Snow Hole
Stony Creek Brewery
- From:
- Stony Creek Brewery
- Connecticut, United States
- Style:
- American Amber / Red Ale
- ABV:
- 8.5%
- Score:
- 86
- Avg:
- 3.84 | pDev: 9.38%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 15
- Status:
- Retired
- Rated:
- Jul 22, 2018
- Added:
- Feb 04, 2015
- Wants:
- 1
- Gots:
- 25
SCORE
86
Very Good
86
Very Good
A Snowhole is someone who loves a brutal winter. Our Double Red, with its malty notes of caramel and dark sugar, is complemented perfectly by intense citrus and spicy hops. 6 different hops, 8 hop additions, over 3.5 pounds of hops per barrel, 8.5% ABV and 85 IBUs make for a winter brew that can stand up to any storm.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Reviewed by CTHomer from Connecticut
3.43/5 rDev -10.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.25
3.43/5 rDev -10.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.25
A; crystal clear; slightly reddish amber; 1+ finger khaki head that receded to a thin collar; very nice lacing;
S: muted; what's there is sweet malt, caramel, and earthy;
T: alcohol is noticeable from start to finish; not hot - just there in the background; like the aroma, the flavor is also muted - follows the nose - sweet malt, caramel, and earthy; very mild bitterness on the finish;
M: medium bodied; moderate carbonation; lightly dry finish;
O: nothing remarkable about this; alcohol is too forward;
Jan 30, 2018S: muted; what's there is sweet malt, caramel, and earthy;
T: alcohol is noticeable from start to finish; not hot - just there in the background; like the aroma, the flavor is also muted - follows the nose - sweet malt, caramel, and earthy; very mild bitterness on the finish;
M: medium bodied; moderate carbonation; lightly dry finish;
O: nothing remarkable about this; alcohol is too forward;
Reviewed by Lone_Freighter from Vermont
3.69/5 rDev -3.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.69/5 rDev -3.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Treated as an American Strong ale because of the ABV, this was poured into a tulip. The appearance was a darker red color with a thin white foamy head that dissipated at an even pace. Messy thin speckled sticky lace all around. The aroma had some earthy spice up front rolling over some bready/biscuit malts, caramel, and toffee rich. Light mineral. Then some carrots, yes, oddly enough, I swear I smell carrots, but I don’t mind that. The flavor yields to the earthy spice initially and brings back all of those other malty tastes fairly well but leaving out the carrots. Rich smooth malty aftertaste running on into the finish. On the palate, this one sat about a light to medium on the body with a nice sipping quality about it. Mild carbonation. Earthy spice seems there but not too harsh, mild stickiness. Overall, nice Winter sipper close to an American Strong ale, I would have again.
Jun 11, 2017
Reviewed by smcolw from Massachusetts
3.91/5 rDev +1.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
3.91/5 rDev +1.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Deep, dark amber color with a crystal clear look. Nice ring lace after each sip. Some spots in between.
A bit of alcohol with an overall toasty malt nose. Light, but notable, hop.
The lightly toasted malt is quickly overrun by the pronounced bittering hop. This feeds the swallow. The body is light and the carbonation is neutral. The aftertaste is predominantly bitter but not in an extreme way.
Jan 02, 2017A bit of alcohol with an overall toasty malt nose. Light, but notable, hop.
The lightly toasted malt is quickly overrun by the pronounced bittering hop. This feeds the swallow. The body is light and the carbonation is neutral. The aftertaste is predominantly bitter but not in an extreme way.
Reviewed by puboflyons from New Hampshire
3.75/5 rDev -2.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.75
3.75/5 rDev -2.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.75
From the 12 fl. oz. bottle. New for 2016. Sampled on December 17, 2016.
It pours amber-red with a long lasting tan head.
The sweet breaded malt are the first sensation in the aroma along with a slight boozy note and earthy hop note. Maybe something spicy and maybe something out of the cellar.
The body is about medium and fairly smooth.
Sweet barley malt character in the taste leads to a powerful bitterness at the finish. Still a tad boozy.
Dec 17, 2016It pours amber-red with a long lasting tan head.
