Jubilation Winter Warmer
Grand River Brewing

 

 

500 mL bottle from the brewery bottled on Nov 30 2015; served slightly chilled. "Brewed with spices and orange" according to the label.

Pours a hazy reddish-amber colour, with one finger of soapy, off white-tinged head situated atop. Retention isn't great; it is soon reduced to some bubbly patches on the surface and a modest collar of foam. The aroma has a nice candied orange/marmalade note to it, as well as gingerbread, caramelized sugar and hints of orchard fruit. There's also a bit of a spicy feel to the nose, with maybe some nutmeg or allspice? Whatever it is, it's subtle and not obnoxiously over-concentrated - just the way I prefer my winter warmers.

In fact, it does remind me of some of my favourite imported English warmers, but only a little. The malts are prominent, coming off with flavours of graham cracker, gingerbread and toffee sweetness; notes of orangepeel, apple, baked pear and citrus oil underneath add more complexity. This is followed by a spicy, somewhat drying finish. The exact identity of the spices employed remain a mystery to me, though their earthiness towards the finish makes me lean toward ginger, with stuff like nutmeg, cinnamon, or maybe allspice being my next guesses. Medium-bodied, with low carbonation levels and a smooth, soft mouthfeel that has good weight to it; this brewery's hard water always helps in this regard, but it's particularly important with a strong, English-style ale like this. Speaking of strong, that 7% is nowhere to be seen - this one drinks more like a 5.5%er.

Final Grade: 3.84, B+. Even if Winter 2015/16's biggest snowstorm weren't currently burying my house, Grand River's Jubilation Winter Warmer would still be a welcome tipple. GRB's biggest strength has always been their British-style ales, and this solid one faithfully carries that baton forward - though it's perhaps a bit spicier than most examples from across the pond. Thankfully, the spices are not the primary focus, as is so often the case with the North American strain of this style. Good stuff.

 

 

Appearance: It has a nice dark cloudy amber/copper color to it. It has a creamy off-white head that dies down moderately and leaves some lacing.

Smell: The aromas definitly give out hints of citrusy fruit, spices, dark fruit and roasty malts.

Taste: Like the aromas, it has a nice citrusy/fruity character accompanied by some roasted malts and some spices.

Mouthfeel: It has a medium carbonation with a nice overall balance and feel.

Drinkability: It's a smooth drinkable beer accompanied with good flavors and aromas.

 

Picked up at the brewery and brewed November 24, 2011. Poured a two finger pillowy off white head. The body is semi-clear and deep amber. Decent retention and patchy lacing.

Smell is orange peel, cinnamon, malt,and somewhat herbal.

Taste follows the nose with some nutmeg and grassy hops.

This is a medium bodied brew with a little carbonation. It is relatively smooth although there was a dry bite on the back end leaving a funky aftertaste.

Overall, a very good winter warmer that was not overly complex but very well balanced.

500ml bottled December 8th, 2010

A- Slightly chill hazed red / burnt copper pour with a two finger soapy eggshell head. Lacing is decent.

S- Cinnamon with a bready backing. Sherry soaked figs with a touch oid cherries. Brown sugar and a subtle cloves.

T- Cinnamon and brown sugar. Nutmeg and figs with a slight spiced rum warmth on the way down.

M- Thin to medium bodied, cinnamon dries out the mouth. Slight alcohol warmth with a lingering aftertaste.

O- Decent winter warmer. I'm going to assume it's past its peak but you would be hard pressed to know for sure.

Thanks to ericandersnavy for sharing this bottle.

The beer pours an orange color with a white head. The aroma is straight buttered popcorn. The flavor is more of the same. There is a ton of butter in the beer. Something definitely went wrong in the brewing of this beer because there are no doppelbock notes, only butter and a little bit of bready malt. Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation. Disappointing.

I'd say this is more of a helles/maibock, though it's also reminiscent of Anchor's special ales (without the added spicing).

A: Copper-bronze, off-white head, no retention or lace.

S: Earthy spicing, floral, pepper & grass with hints of bread & toffee.

T: Earthy mineral, steelie grass, slightly floral and herbal, bread, buttery caramel, golden raisins hints of vanilla and perhaps cinnamon. Modest bitterness; alcohol is subtle.

M: Well-attenuated, moderate body is bready with a crisp finish.

D: A good drinker.

Bottle: Poured a deep clear burgundy color ale with a medium foamy head with good retention and minimal lacing. Aroma of light toffee and caramelized malt is quite interesting. Taste is a nice mix between some caramelized malt with notes of toffee and light residual sugar. Body is about average with good carbonation and no apparent alcohol. Well brewed and easily drinkable.

On tap at The Cedar House, Paris in a logo-ed brewery pint glass. (a real full pint glass!)

I really enjoyed this winter warmer/ Dobbelbock. It has a great appearance and mouth feel, but was this really a traditional Dobbelbock? Whatever style you want to label it, it was very enjoyable and went down well. Worth trying!

