Better Drinking

I served this at the winter beer tasting, but a good friend bought me a whole bottle, afterwards whose consumption provided fodder for this review. A special thanks to F.M. for the beer; this review is for you.

The Scaldis is a quadrupel, a special category of Belgian usually characterized by a darker color and higher gravity. This one in particular is brewed with the holiday season in mind, a very festive 8.48oz bottle, complete with blue foil wrapping and what appears to be the brewery covered in snow. The 12.5% ABV is clearly advertised, either a warning or invitation, depending on your penchant for such beers. This is no session beer, but an evening “sipping” beverage meant to close the day well. As this review is being written in the presence of a recently emptied glass, my day has closed particularly well.

This beer pours a cloudy, though somewhat opaque brown, with a small head but generous lacing. Doesn’t look all that different from many quadrupels or Belgian darks I’ve had.

The nose is a mix of sweet malt and spices, mostly peppery though very a complex mix of many undefinable aromas, at least to this reviewer.

Mouthfeel is medium-full and very carbonated, much more so than expected since this one does not pour with a large head.

The taste, initially, is dominated by a malty sweetness, with a complex mix of spice and hop in the background. As it warms, the alcohol character becomes evident and the malt and spice/hop flavors change in their prominence, the spices becoming more dominant and the maltiness becoming slightly more subdued. The alcohol character is also mild, lending only a slight slickness to the mouth.

Overall, well-balanced and quite enjoyable. This might make a good one to lay down for a spring or summer session to see what complexities arise from aging. Expensive, but definitely worth a bottle for the serious geek. Enjoy.

Labels: beer reviews

Good, brief article from our friends at Beer Advocate - minor language warning.

Two days before Thanksgiving I went to the beer store in search of something to enjoy whilst on parole from work. You would think that alcohol sales were getting ready to be outlawed and people were buying up the last barrels; the place was a zoo. Anyway, I happened to notice that Brooklyn Brewery has a holiday gift pack. Since their winter ale only available in said gift pack, and I happen to like Brooklyn beers, I bought one.

The winter warmer style is actually pretty broad; the BJCP allows for a broad range of interpretations but they are generally darker and thicker than usual. That is, whatever "usual" might mean, especially if you're as much as a beer geek as I am. I also decided to drink this instead of coffee on Thanksgiving morning, just after breakfast. Hey at 10am in Georgia, it really was 5pm in England.

This winter ale pours an opaque brown with a one-finger, off-white head. By mid-glass, the head was gone but did leave a decent lacing and "ring" on the beer's surface.

Nose is mildly malty with a very subtle spice background. Nothing terribly pronounced, but nothing overwhelming either. The spice aroma grows as the beer warms.

A medium mouthfeel with relatively low carbonation. It is not thick, but definitely a bit chewier, consistent with the winter warmer style.

Taste is very complex - toasty malt, accented by anise and ginger. There is definitely some hop in the aftertaste, making this somewhat unusual since by style, the spices come through much clearer than hops. As it warms up the flavors are much more pronounced and complex, the hops and spices clearer mid-mouth through swallow. Finishes with an interesting mix of full and dry, the malt and hops pretty well balanced. The 6.9% ABV is pretty well hidden, but comes through with a warmer beer.

Overall, a sturdy beer, but not the best holiday brew I've had. It's a good compliment to the Brooklyn gift pack, since it's a seasonal, but nothing I'd miss during the year. But don't let that deter the reader since you probably need to expand your palate, and the gift pack also includes the Black Chocolate Stout. It'll be a win-win situation.

Enjoy!!

Labels: beer reviews

The 5th and final beer tasting of this year was held at our house last Friday, December 2nd. We had a medium size crowd anxious to try the newest category, winter and seasonals. When I first put my list together, my fear was that the monotony of having 16 different spiced beers would result in boredom. But as it turns out, only about 1/3 were considered "winter warmers", a very broad style of beer according to BJCP standards, and the rest were a good mix of English and Belgian styles, and a dopplebock thrown in for good measure. With the exception of one (Ale Mary), all of these beers are only brewed during the winter months and with the 14% ABV law change only 18 months ago, most of them were not available last year. Less than half of these were known to my tastebuds before the event. A little risky, but everything turned out great.

As usual, Michelle came through in excellent form with home-made snacks and especially so as the hostess, since we're usually in someone else's home. The attendees were happy to be there, or at least pretended to be, and I certainly appreciate everyone's participation, as always. Our beer list was as follows:

Sam Adams Winter Lager
Sam Smith Winter Warmer
Anchor's Our Special Ale
Ale Mary
Sweetwater Festive Ale
Avery Old Jubilation Ale
Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale
Mendocino Winter Ale
Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout
Delirium Noel
Corsendonk Christmas Ale
Golden Carolus Noel
Great Divide Hibernation Ale
Scaldis Noel
Samichlaus

My daughters (Ashley and Mandy) took a few pictures - here they are:


Nathan enjoying even the last drop


The food table was the center of conversation


Michael enjoys his beer, while Sarina waits for a sip


Adrian, David, Blake, and Joe - future pro beer judges


The aftermath of empty bottles

Thanks again to everyone for your support; beer education is tough work but as long as folks are willing to drink and learn, we're happy to keep pouring!!