeping a theme if I'm able, however Mother Nature isn't really cooperating here in central PA.   More rain in the forecast tomorrow.

So, to keep with at least one theme, for WWW, we have Snow Blind Doppelbock from Starr Hill Brewery in Virginia.  Yet another winter beer clocking in at 7.7%.  There has to be an unwritten rule about the winter warmer being a specific ABV because, lately, these have all been the same 7.7%.  

Description from the site...

Pouring into my tulip glass a reddish-copper color there was a fine beige head on the top of this brew.

The aroma here had quite a few levels for me.  It started out with a pronounced roasted caramel along with some a slightly warm and boozy note.  Shortly after pouring, I came back to this and got a few additional notes here too.  The hop presence became more noticeable with a very distinct spruce bouquet.  I also got some raisin and toffee here to round things out.  My wife thought it smelled like pizza...her palate needs training.

Not quite...

This beer disappointed me at first because my mind immediately went to Sam Adams Boston Lager since it reminded me of a Vienna Lager-style beer.  Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a Boston Lager from time to time, but I didn't expect it here with a doppelbock.  As time went on, however, it distinguished itself from that style and beer.  Most prominent for me was the warming caramel flavor that coated the throat and allowed this beer to sit on the palate for quite a while.  There was also a spruce hop bite to wrap things up.  

Not too shabby for a WWW from Starr Hill.  For me, some of their beers have been a miss, but this one is one for the win column.  This is nothing that blows me away, but it's worth a pick-up the next time you're mixing up a 6-pack from your local bottle shop.  

No snow, but 3.5 out of 5 snowflakes here for this beer!

...and a "b" stocking for beer! :)