Pint on tap at Burger Bar in Kensington. Creamy white finger of head on top of a goblet of dark amber brew. Rings of lacing down the glass.

Nose is fruity and sweet, hints of caramel and a touch of grassy hops, hint of fruit bread.

Kind of an odd brew. Quite bitter and hoppy for either a winter warmer or doppelbock, dry grassy hop bite in finish with a hint of mineral dryness. Sweet caramel, hints of nuts, fruit bread. Quite a thin body for either style, almost more of a maltier EPA or amber. Still, as a beer it is drinkable and relatively enjoyable.

On draught at the UW Grad House. According to brewmaster Rob, this was kegged on or about January 3rd.

Poured into a branded Grand River ale glass. A lovely ruby-amber hue, very nice, with the pour producing a generous layer of head with scads of lacing to boot. Good retention as well.

Nose is more on the winter warmer end of the spectrum than the bock/doppelbock, but still delicious. Good malt profile, along with apple, grape, cinnamon, nutmeg, a bit of caramel and bread. Possibly a touch of clove as well. This would have done well right before Christmas.

The taste is sweet and rich, at times reminding me of a sweet red ale, other times of more hearty fare. Cherry, grape, caramel, sherry, spice and finishes dry and with that slight mineral character Grand River is known for. I'm not sure I would have identified this as a doppelbock if handed to me, but whatever this is, I'm enjoying it. The alcohol is masked particularly well, which for a brewery known for low ABV brews, is saying something.

Crisp, crackling carbonation, thinner bodied than other doppelbocks I've had recently, but creamy and satisfying enough. Very easy to drink.

The name of the brew is very appropriate, as it had characteristics of both a winter warmer and a doppelbock, waxing in and out throughout the sampling. Not nearly as dark or full-bodied as a doppelbock, but with flavors not often found in winter warmers, it doesn't fit that category either. It's somewhere in the middle, but who cares. A great winter brew, and a must try from Grand River.

500 ml bottle poured into a Duvel tulip. This year's batch is marked 7% ABV.

A: Pours a clear reddish brown with one finger of beige head which quickly recedes leaving a little lacing.

S: Smells of malt and fruit (cherry?). Smells sort of barleywine-y. Not picking up any spices.

T: Tastes of sweet malt and fruit upfront but some nice hops in the finish. Again, I'm not picking up on the spices and overall have the impression of a light barleywine.

M: Mouthfeel is medium with adequate carbonation.

D: The drinkability of this is high: a barleywine "lite" with no detectable alcohol.

After my recent disappointments with 1913 and Plowman's, I'm glad to see there is no downward trend at GRB. I don't think they made this last year (at least I didn't have any) and I recall previous years being good but more in the vein of your average seasonally spiced winter warmer. I'm not getting any spices from this and it really reminds me of a barleywine. I think I like this better than previous years!

From tasting notes dated Dec.30/09

Drank several bottles of this at Xmas and still have some cellared to try in the fall.

Clear amber ale with a smallish cap, laces well though.

Very aromatic without being overpowering...spicy,fruity lightly sweet, some grass.

Matly-grainy start is balanced with spice which begins to dominate slightly near the finish which has a nice bite to it...possibly from pepper. Full bodied with a warming character.

Nice Xmas seasonal, discrete enough on the spice that you could have a couple without nuking your palate with xmas spices.

Sampled both at the brewery, and from growler. Pours a transparent orange/amber liquid, topped with frothy, slightly off white foam. Again, nice head retention and lacing, as is a constant with this brewer. Nosing it, there is a huge blast of nutmeg, cinnamon, rose petal, Christmas cake, floral and honey notes. Good sweet caramel malt up front, excellent balance of nutmeg, cinnamon, floral spices, ginger, with a superb addition of equalizing hops to finish it off. This is really excellent craftsmanship. The somewhat higher alcohol content doesn't even seem to be there. Excellent.

2007: Pint at Volo. Pours a nice burnished gold with a large white head. The nose is all about the spicing, and dominated by allspice. In fact, as the previous reviewer said, it is very reminiscent of the pumpkin beer that the brewery released. The taste is also heavily spiced, with allspice once again dominating. There's also a good measure of sweet malts in there too. 6.5%? You'd never know it. Another strong offering from a highly recommended brewery.

Thanks to KwaiLo for bringing this growler to warm our souls on a frigid brewday!

Pours a clear orange, thin white head, leaves some nice lace chunks as it settles to a thin ring. Smell is nice, sweet, honey, oranges, some banana-spice, cinnamon, almost mead like, yeasty, bit of caramel, quite nice. Taste is similar, sweet, lots of honey and meady again, oranges, spices, bit of grapefruit and pine, spicy citrus finish. Mouthfeel is medium bodied with low to medium carbonation, bit of warmth, quite nice. Excellent winter warmer. Thanks Scott!