Saranac Seasons Best

      Saranac Seasons Best is a nut brown lager,  which sounds like a damn good idea.  Seasons Best is light brown with herb, caramel and light mocha on the nose.  On the palate the herbal hop dominates at first and carries through to the finish.  It seems a bit much at first, but after a few sips it calms quite a bit.  Than the other flavors of mocha, caramels and sugar come out.  This becomes a really pleasant Winter Lager to enjoy by the fire.  A winner, although there are a number of others I would recommend a bit more.  Nice List.

Trader Joe's 2010 Vintage Ale

      There are several, usually high alcohol, Winter beers that you could cellar and drink for many years to come.    I have some Anchor X-mas Beer and TJ's Vintage from past years in a wine fridge.  Aging these a year really makes a difference, I recommend trying it.  TJ's Vintage is a good candidate for this.  TJ's pours out a very dark brown with a really persistent head.  If you don't pour very carefully all you get is head.  Lot's of spice, caramel and mocha on the nose.  The flavors are strong with this one.  There's lots of spice and mocha, with nice crisp hop and yummy caramel.  This is really good and packed with delicious alcohol, 9% ABV.  You really should buy some for now, some for next year and some for gifts.  The bottle is very fancy looking with a cork and everything.  Highly recommended.

Troegs The Mad Elf Ale

      Troegs, out of Harrisburg PA, makes high alcohol beers and for that I salute them.  Mad Elf is no exeption with it's staggering 11% ABV.  This is already a winner.  Elf is in a nice jolly bottle and pours out a red-orange color.  The nose is rich with spice, citrus, cherry and yeast.  It starts of with a medium tingly hop that lasts throughout.  Then you get the sour cherry flavor and a bit much of a yeasty flavor.  Also, there's the spice flavors of clove and cardamom.  The body is thick and heavy and the alcohol is joyous.  Now, so far, it sounds like I really like this beer, but it's not as good as it should be.  The strong yeasty flavor bugs me.  However, there is so much that is positive here it goes up in the top half of the nice list.  I would gladly down a few more of these, and will revisit this next holiday as well.  Nice.

Flying Fish Grand Cru Winter Reserve

      Boy, that's a pretentious title for a beer.  But, you have to one if you're going to charge a lot for your product.  The Cru pours out a pale straw with a strong coriander/ white spice nose.  Maybe some of you will like this, but I find it horrific and undrinkable.  Strong coriander and feet.  If you like a white ale mixed with pee, this is for you.  I will try to finish half, no,  I can't.  Down the sink with this swill.  By far the worst of the Winter beers and maybe the worst beverage I have ever had.  An angry mob should be assembled to deal with this menace to our taste buds.  Grab your pitch forks.

Heavy Seas Winter Storm

      Heavy Seas has produced really good beers, Prosit, and really bad beers, Letter of Marque.  I hope their Winter Storm is more of the former.  The Storm pours out a classic amber with hop, caramel, vanilla, spice and mocha.  And all that potential is completely fucking ruined.  The stupid jerks have masked it all with a truck load of painfully strong hop.  So no other taste is discernible.  I will endeavor to slog through this to see if it gets better.  I managed to finish it, but this is still a fail.  A hateful mess.

Blue Moon Winter Abbey Ale

      Ah, Blue Moon, how boring are your bottles.  Whenever they put out a new beer, they just alter the color scheme of the label, how creative.  To be fair they do change the tiny picture under the moon,so they're better than Brooklyn.  Anyway, Abbey Ale pours out a very light brown with a spice, hop and strong sweet caramel nose.  The flavors are rich with mocha, caramel and spice.  The hop tingles in the mouth and balances the other flavors perfectly.  The body is firm and it's tough to find a flaw here.  I better keep drinking.  Hmmm, better go get a case to see if it's really good.  Amazingly as I destroy this beer it continues to impress.  Go purchase many of these beers for your Winter enjoyment.  Stellar.  I'm warming to the bottle, I find the colors soothing.

Magic Hat Howl Winter Lager

      Ah, the hippies at Magic Hat bring us their strange Winter offering, Howl.  Another odd label that sure makes it look like a Halloween Beer.  Of course, with the bales of pot they smoke up there, they probably don't know what time of year it is.  Howl, the shirtless werewolves favorite, pours out quite black and has a very nice mocha caramel nose.  Howl has crisp hop, strong mocha and coffee flavors.  It really hits on your coffee based flavors and that's about it, except for the nice hop flavors.  I like it quite a bit, but you have to like your coffee.  This is on the nice list.

Winter Beers So Far

      I still have more Winter Beers to try ,but we have a lot on the table already, so I thought I should stack em up.  First up the "Nice List", all the beers that didn't suck.

