Brasserie d’Achouffe is a brewery located in the Ardennes region of Belgium and produces N’Ice Chouffe as thier winter seasonal beer brewed with thyme and curaçao. This brewery was founded in 1982 and produces wonderful Belgian beers including La Chouffe, a Belgian blonde ale, and Houblon Chouffe, an excellent Belgian IPA. This brewery also has a very distictive gnome-theme for their brewery and beers. Continue reading
Bison Brewing is a small brewery, headquartered out of Berkeley, California that brews USDA certified organic beer and sells it to 12 states (as of writing). The history of the brewery was a little turbulent but the excellence of their product has prevailed as exemplified by beers such as Chocolate Stout, Honey Basil Ale, and, the beer we’re focusing on today, Gingerbread Ale.
Bison describes Gingerbread Ale on their website and on the bottle as follows:
Our Spiced holiday porter is brewed with ginger, nutmeg and a touch of cinnamon, yielding the aroma of fresh backed gingerbread men! The chewy dark malt flavors are sure to smooth out that dinner with the in-laws.
Date Reviewed. December 13, 2009
Where I Found It. City Beer Store in San Francisco.
Serving Type. Bottle to pint glass.
Appearance. Bison Gingerbread Ale is deep dark brown, nearly black, and opaque. You can see a little light through the corners of the glass, which gives the beer a deep dark red-brown glow. The head is cola-fizz color. Poured about 0.75 inch of head which did not last long. However, a nice thin layer of foam remained throughout consumption.
Smell. This beer has wonderful holiday spice bouquet of ginger and cinnamon and maybe some nutmeg. It also has the perception of cloves, even though cloves are not listed an ingredient. The spices do not overwhelm and contribute to a good balance of beer and spice. It also has a hint of brown sugar and a nice roasty malt aroma. The roasted and black malts contribute the a hint of coffee aroma.
Taste. Gingerbread Ale is balanced and not excessively sweet. It has a toasty and roasty malt taste with a dark sugar flavor lacking the bitterness of molasses. The dry sugar flavor combines well with the ginger and cinnamon to have just enough spice without being overwhelming. The spice is more subtle in the taste than the smell, which is good thing. This beer tastes better at cellar temperatures than ice cold.
Mouthfeel. Medium-light bodied and nicely carbonated. Like many porters this one has a ever so slightly chalky mouthfeel that smooths out at a warmer temperature.
Drinkability. As a holiday beer this is very tasty and, despite being a spiced beer, I could drink two of these in one session. This beer is great to sip and savor slowly.
Rating. My ratings below are on a five point scale with five being the best score.
On a recent trip to City Beer Store in San Francisco I was browsing the beer fridge, after having tried De Ranke’s Père Noel, trying to figure out what other winter season beer to try. As soon as I spotted 2 Turtle Doves by The Bruery, I grabbed a 750ml to try. I first heard about 2 Turtle Doves (or sometimes Two Turtle Doves) on twitter from @aircoleman who recommended it with this tweet: “2 Turtle Doves” is a Belgian-style Dark Ale brewed with cocoa nibs and toasted pecans. A very nice 12% winter beer!”
2 Turtle Doves is crafted by a brewery in Orange County, CA called The Bruery, who specialize mostly in Belgian-style ales found either in 750ml bottles or on tap. This beer is the second winter seasonal beer they have produced in their series of the “Twelve Beers of Christmas” with the first being “Partridge in a Pear Tree.”
This is truly a wonderful winter beer which I initially described on Twitter as “like chocolate syrup muddled with a sweet stout with a little cola, gourmet coffee, and spices.” These flavors are not on accident. The bottle caption describes 2 Turtle Doves as follows:
Belgian-Style Dark Ale Brewed with Cocoa Nibs & Toasted Pecans
The second verse of our “Twelves Beers of Christmas” saga begins with caramel and toasty, nutty malt with a luscious layer of chocolate. Happy Holidays!
