Good Winter Beers - Tis the Season!
The winter beer season is upon us! Those strong, hearty, sometimes insanely hoppy, darker ales that will keep you warm during the frozen months. Seasonal beers are as old as brewing itself and legend has it that those crazy monks brewed special holiday beers to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Well, the tradition continues and there are a bunch of excellent examples out there for you to try. Here are some of my favorites…
The Strong Winter Ales
One of my absolute favorite strong ales for the winter is the Delirium Noël from the Huyghe Brewery in Belgium. I also love their Delirium Nocturnum but the Noel is a special treat. I would actually consider it a spicier version of their Nocturnum. Hints of cinnamon, clove and nutmeg.
I have always been a big fan of Samuel Smith beers, their Nut Brown in particular is one of my favorites. Their Winter Welcome is also very good and traditionally has a different label every year to celebrate the season. (Note the label above is 2000-2001 vintage. The 07-08 label has a clipper ship as the backdrop).
It is a very hearty ale and pairs well with a good holiday meal. At 6% ABV, it isn’t as strong as some of the other examples on this page, but it doesnt need a lot of oomph to make it a good beer. With a nice port-like color, tt has a good deal of malt character throughout and finishes sweetly with only a bit of hop bite.
The Warm Welcome Ale from Ridgeway Brewery, imported by Shelton Brothers is a nice nut brown(ed) ale. It really isn’t seasonal per se, but I suppose the 6% ABV puts it in a “warmer” category. It has a beautiful ruby color and is essentially a slightly strong version of a nut brown ale (think Newcastle, but with more body). It is relatively smooth, with a slight malt sweetness and good body. It works well by the fire because if served chilled, it lasts quite some time and is almost better closer to room temperature.
Tröegs Brewery’s Mad Elf Ale is a new one for me this year. This elf is definitely mad because he packs 11% ABV (more than many barleywines!) and he’ll sneak up on you. The Mad Elf is brewed with honey and cherries according to the label, but the hops definitely rule this ale. There is a noticeable cherry aroma to the beer and there is a very subtle hint of cherry on the palate but the spiciness and hop bitterness is almost overwhelming. With a bit of time, the elf will warm up to you as your tongue recovers and you may start to go a bit mad yourself. In other words, you will love this beer after 10 minutes and it will love you back :). Tröegs brews some great stuff and this seasonal ale will definitely stay on my list.
Ridgeway also makes a “barleywine-style” ale called Criminally Bad Elf. This baby fares a bit better than their nut browned ale above but still isn’t as solid as the Sam Smith or even the Troegs brew.
The alcohol smell is pretty strong and though it has a nice deep, maple-syrup color to it, the flavor is all over the place. The malty goodness is very apparent (and I would say this has more honey notes than the “honey infused” Troegs ale) and there is some hop happenings as well, though they are not as pronounced. I know by US law they are required to call it a “barleywine-style ale” (because otherwise us dumb ‘mericans might think it was actually wine, huhuuhhu) but it just doesnt seem bold enough for me. Even at 10.5% ABV… Ah well.
DuClaw is a Maryland brewery that has been producing decent brews since 1996. I was first introduced to their Devil’s Milk during an xmas shopping day with my best friend. Per tradition, we had lunch and a few pints @ DuClaw in Arundel Mills prior to knocking out our holiday shopping…….
Well, we were very successful at enjoying a few glasses of Devil’s Milk but we were subsequently unsuccessful at performing our holiday shopping duties. This stuff kicked our asses. 
It is a very good barleywine (though lacking a bit of body that year IMO), with hints of caramel and malty, fruity character. It is tighter than the CBE above and doesnt overwhelm the nostrils with alcohol but definitely has some good hoppiness and a nice dark color. 10-11% ABV.
I hope you get a chance to try some great winter brews this season; hopefully this will give you a decent starting point.
Cheers!
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