I had a crazy long day at work. Got home, made a quick dinner with the wife, and sat down to watch a movie called The Yards. Weird movie.
Now it’s beering time. I’ve been thinking about my new stash all day long. Which beer would I go with tonight? Should I go bonkers and try one of the best ones, or start out slow?
Well, turns out that I ended up just grabbing the first beer I saw when I opened the fridge: Heavy Seas Winter Storm Category 5 Ale. OH, and as luck would have it, I have this bad-ass Heavy Seas pint glass on hand! WOOOOOOOT!
This little guy is a 7.5% ABV Extra Special Bitter (ESB). I’ve only had a couple of ESBs before – they were both pretty mild. This Category 5 is quite bitter. Piney! Some malty sweetness is present, but not much. Long piney aftertaste.
The brew is smooth. Low carbonation. The brew is pretty – a reddish amber color.
Given my limited experience with ESBs, Im having a tough time judging this beer. I will say if you’re a hop-head, you’d probably love this.
A final thought to close out the review. I wish there was some kind of standard for a winter beer. Seems like breweries can slap a winter theme & winter related name on a beer and BINGO BANGO, a new winter beer (regardless of style or flavors).
Shouldn’t a winter beer taste like winter (spicy)? Who’s with me?
-Lost
Homebrew Academy
I usually just think of winter beer as a warming beer abv-wise. Something over 6% I guess (which isn’t too uncommon). A lot of the winter beers out there are spiced up, and I think it is nice to have something that isn’t spiced up break up all of the other winter beers.
ESB’s can actually have a spicy character from the hops. You did say “piney”, right? Let’s see…. pine trees… what are they used for this time of year?
One of the most popular “winter” beers is Sierra Nevada’s Celebration Ale, which is a serious hop bomb, but with more piney hops. It’s actually a good winter beer because of the hop profile.
Touche on the pine tree comment.
-Lost
It does seem like there are a lot of winter seasonals that fall into the big amber category (like the Avery Jubilation), and after a while they don’t do a whole lot for me. My favorite winter seasonals this year have been Great Divide Hibernation (a big malt bomb of an old ale) and Jolly Pumpkin Noel de Calabaza.
Hibernation is one of my favorites.
If we’re talking only winter warmers, the best, hands down, is Anchor Our Special Ale. I love that beer.
Jolly Pumpkin Noel de Calabaza is in my queue. Bought it a couple night ago! Can’t wait to try it.
-Lost