Deschutes' The Abyss

Smells roasty - stout-like - with a little wood. Full-flavored, but not too thick. Deep roasted flavor (a little burnt, but acceptable), wood, maybe bourbon (though that could be power of suggestion), a little alcohol burn. Very assertive. Finishes dryish, a slightly chemical flavor maybe.

Brittany claimed this tasted "like licking a pig!", but wouldn't tell me how she knows what that's like. At any rate: this obviously isn't for everyone. I liked it, but doubt I'd get it again. Not enough sweetness for me, and I've had other comparable stouts that I've enjoyed more thoroughly.

Cave-Aged Ommegang

The cave is probably just a gimmick, but four years of aging makes a difference. Has that aged smell, sour fruit and a hint of mustiness. Little more tartness in the mouth, drier, but with the same kind of body.

An interesting evolution. I'm not entirely sure it justified the price increase, but it does make me think about putting some Ommegang in my cellar. I've always said that it's one of the best values around - why not pick a few bottles up cheap and see where they go?

2nd Annual Winter/Holiday Beer Roundup!

Our annual holiday beer post was a bit delayed this year as we spent the last week with a very spotty internet connection - but nothing stopped us from drinking through a season's worth of festive beverages and keeping notes. Consider our post a gift to you this last day of Hanukkah - and be sure to pick up anything that sounds good before they disappear from the shelves.

Methodology: Reviews are presented in order of preference, but obviously that does not mean all are endorsed or recommended. Tastings were conducted by Brittany and Craig jointly and edited and transcribed by Brittany. Samples were all 2008 bottles of beers specifically marketed as "winter," "holiday," or "Christmas" offerings, though many holiday beers we drank and enjoyed do not appear on the list because we did not remember to take notes. Findings are below.

1. Scaldis Noël (aka Bush De Noël)
The aroma is exactly, precisely like Twizzlers, with just a slight note of yeast. It is sweet, thick, smooth, malty and rich. There is just a note of warmth and a bit of a candy aftertaste. We are not 100% sure what makes this a holiday specialty, but it is a very nice after-dinner sip.

2. Anderson Valley Winter Solstice
Smells sweet and malty, hint of hops. Malt, clear vanilla, hints of spice. Not very complicated; seasonal and super drinkable. Craig does not love this, but it is the favorite of Scott, Britt, and Alex and has been reviewed here before.

3. Brasserie Dieu Du Ciel Solstice d'Hiver
Mild nose, little roasty. Roasty deep flavor, sweet, smoky, spicy. Great character, would drink again. Decidedly seasonal as well as tasty.

4. Samuel Smith's Winter Welcome Ale
Smells a little fruity. Taste is caramel sugar, dried fruits, light spicing. Finishes with a slight bitterness which is just enough to entice another sip. Well-balanced and totally drinkable. There is a reason this is a perennial favorite and stand-by.

5. Nøgne Ø Winter Ale (aka God Jul)
Big, fluffy head. Smells hoppy with a hint of roastiness in there. The drinking experience is very much like a porter. Chocolatey, a little strong (though you would guess less than it actually is), gentle sweetness. Thick and chewy but not flat or syrupy. Finishes a little too bitter, but overall really enjoyable and could act as a bridge beer between those who like winter beers a bit hoppier and the rest of us.

6. St. Feuillien Cuvée De Noël
Smells yeasty and spiced - particularly clove - and juicy. Very carbonated. The taste is not particularly wintery, though it is a pleasantly weighted Belgian. Good in general, but more spice would make it even better and more deserving of the "Noël" moniker.

7. Weltenburger Kloster Winter-Traum
Tart, lagery nose. Smells kind of like apple juice. Carbonation is a little light. A little extra malt body. A bit tangy - BA has this as a "Märzen/Oktoberfest", which makes sense flavor-wise. Fine, but no idea why this is branded for winter.

8. Samuel Adams Winter Lager
Slight nose - lagery, maybe a touch of sourness. Crisp, lagery body. Not super flavorful - including nothing deeply wintery. Fine with food, but a little dull on its own. Pretty much a winter barbeque beer if you have barbecues in the winter and you serve middling beer at them.

9. Blue Moon Winter Ale
This is not the worst winter beer on the market. Taste has some degree of vanilla, spice, and sugar to suggest that one might drink it during winter. It is quite cheap.

10. Altenmünster Winterbier Dopplebock
Almost skunky lagery smell. Sweet, thick, a little licorice in the finish. Craig rejects anything that even whispers licorice, but otherwise this is alright aside from the gross aroma.

11. Michelob Winter's Bourbon Cask Ale
We did not actually expect this to be good at all so the fact that it marginally exceeded expectations does not mean much. The label copy about sweet vanilla flavors and bourbon barrel aging were intriguing, but the Michelob/Anheuser-Busch brand name turned out to be the defining element. The vanilla character is strong, but unfortunately artificial. Other than being fake, the taste is decent-ish - but is so watered down an entire six-pack probably packs the flavor punch of a single good beer. Not gross, but not good either.

12. Moylan's White Christmas Spiced Winter Lager
Weird spice blend on the nose - not entirely harmonious. Crisp and lagery up front, same weird spices in the middle, kind of hop-dry finish. A winter spice lager is a different idea, but this does not really execute well.

