Winter Wonder
Triumph Brewing Company

 

 

Appearance: Dark brown with a light tan head, leaving some lacing

Smell: Orange, coriander, spice, and caramel malt sweetness

Taste: Upfront caramel malt sweetness, coming up with spices, orange, coriander, and finishing with a little hop bitterness.

Mouthfeel: Full body with medium carbonation, impressive carbonation for beer from a growler.

Overall: Pretty good. Have to be in the mood for something like this, but Triumph never disappoints.

 

 

 

First had: on tap at Triumph, Philly, PA

Presumably this is an alias of "Winter Ale."

Poured into a tumbler, a slightly hazy copper with a finger of white head that receded to a patchy layer. Aroma of sweet malts, orange pulp, cinnamon and ginger. Starts fruity on the tongue, mainly orangey, with some zesty bitterness. I didn't really get the cranberry flavor that others seemed to. Bitterness gives way to caramel malts and touches of ginger and cinnamon, but not too strong with spice. Medium-bodied, pretty well-balanced, a bit of a harsh aftertaste, but fairly drinkable overall.

Winter Wonder. On tap @ Triumph

Appearance:
Poured in a 16 oz. glass from a pitcher. It's a dark reddish amber with a decent (1") off-white head and moderate lacing. Nothing to write home about on the looks front.

Aroma:
Mostly boozy. The alcohol really comes through in ways the color would not predict. It also masks much of the complexity I would have hoped for. Resiny malts, and piney hops can be smelled somewhere in there.

Taste:
Spicy, malty flavors upfront, and surprisingly not as much kick from the 8% abv as the smell might indicate. Caramel, wintery spices (cinnamon, nutmeg), some pine. Hops play a secondary role here. Finishes smooth and leaves a pleasant bittersweet flavor in the mouth. Decently balanced.

Mouthfeel & Drinkability:
An all around tasty beer that is far more balanced in the mouth than in the nose. Medium carbonation. The finish is warm and a bit spicy. I had 3 of these with some food, so there's decent drinkability potential.

Got a growler at the brewery

this brew is almost exactly like how I remember the bruery's autumn maple tasting. it was very sweet and the booze was concealed very well. not my kind of thing, with the spices or whatever they put in it. the color was a good brown and the head wasnt much because I'm reviewing this about half way through the bottle. This is a beer that will easily warm you up on those cold nights.

An orange-amber winter beer with a slight cloudiness. It was translucent, not clear. The head was oddly uniformed with all the other beers served at the table. This to me just seemed... odd...

But... As far as aroma there was a citrus, clove aroma. It was very much a Christmas Pot-Pourri scent. It was fragrant but not cloying.

The flavor followed suit and had elements a holiday spice, molasses and just a slight bit of orange-tangerine. The predominant taste was malty though not sugary sweet. It also had a high level of alcohol and this came through below the flavors. There was a complexity which was nice but it seemed to be a bit subdued with the amount of alcohol.

It was drinkable for the type of beer and alcohol level. I would revisit it, but it wasn't overly impressive in terms of this year's offering of local winter beers.

A-Deep copper with a medium light tan head that held on strong and left decent lacing.

S-Orange, cinnamon, clove, mace and caramel with a touch of cranberry tartness. Quite complex and very pleasant.

T-Orange bitterness up front with a nice clove like spice kick following. Well supporting caramel malt backing all of this.

M-Medium body, smooth with mildly lasting flavours.

D-Nicely done. I like the presentation of the orange bitterness with the lighter spice notes. Not overly spiced at all, quite drinkable and enjoyable.

Poured from a growler into a pint glass. Pours a cloudy auburn with white heading. Immediately smelled is apples and oranges other citrus fruit's. Ok lacing really didn't have to much pouring from a growler. The smell is malty with a good blend of hops. A very drinkable brew the settles very well.

On tap in Philly today: A low fluffy head, generally nice aroma. The 8.2 ABV is well hidden by tons of spices, reminded me of my wife's shampoo because it was so heavily spiced. A light, sweet mouth feel, and a strong, short finish. Glad I tried it because it was so intensely spiced, but not something I will order again.

On tap at the brewpub in Philadelphia. Pours a cloudy amber/brown with a tan head. Aroma of fruity chapstick. Flavor is similar to the aroma, odd wax-like notes, some citrus notes. There definitely was a specific flavor to it, but I couldn't figure out what. Not a winner though.
6/4/6/3/13 (3.2/5)

On tap at Triumph Philadelphia on 12/30/08.