1. Joseph Brau Winterfest
2. Gorden Biersch Winterbock
3. Harpoon  Winter Warmer
4. Weyerbacher Winter Ale
5. Anderson Valley Winter Solstice
6. Old Dominion Baltic Porter
7. Avery Old Jubilation Ale
8. Smuttynose Winter Ale
9. Boulder Never Summer
10. Red Hook Winter Hook
11. Bell's Winter Ale
12. Flying Dog Kruizer Winter Ale
13. Sam Adam's Winter Lager

      Those at the bottom of this list aren't that great, but those on the naughty list are garbage.  Starting with the best of the worst, if it's at the end of this list it's terrible.

1. Abita Christmas Ale
2. Stoudt's Winter Ale
3. Brooklyn Winter Ale
4. Southern Tier Old Man Winter Ale

So there you have it, the list so far adjust your drinking accordingly.

Sam Adam's Winter Lager

      Blah, blah, blah Sam Adam's, blah.  Well another Sam's seasonal coming off their very good Octoberfest entry.  Winter Lager pours light brown with a spice, mocha and caramel nose.  This very creamy lager has some decent caramels and a lot of spice.  The spices are complex, with orange, clove and cinnamon at least.  However, the spice flavor is a bit too strong, and builds on the finish.  If you keep pounding it, it's fine but when you stop the spice is way too strong.  Well, if you keep at it you get used to it, and it's pleasant enough.  It's alright.  Meh.

Old Dominion Baltic Porter

      Old Dominion was the closest brewery to my house before they were stolen from me. The day of retribution will come Delaware.  Baltic pours out black as pitch with a mocha caramel nose.  This creamy concoction has nice caramels and a strong vanilla flavor.  Much better than the fake taste of Remarkable Vanilla Porter.  This tastes good, but the body is surprisingly week. It could be better,but it's still a strong Winter Beer.  The last sip is delicious, a strong entry.  Yum.

Southern Tier Old Man Winter Ale

      Southern Tier is from the distinctly not Southern town of Lakewood, New York.  Old Man Winter pours a very light brown with an herb and caramel nose.  The flavor is super duper painful hop heavy.  I struggle to find other flavors as each sip intensifies the horrific hop overload.  But, there is nothing here to balance out this hop terror.  This is terrible, wretched and putrid.  I hate you Southern Tier.

Joseph Brau Winterfest

      Joseph Brau seems to be a Trader Joe's label, so they have no website.  Winterfest is a Double Dark Bock Lager, which is as beautiful a phrase as ever written.  Winterfest pours out a medium brown with a creamy caramel and mocha spice nose.  This is dark and rich, like Denzel, with coffee, mocha, and caramel.  There's medium hop throughout and the alcohol makes itself  known in a pleasant way.  This is one full bodied beer.  Creamy, smooth and absolutely delicious, this is a great winter beer.  DO NOT go to Trader Joe's and purchase this awesome beer.  It is mine, mine all mine.  This will be on the summit of the Winter beer list.

Stoudt's Winter Ale

      Stoudt's Winter ale pours out a very light brown and has an herbal hop and faint mocha nose.  This is very hoppy.  After one sip you can enjoy the massive bitter for a long time.  This is a terrible Winter Ale, no flavor except painful amounts of hop.  I can drink it,but I don't want to.  Total Winter Ale Fail.

Winter Hook

      Of course, this is a Red Hook product.  Winter Hook pours out a very orange amber and has a strong herbal hop, caramel and citrus nose.  Heavy on the herbal, citrus hop, but there are nice caramels as well.  This would have done well in the Summer Beer category.  It's a crisp amber ale, not warm and wintery at all.  I can't slam this beer cause I like it, it's just not a Winter Beer.  And as I get to the bottom of the glass I don't like it that much.  Meeeh.

Gordon Biersch Winter Bock

      Last time we visited Gordon Biersch, their very good Mai Bock lost in a stunning upset to Garde Dog in the Spring Beer Tourney. This was a classic, check it out here.  Winter Bock is light to medium brown and the nose is heavy on the caramel.  The taste is lush with strong caramels, light mocha and medium crisp hop.  Strong balance shines here and makes this an excellent Winter Beer.  Go and get this strong, flavorful, warming Winter Bock while it's still out.  GB is sure to be near the top of the nice list.

Weyerbacher Winter Ale

      Weyerbacher, out of Easton PA, has a nice snowman based bottle which I appreciate.  Very seasonal.  Let's see if their dark brown beer with creamy mocha and heavy caramel nose is any good.  Well it tastes like it smells, crisp mocha and nice round caramels.  No fruit or spice or other such stuff, and that is A-O.K.  Just a straight up well crafted, dark Winter Beer.  Delicious.  This will be high on the nice list.

Flying Dog K9 Kruizer Winter Ale

      Well that's a long title.  Flying Dog is a local D.C. area brewery and I really need to try more of their stuff.  Unfortunately, they have a big black mark, see Gonzo Imperial Porter.  Although Their Spring beer did well in the Spring Tourney.  Well let's see how this tips the scales.  Kruizer, I hate this name, pours out a dark amber with caramel and a suspiciously high amount of herbal hop.  And there is a ton of hop, but you can taste the caramel and mocha, so it isn't a total disaster.  I actually think this is drinkable.  But, it does require quite a high hop  tolerance.  It also does not give me that Winter Beer vibe.   Kruizer might not make it on the nice list.

