Winter Ale
Davidson Brothers Restaurant & Brewery

A work trip has me in upstate NY, and this is my first beer from this brewery. Poured from a brown 12 oz. bottle. Has a cola color with a 1/2 inch head. Smell is of malts, chocolate, vanilla, some spices. Taste is chocolate, dark malts, some hops are present. Feels full bodied in the mouth and overall is very enjoyable. Well done.

Poured into a snifter, the appearance was a semi-dark brown color with a little white head that dissipated at a slow pace. Concave rim of lace. The aroma had some sweet earthy hops with a touch of grassiness flowing into some loose caramel to toffee malts. Some milk chocolate and black licorice assist nicely in the blend. The flavor leaned initially to the sweet side and blends some earth and spice slide in for a decent blend. Then some woodiness, vanilla, and tobacco come in to further enhance the taste. Smooth sweet combined aftertaste and finish. On the palate, this one sat about a light to medium on the body. Smooth sessionability glides over my tongue. Good carbonation. ABV felt right. Overall, a worthy beer to have again in the winter months.

This one didn't hit me like an ale...more like a porter. I liked it more then their IPA, but again I think I would appreciate this more on tap and not poured out of a bottle. Caramel, smooth, nutty....yeah...I got all of that...it was just lacking something. I want to keep trying this brewery...it's a journey to make great beer.

Pours clear and black. Nice creamy head of chocolate colored foam that lasted long enough. Nose is very roasty. Spicy hop with a succulent herbal. Cocoa , nuts and those passionate hops. Earth grass and a touch of sweet sugary caramel. It has a sweetness on the nose and smells like cocoa puffs for a minute.

Taste follows the nose all the way. Twigs, tree bark and burnt toast. A touch of buttery caramel to smooth all that and let you see the hop bitter at the finish. Bubbly but does not bite . Spice, raisins and rich bread. A touch sweet in the finish. Who would have thought that those hops with their herbal would marry so well with this roasty malt. Usually you see these hops on paler beer.

This was somewhere between hoppy brown and robust porter. Drank lightly enough but full of stout like flavors that were somehow not that heavy. The caramel was nutty and very firm. Hard crack caramel that gives a light toffee flavor. The roasty malt has a touch of light char to dry it out in the finish and it goes down like beer candy. I was surprised at how much I liked this beer and thought it was fun to drink. That's the first time I think I have said that.