Reviews of Microbrewed Beers
Sam Adams Winter Lager
Samuel Adams Winter Lager from Boston Beer Company (Boston, MA) is a dark wheat lager that fits into the style category of a Bock. This beer is full-bodied, robust, and warming, which is perfect for a winter seasonal beer. While full-bodied, Sam Adams Winter Lager is still a very drinkable beer that should be part of your winter seasonal line-up.
Winter lager pours a clear, deep reddish mahogany with a light tan, creamy head. The head leaves behind some minor lacing with reddish glints.
Winter Lager has a pleasant aroma of roasted malt with hints of cinnamon, orange, and ginger. There are hints of the 5.8% abv, but it's certainly not heavy. The beer's body is medium to heavy, but probably on the light side for a bock. It has moderate carbonation and feels a bit creamy in your mouth. The flavor of malt is moderate and has a combination of caramel, toasted bread tastes followed by a bit of a spicy finish. Malts are clearly more dominant in the flavor than hops, but the balance is still nice.
Overall, Sam Adams Winter Lager doesn't disappoint. We've rated the beer 4 pints. For a special treat, we recommend enjoying this brew along with a warm slice of apple pie.
Goose Island Mild Winter
Goose Island Mild Winter from the Goose Island Beer Company (Chicago, IL) is a very nice Rye Beer. A rye is not a terribly popular choice by brewers for a winter seasonal beer, but Goose Island pulls it off quite nicely. Even though Mild Winter is classified as a rye beer, the rye flavor is not overbearing. This beer drinks like a mild ale with hints of rye.
Mild Winter pours a nice amber-brown color with a loose creamy head that stands about one finger tall, and has good legs for the style of beer. The aroma is fairly complex, but light. The rye is nice and spicy, but not overbearing and is complimented well by the peppery smell of the hops. The malt is sweet and smells a bit like toffee, with a hint of toasted dark bread. The 5.60% abv hides well and is barely noticeable.
The taste of Mild Winter is between a light bodied and medium bodied beer. The carbonation level is mild, and seems prefect for the beer. Overall, the beer is a bit on the dry side, but again, it's appropriate for the beer. The taste is very much like the aroma. It has a malt character, but isn't overly sweet. The flavor has hints of caramel and toffee, balanced with pepper and spice from the rye and hops. Overall, the beer is well balanced and easy to drink. We've rated it 4 pints.
Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale
Celebration Ale from Sierra Nevada Brewing (Chico, CA) is a favorite among hopheads. This beer is an American IPA that uses three different types of hops over three stages in the brewing process. They've used Chinook hops for bittering, and Cascade and Centennial varieties for finishing and dry hopping.
Celebration Ale pours a beautiful copper color with red hues. The head is off white; about two fingers tall, and has strong retention and lacing. The aroma is unmistakably Sierra Nevada's hop profile with the pine, citrus, and a touch of floral bouquet from the Cascade and Centennial hops. There is a hint of the 6.8%abv. Despite the strong hop aromas, the taste is remarkably balanced. The taste includes a pleasing amount of Two-row Pale and English Caramel malts. There's doubt the beer is centered on hops, but it doesn't go overboard. The beer has a light to medium body with moderate carbonation; and like many hop-heavy beers, is a bit dry.
Celebration Ale offers a nice change of pace to most winter seasonal beers, and is a very drinkable brew if you're a hops aficionado. If not, you may find this beer to taste bitter. Since we love our hops, we've rated the beer 5 pints, and we recommend having a Celebration Ale along with a nice grilled steak.
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