Anderson Valley Winter Solstice

       I totally doomed Brooklyn by saying how great their Octoberfest was.  Now I'll jinx Anderson Valley by mentioning that their Summer Solstice was the best of the Summer Beers this year.  Only the sublime beet beer, Wacko was even close.  Solstice pours out a dark amber with a creamy caramel and sweet tart nose.  The flavor is very sweet with lots of caramel, classic malted and mocha flavor. The hops are steady throughout adding a nice crisp mouth feel.  I think it's quite good, although it seems very similar to their Summer Beer.  Maybe just a different label.  This would be a first class Winter Beer if it just had a touch of spice and more alcohol, of course.  I still think it's pretty good though.

Brooklyn Winter Ale

      Brooklyn did one of my favorite Octoberfests this year, I hope they do equally as good with their Winter Beer.  Man, their bottles are mind numbingly dull, the bottle cap is plain silver for god's sake.  Anyway, what matters is the beer.  Which is light brown with a caramel and mocha nose.  It's got nice crisp hop and a tootsie roll flavor, but dry not sweet.  This flavor does not work at all for me.  It tastes like a stale watery chocolate soda, but much worse.  This is a dog. A wet dog. Avoid this awful failure.

Smuttynose Winter Ale

      I hope they know more about Winter Beers up north in Smuttynose country than Abita did.  It pours a medium brown with a malty mocha and spice nose.  It has a malty, mocha spice flavor with a medium hop bite.  This would be real good,but it really lacks body and alcohol.  The flavors are strong, but not that exciting.  The aftertaste is also so-so.  Let me drink more.  Yea, this is pretty decent, but I can't wholeheartedly recommend it.  I would have another though.

Abita Christmas Ale

      Abita of course is out of New Orleans which is a lovely town that smells like pee.  I question their ability to make a Christmas beer, but we shall see.  Light brown with herbal hop, caramel, spice and yeast.  Holy Christ, here is our first massively over hopped mess.  There are some malts and hints of spice, but they are tragically overwhelmed.  Abita you have proved me tragically right.  This beer sucks, I don't like it, don't buy it.  Boo.  Oh, the bottle sucks.

Boulder Never Summer

      Boulder Beer claims to be Colorado's oldest Micro Brewery.  And that's great, but how's the beer.  It pours out a light orange-brown and has a hop, caramel, yeast and spice nose.  This does show hop up front and throughout.  There's also nice caramel, mocha, and spice, lot's of cardamom.  Nice mix of flavors make it interesting drinking experience.  It is a little hop heavy especially for a winter beer and the aftertaste is a bit odd.  As the glass gets very low I'm somewhat less enchanted,but it's a decent Winter beer.  So far drinking Winter Beers is good.

Bell,s Christmas Ale

      Bell's has been a hit or miss brewery for me.  Some very good beers, some not so good.  I hope this is a winner.  The Bell's pours out a very orange amber has a rich caramel, mocha and orange spice nose.  Strangely, very little of this shows.  It tastes like a pedestrian amber ale with caramel and spice and strong hop.  The aftertaste is not the best, but it's a nice beer to sip.  It's just not a very Wintery beer. As I keep downing it, I feel quite unimpressed.  Not a good Winter Beer, Blah.

Avery Old Jubilation Ale

      Avery is a brewery out of Boulder Colorado.  There sure is a lot of beer coming out of Colorado, and amazing we get so much of it on the East Coast.  Old Jubilation, a nice festive name, pours out a lovely medium brown.  The nose is a deep caramel and strong mocha with clear spice notes.  Lots of mocha and coffee flavors with spice, heavy on the clove. Jubilation is big on the flavor and the body which is nice and heavy.  This is a nice winter beer, but the flavor is very strong and the aftertaste prodigious.  Not for everyone.  I could see myself enjoying this on a cold winter night.  Recommended with reservations.

Winter Beers: Harpoon Winter Warmer

      I love me some Winter beers.  They are usually big on the flavors and the alcohol.  There also seem to be a hell of a lot of them.  Not everyone does a Spring or Fall beer, but everyone does a Winter\ Christmas beer.  First up is Harpoon Winter Warmer.  It pours out a light brown with a spicy mocha nose.  This is why I like Winter beers.  It's all mocha, caramel, cinnamon, clove and a touch of yeast.  It's also got a nice full body.  At first I found the aftertaste a bit off-putting, but I'm warming up to it.  A great start to the Winter beers, Harpoon has a winner here.  Good character, flavor and body, Winter Warmer is an apt description.

Pumpkin Beers

      Holy hell.  I went to the store a few days ago to get a bunch of Winter beers and all the pumpkin beers were gone.  There was plenty of Octoberfest and I even picked up  some Wacko, a Summer beer, at a discount.  But, no pumpkin to be found at any price.  F you guys.  Anyway, I'm just going to dive right into the stunning array of Winter beers I've found.  The Punk in the picture was good, but too damn expensive.