13. Deschutes Jubelale
Nice dark color. Hoppy nose, but there is malt there underneath. A little sweetness up front, malty base, then plenty of herbal hops. Way too hoppy any time, but especially for a winter beer (but at least not citrus hops). Bitter aftertaste. Our experience seems to be rather different from most of the BeerAdvocates (our packaging looked very different, too) so we might re-test another bottle of this...

14. Southern Tier Krampus Imperial Helles Lager
Nothing makes this specifically a winter beer, other than the bottle which has one of those dreadful "evil elf" designs. Smells hoppy, green and herbal. Warm in the mouth - not quite burning, but the alcohol is very present. Lots of hops here: bitter and dry. Would be kind of gross in summer, but is gross and confusing in winter. Yuck.

15. Nøgne Ø Peculiar Yule
So much spice on the nose, and berries, maybe. Spice in the mouth too - bitter, sprucey. The spicing is a little too funky on this, and it finishes too bitter. They deserve credit for making something that is unmistakably holiday-themed, but lose points because it is kind of too unpleasant to drink.

16. New Belgium 2° Below Winter Ale
Green citrusy smell. Taste has a lot of hoppy bitterness that makes no sense for malty cold winter. Possibly more balanced than some West Coast holiday offerings, but we would not drink those either. Could not finish. Best feature: packaging features neither "naughty" santas nor "evil" elves.

17. Full Sail Wassail
Resinous hop nose, maybe some dried fruit. Malt base laced with hops - other than a prune-like note, it is hard to really taste what might be underneath. Hops are a little spicy. Finishes bitter and dry. sMaybe being named after a summer sport should have been a clue to skip this winter shipwreck. We kind of resent our local Whole Foods beer buyer (otherwise a cool guy) for stocking so many bottles.

Beer With Food; Food With Beer: Newcastle Brown Ale

When the people at Newcastle Brown Ale offered to send a review package, Craig jumped at the chance. Newcastle is not something any of us might usually pick up - though Craig thinks he remembers it as one of the first "nicer" beers he drank as a youngish lush - so it was a bit of an experiment.

They are currently promoting something they call the Newcastle "Happy Holiday Man-ual" with "tips" for "men" this holiday season and they enclosed some excerpts in our parcel. While this was not as sexist as expected (or maybe we just did not get those parts in the excerpts), our editor still assigned me to write the review as the lone female on Beers, Beers, Beers small staff. Also, as a dude, Craig was a little insulted by the materials that suggested that his gender might, say, cause him to make poor clothing choices or blurt stupid things at the office holiday party - he is well able to do these things as a PERSON after all - and it makes him less sympathetic to Newcastle's brand besides.

On the concept of the "Man-ual" I will say this: Sure, I know that a lot of women are drinking beer these days and we certainly are a flush, spendy demographic (as the wine PR people clearly learned) but that does not mean we want to be taken for granted! Newcastle is worried that too few men are buying their product - maybe too few men are buying beer in general - and they need to target these campaigns to win back the men. So be it, but as a girl blogger and beer consumer I declare that I will read and review anything sent to me by a beer company that is targeting an ad campaign at the women. We like to be acknowledged, too, you know.

However, the content of the "Man-ual" did include some good ideas - particularly recipes and suggestions for cooking with Newcastle Brown Ale. In the chilly autumn and winter months, there are a variety of hearty, British-ish foods that delight, and Newcastle Brown Ale worked very well in several that we tried. One rainy night, we whipped up a variation on this Cheddar Beer Soup from Epicurious/Gourmet Magazine. On another occasion, I baked a loaf of Apple-Cheddar Beer Bread which would need some adjusting if I were to make again. The garlic does not work at all and I would definitely leave it out! I was very interested in baking some of this Pumpkin-Honey Beer Quick Bread as well, but unfortunately Craig is a pumpkin hater so I have not had a chance. In all the cases, the Newcastle was beer enough to provide a distinctive flavor but without overpowering.

Tasted on it's own, Newcastle Brown Ale was unremarkable. If there were some left in the bottle after a recipe I certainly drank it - but I also drank the last glass of a bottle of Charles Shaw from Trader Joe's the last time I made risotto. I have really enjoyed a variety brown ales, so I had inflated expectations I suppose. There is a nutty quality to it, but the flavor is less than robust, thinner and more bitter than I expect from a brown ale, and has an unpleasant sour element which was the most disappointing part.

If I was shopping for a "normal" Anglo-American brown ale, I would likely pick the Smuttynose Old Brown Dog, the Samuel Smith Nut Brown, or the Dogfish Indian Brown. All are readily available, not terribly expensive, and do the slightly-sweet, nutty, cold-weather thing better.


photo: Romulo Yanes for Epicurious.com

Bison Organic Gingerbread Ale

For anyone who's had essentially any holiday ale ever, Bison's Gingerbread ale will pose a single question: where's the spice?

This bland brown ale will put only the faintest gingery tingle on your tongue, and leaves behind a cheap beer finish.  There might be a hint of nutmeg in the nose, but it's mostly flat.  Pours a thin-bodied, dark brown with almost no head. Unpleasantly carbonated.

Just deplorable.  American holiday beers like this are what puts Anderson Valley Winter Solstice so far ahead of the pack.  I don't think I'm going to finish the glass I poured, much less the whole pint-'n-a-half bottle.  Blech.