Nutfield Winter Frost Ale
Old Nutfield Brewing Company, Ltd.

This offering from Nutfield pours a delicious maroon that leaves a thin white lace that sticks to the glass, the body is clear and has small carbonated bubbles in the body. The aroma of this porter is tart, the smell is grassy and funky. The taste starts on the palate with a sharp unripened plum tartness that laces your throat. It then moves to a bitter hop feel, that has a small spice taste to the body. The finish is nice, although this is a bit rough for a porter not as smooth as I expect for the style but overall decent.

Pours, well, clear light brown/amber. Way too light, way too clear. Small and weak head diminishes way too quickly.
Smells like a Maine beer, if you know that Maine beer smell... I mean, like, whoa, are they using Ringwood, or what? Well, it sure smells like it! So, that'd be a little bready, a lot yeasty.
Doesn't taste like any porter I've ever had. Yeah, no chance. I mean, it's more like a plain amber ale. One from Maine. Strong Ringwood flavor, and, um, well, yeah. Ok, maybe it's just a bitter. Only it's not bitter. And it's pretty thin in the body. Well, ok, the aftertaste is a light lingering bitterness.
I suppose I'd drink it if out in a pub and the other choices were macros. It's not bad or anything - it just doesn't have any redeeming qualities.

appearance: from the bottle, too much head. after settling down, a nice, dark reddish color to it.

smell: not much of a smell

taste: very malty and bouncy

mouthfeel: hoppy, but easy to drink down

drinkability: good to have a pint or two; having more than two will tie up your stomach

I love porters, but never thought for a moment that this beer was supposed to be one until I came here to review it. The deep red color is a bit on the light side for the style. The smell was rather nondescript yeast with hints of alcohol. The taste of the ale lacked complexity. Yes there were some chocolate notes, but on a whole the six-pack I purchased repeatedly came off as bland. Maybe it was a bad batch. For a beer of its modest strength, the alcohol flavor was disappointingly strong. Winter Frost was light of body, and not especially offensive. It was neither interestingnor true to style. In fact, it seems a bit more like a Scotch Ale than a Porter. It was reminiscent of the Long Trail Hibernator.

This Nutfield winter offering has a nice hop bite to it with some
malts and a slighly smokey bitter/fruity ending. Very nice pouring head
and lace, nice smell. Its great to try this locally made beer (Derry, NH. USA) I would recommend this, thanks BeerAdvocates for the chocolate tip! Reminds me of the Gritty's Halloween Ale somewhat,
one of my many ever growing favorites.

The beer pours a quite deep mahogany color, the head is and massive, frothy in texture and a nice light tan color, lace is a fine curtain upon the glass. Nose is sweet malt, hint of yeast, crisp and fresh, start is sweet and malt rich, top is middling in feel. Finish has a crisp acidity and the hops spicy in their bite, dry and long lasting aftertaste, a quite nice and pleasing beer.

I was thouroughly unimpressed by this brew. Although the aroma hints strongly of caramel and toffee flavors to follow, the high level of carbonation gives a harsh impression, light body and takes a huge bite off of any malt flavor that might be lurking inside. The hints of toffee and smoky chocolate are so hidden that I only made it through the glass trying to uncover more of it.

This one seems a bit more refined and filtered now that it is being brewed at Shipyard. The carbonation is a tad too much, the soft sided chocolate flavour bring an odd charcoal taste from the roasted malts which leaves the taste buds off center, drink this a cellar temp a knock some of the carbonation and it makes it that much more drinkable. Other than that it is a lesser of the winter seasonals.

Presentation: Same story telling Nutfield style label, this time the same tree but with a bitterly cold scene. 12 oz. bottle.

Appearance: Black burgundy, with a big light tan head.

Smell: Roasted malt and light hop aroma.

Taste: Rich malt sweetness followed by a small hop bite. Burnt malt flavours and a sudden crispness which fills the mouth towards the end. Flowery hop flavour amongst the aftertastes.

Notes: An inviting dark ale and ideal for the winter months due to its heartiness. We reviewed with chocolate chip cookies, and would also recommend most chocolates to pair with this brew.