A - Hazy copper-colored body with deep orange highlights and a finger's width of tan, foamy cap that diminished and left spotty lace.

S - Subtle nose with hints of star anise/licorice, cinnamon, coriander and ginger with a prevalent citrus quality, especially orange. Malt is sweet and caramely.

T - Initial flavor is quite citrusy with juicy orange and some subtle spicy notes. However, there is also a slight cranberry tartness that adds a bit of depth to the flavor. Sweet caramel and molasses forms the malt base, resulting in a pretty rich malt character, but not too sweet. The citrus aspect works quite well with the spices and malt character.

M - Medium body with a fairly creamy texture. Robust and smooth mouthfeel with mild carbonation.

D - This is a different take on the Winter Warmer style with the requisite spices and malt profile taking a backseat to a prominent orange character. Nicely done!

Tried this beer last night at Triumph in Princeton NJ in a 16 oz pint glass on tap.

Appearance: When i think winter beer, i usually associate it with a dark, amber colored beer. This beer looked exactly like the amber ale they serve. It was a reddish amber color... very light but it yielded a decent head that had some nice lacing.

Smell: kinda boozy.. some rich malt characteristics comming through.. a little bit of hops prescence.. but overall the booze comes through a little too much. I was not expecting such overpowering "dark" beer aromas from such a light colored beer.

taste: Pretty decent.. actually. It holds the 8+ percent abv pretty well. some nice malty and spicy flavors came through with a very smooth finish that lasted long.

Mouthfeel: a little bit thin for what i expect a winter beer to have but overall it was nice and it coated the palate well. still kinda boozy.

Drinkability: a pretty high abv leads me to think its a good beer to pair with food. I paired it with the butternut squash gnocci which went excellent. I dont know how it would pair by itself.. but its definately a tasty beer. It can creep up on you pretty fast i would assume.

I was able to get this one on-tap at the New Hope Triumph. They served it to me in a curved pint glass. Their chalkboard draft list said this beer had a 6.9% ABV. It poured a dark crimson red with a 1 inch head of white foam. It receded very nicly into a small white film and streaks of white lace. It had a fruity aroma that had some toasted malts, candi sugar, and loads of spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, orange spice) in the background. The taste was strong with dried toasted malts, citrus and juicy fruits, bitter citrus hops, and the spices that appeared (cinnamon, nutmeg, orange spice) in the aroma. I thought it was clearly a full bodied beer that had an aftertaste of bitter citrus hops, spices, and toasted malts. The aftertaste did stick around for a few minutes. It's no Fruit/Vegetable beer, but it doesn't matter what style it is. It's just a beer you can sit down and relax with.

Pours ruby amber with nice clarity. The thin head becomes a lasting patch.

The smell is of caramelish malt with wintry spices - Very aromatic.

The taste is of sweet caramel with plenty of wintry spices - peppermint, cinnamon, nutmeg - hint of juniper. Just enough peppery alcohol to warm things up. Sweetness well-balanced by spices.

The body is medium to full. Smooth. Spices and flavor linger for a good long while.

This is a very nice malty, spicey winter ale to sip on in the cold of winter. Alcohol peeks through, but just enough to add more warming spiciness to it. As spicy as it is, it still has a nice malt backbone that comes through nicely. Well-done!

Cloudy, crimson-tinted deep amber/copper bordering on chestnut with glowing orangeish highlights when held to the light. Decent enough off-white head with adequate lacing. In the nose malty sweetness dominates over some yeast fruitiness and just a hint of subtle fruit. The body is medium-full with a moderate carbonation that leaves it creamy in the mouth. The flavor is again malty sweet and lightly fruity with subtle spice (cinnamon, perhaps clove). It finishes with some lingering sweet malt. Nicely done. I'm looking forward to this one again!

Winter Wonder
On tap at New Hope

Appearance- dark hazy brown with very little head.
Smell- lotsa spice, orange, clove, lavender, rose., roasted hops
taste- smooth roasted hops with a huge dash of spices. I taste lavender, rose, orange.
Mouthfeel- solid. creamy and warm. maybe a tad too spicey.

Overall- a decent winter ale that tastes nice on a frigid night. definitely worth the $4!