Date Reviewed. December 11, 2009
Where I Found It. City Beer Store in San Francisco, CA
Serving Type. Served from a 750ml bottle into a tulip glass.
Appearance. 2 Turtle Doves has a dark black or very dark brown color with a pleasant mocha colored head. Head didn’t last to long in the tulip glass.
Smell. The aroma of this beer is heavily like dark chocolate syrup. It also has hints of cola, rum, with a dash of holiday spices like cloves or nutmeg. The spicy quality plus the cola undertones give it a smell like an artisan root beer or sassafras. The aroma also has hints of gourmet coffee. Finally, as the beer warms it reveals a bouquet of caramel, nutty pecans, and toasty malt.
Taste. I originally described 2 Turtle Doves on Twitter as follows, “it’s like chocolate syrup muddled with a sweet stout with a little cola, gourmet coffee, and spices.” The dark roasted malt flavor comes through like an iced coffee made with gourmet coffee and artisan dark chocolate bittersweet syrup. The sweetness and the alcohol come through like a 18-year aged rum while not being boozy. The hints of cola flavor complement all of the other flavors. Also picy cloves. Finally, the malt has a nice roasty and caramel flavor. 2 Turtles Does is a delectable dessert in a bottle.
Mouthfeel. This beer is full boded, thick, and smooth but there may be a few tannins, that come through, giving it a hint of chalkiness.
Drinkability. 2 Turtle Doves is pure liquid dessert, a treat, and delicious. Although it is 12% alcohol by volume, it drinks smoothly and easily.
Rating. My ratings below are on a five point scale with five being the best score.
While I was on a trip in Chicago, I wanted to try some of the local beers but my schedule didn’t lend itself to visiting any of the local breweries or beer bars. Instead on the way back to the hotel, I stopped at Whole Foods to pick up some beer. I wasn’t quite sure what to try but the New Holland Cabin Fever Brown Ale caught my eye.
Established in 1996, New Holland Brewing is a brewery located in Holland, Michigan and has both a brew pub and a production brewery. The Cabin Fever Brown Ale is a seasonal offering that they describe as:
Robust in character yet smooth in delivery, Cabin Fever is a roasty brown ale and a hearty, comforting companion for long, mind-bending winters. Its rye, roast and raisin notes play off a subtle caramel sweetness and culminate in a dry finish. Excellent with roasts, stews, caramelized onions and snowfall.
Where I Found It. Whole Foods in Chicago, Illinois.
Serving Type. Poured from a bottle into a small glass.
Appearance. This brown ale has a dark color like that of a porter with a dark off-white head. The head retention was extremely poor. I personally think that a beer like this should have a nice head that lasts more than 30 seconds.
Smell. The aroma of Cabin Fever is roasty and slightly nutty. In the first few smells of this beer the aroma is yeasty and bready. Either you get used to it or this smell fades after time. There is no discernible hop bouquet.
Taste. The taste has a malty-sweetness with a roasted chocolate malt flavoring. There are flavors of coffee and mocha present as well. There is a little bitterness, which helps enhance the dark chocolate and coffee notes.
Mouthfeel. Cabin Fever is a medium-full bodied beer. According to my calculations of taking the original gravity of 1.065 (16 Plato) and the alcohol content of 6%, then the final gravity of this beer is 1.019 (4.8 Plato). This beer had a chalky mouthfeel that I did not find very pleasing.
Drinkability. I bought a six-pack but after the first one I really wanted to try something else but didn’t have anything handy. The second was better than the first and it did grow on me a bit but I really didn’t want any more after that.
Rating. My ratings below are on a five point scale with five being the best score.
Please take a look at a few more reviews. A few of these reviews liked this beer more than I and some come to the same conclusion. One review in particular mentioned problems with consistency from bottle to bottle. Maybe I should have tried it on draft instead.
