December 9 - Blue Point Brewing Co. Winter Ale

Welcome back to the 2nd installment of Winter Warmer Wednesday.  Last week's choice was a complete flop and I've done all I can to forget about it.  So...moving onto today's choice, we have Blue Point Brewing Company's Winter Ale.  There's no fancy description on the website about this beer and the bottle is also nondescript.  I do know that it's a winter beer and that it's 7.7% ABV, which seems to be the same number for a lot of Winter brews.

If you've not seen The Incredibles...shame on you.  This is funny because Dash's teacher says, "coincidence?  I think not!"  See, that's funny because the ABV is the same for lots of winter beers.  

...forget it...

I don't find a ton of stuff from this brewery, even being located in the same region where I live.  Hoptical Illusion IPA and Toasted Lager are the only two beers that I've ever sampled.  Nothing was anything to write home about, but they were both drinkable beers for sure, just nothing I'd seek out specifically, unfortunately.

This beer poured a very crystal clear mahogany color with a very fine bead of head surrounding the glass.  The head quickly disappeared from my glass not to be seen again.

The aroma was candy-like with some caramel notes and possibly a slight boozy malt as well.  The taste of this beer was initially a spicy one (cinnamon, nutmeg) along with a sweet brown sugar and caramel flavor.  The beer from start to finish had a strong malty backbone which almost reminded me of an Oktoberfest style.  The one thing that the Blue Point site did mention is the use of Vienna malt.  I guess that all makes sense then.  

The malty backbone finishes this beer along with a lingering of those spices again.  The cinnamon was most pronounced for me.  There is definitely a warming characteristic with this beer also, even though it's just a small one.  

Par for the course here for Blue Point. This beer didn't disappoint, but at the same time didn't knock my socks off.  If you find it and want to try something different, this is a safe choice in my book.  Still nothing to write home about, but it's a drinkable and enjoyable winter beer that packs a hidden punch at 7.7%.

3.25 out of 5 tonight