Snow Cap Ale is winter seasonal beer available from October to January from Pyramid Breweries, which is located in 5 locations on the West Coast. Both the brewer, Pyramid, and Beer Advocate list the style of this beer as a winter warmer. Pyramid goes on to say that this beer is crafted in the British tradition:
A rich, full-bodied winter warmer crafted in the British tradition of holiday beers. This deep mahogany colored brew balances complex fruit flavors with a refreshingly smooth texture, making Snow Cap a highly drinkable and desirable cold weather companion.
I heartily agree with the assessment that Snow Cap Ale is a great cold weather brew. This beer contains a hefty 7.0% alcohol and when you drink this beer you know, from both the taste and the affects, that it is strong.
Pyramid should be commended for listing so much detail about Snow Cap and their other beers on their website. If you’re a home brewer, you can use some of these details to approximate a clone recipe or at the very least use it for inspiration. For instance, this beer contains the following malts: 2-Row Barley, Caramel 80L , and Chocolate Malt. And the following hops: Nugget, Willamette, East Kent Goldings. Pyramid lists Snow Cap as having a gravity of 17.3 degrees Plato or about 1.071 specific gravity. With 7.0% alcohol by volume, the final gravity should be about 1.018 specific gravity.
Where I Found It. I picked up a 12oz bottle 6-pack at a Beverages and More in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Serving Type. When I sampled this brew, it it was served from a 12oz bottle into a pint glass.
Appearance. The head had a nice cappuccino color but the head did not last too long. The color of the Snow Cap Ale is a very dark amber or a mahogany wood finish. Although mostly opaque due to the color, the beer was clear and not cloudy.
Smell. The aroma had an earthy smell with an essence of roasted chestnuts, which, if you have not had them, are sweet, roasty, and starchy. I also sensed a hint of banana and cloves and this makes me very curious about the yeast that was used. The hop bouquet was slightly spicy and smelled like an evergreen tree, possibly a douglas fir. I’m not certain right now which of the 3 hops would contribute to that type of bouquet.
Taste. When I tasted Snow Cap Ale, it reminded me of a beer from New Belgium Brewing, either 1559 or 2-Below. It had a roasty-burnt taste but not a bad burnt taste maybe like flambé. There was also a flavor of cloves. This is a 7.0% alcohol beer and I tasted the alcohol astringency in the beer. The hop bitterness was well balanced and not overhelming at all.
Mouthfeel. Snow Cap Ale felt like a full-bodied beer with an appropriate amount of carbonation. The aftertaste had a lingering bitterness.
Drinkability. This beer was surpisingly smooth and drinkable beer especially in colder weather. Snow Cap Ale, however, is not a session beer. It is strong and one is enough. Despite the fact that I prefer other winter seasonals, this is a top notch winter warmer that I would drink again.
Rating. My ratings below are on a five point scale with five being the best score. The overall rating is calculated exactly the same way as Beer Advocate.
It is always more enjoyable to share a beer with friends and family. As part of this blog I plan on not only reviewing the beer myself but also gathering feedback from others. Below is what Liz, Erin, and Patrick thought about Snow Cap Ale.
Liz
Erin
Patrick
The following caption is found on the neck of the bottle:
It’s not winter without it. Snow Cap is a complex ale that is mahogany in color and deliciously smooth. Drink it while you can because when the snow’s gone so’t the Snow Cap.
Gouden Carolus Noël is a winter seasonal ale from Anker brewery, Brouwerij Het Anker, in Belgium. This beer is classified as a Belgian dark strong ale and it certainly fits the bill weighing in at 10.5% abv. According the the brewer’s website, this beer contains three different types of hops, all Belgian, and six different herbs that are added at different stages of brewing.
For my first beer review I’ve selected a winter seasonal ale, Jubelale. Jubelale is a winter warmer style beer that is available from October to December from Deschutes Brewery out of Bend, Oregon. It comes in artistically styled packaging, which, according to Deschutes, is different every year. Even though I shouldn’t chose a beer by the label, the packaging helped influence me to try it out.
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Beer 47 in a Tumblr