The sweet breaded malt are the first sensation in the aroma along with a slight boozy note and earthy hop note. Maybe something spicy and maybe something out of the cellar.
The body is about medium and fairly smooth.
Sweet barley malt character in the taste leads to a powerful bitterness at the finish. Still a tad boozy.
Reviewed by ichorNet from Massachusetts
3.78/5 rDev -1.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.78/5 rDev -1.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Stony Creek's been a bit hit-or-miss for me, but I picked up a single of this one to see how it fared. The idea of a double red ale with a nice, big hoppy bite for the Winter season is a pretty good one and kind of goes counter to a lot of Winter warmers, darker saisons, stouts and whatnot coming out during the colder times of the year. I'm definitely interested in giving this a good shot.
Pours a deep amberish color with a garnet-red hue to it, the body holding up a finger of retentive khaki head that laces in spotty cobweb-like patterns as it fades. The surface is hazy, though the beer itself is clear for the most part, with a nice gradient color palette to it. Solid looking, for sure, and I'm definitely getting that this is going to be hoppy from the solid lace and legs the head seems to create and keep.
Nose is dank and a bit catty, with notes of pine and spice alongside some slight citrus elements. Definite crystal malt qualities here as well with a rather huge helping of English toffee, caramel, green coffee beans and damp earth. Somewhat biscuity, leading me to believe Maris Otter is a base malt here. There's a slight herbal note as well, along with a bit of cocoa powder and some nutmeg or similar baking spice in here as well, kind of lending some credence to it being a Winter seasonal (could just be my nose playing tricks on me, though, of course).
On the tongue, this falls a little flat, with a mostly caramel-forward and biscuity flavor that loses some of the more expressive, dank hop elements from the nose. For instance, it seems to kind of peter out very quickly after the mid-palate, each sip concluding with a sharp bitterness, a flash of ethanol and no lingering hop flavor whatsoever. The early palate is very solid, of course, with a nice helping of bready and hearty grains, but I just don't totally buy into the way the nose leads you on into believing the palate will have more going on than it does. I was certainly expecting a heartier flavor and this doesn't deliver as well as it should. It's bitter, sure... but is it a well-balanced beer? I'm not so certain.
The feel is medium-heavy bodied, with a nearly-syrupy disposition and a touch of effervescent carbonation that shocks the palate very quickly before fading out to an unremarkable ending. The malt bill here seems pretty well-built, honestly, but the hop utilization is tough to commend. I've felt this way about several of SC's hoppier beers before (notably Big Cranky, which is just a huge, boozy and syrupy mess), so maybe it's about time they looked into their hop schedules and dry-hopping methods to determine if there's a better way. This isn't that bad, and for a hefty, hopped-up Winter red ale, it's not awful, but it also does very little to stand out and lacks the artistry it probably wishes it had.
Nov 26, 2016Pours a deep amberish color with a garnet-red hue to it, the body holding up a finger of retentive khaki head that laces in spotty cobweb-like patterns as it fades. The surface is hazy, though the beer itself is clear for the most part, with a nice gradient color palette to it. Solid looking, for sure, and I'm definitely getting that this is going to be hoppy from the solid lace and legs the head seems to create and keep.
Nose is dank and a bit catty, with notes of pine and spice alongside some slight citrus elements. Definite crystal malt qualities here as well with a rather huge helping of English toffee, caramel, green coffee beans and damp earth. Somewhat biscuity, leading me to believe Maris Otter is a base malt here. There's a slight herbal note as well, along with a bit of cocoa powder and some nutmeg or similar baking spice in here as well, kind of lending some credence to it being a Winter seasonal (could just be my nose playing tricks on me, though, of course).
On the tongue, this falls a little flat, with a mostly caramel-forward and biscuity flavor that loses some of the more expressive, dank hop elements from the nose. For instance, it seems to kind of peter out very quickly after the mid-palate, each sip concluding with a sharp bitterness, a flash of ethanol and no lingering hop flavor whatsoever. The early palate is very solid, of course, with a nice helping of bready and hearty grains, but I just don't totally buy into the way the nose leads you on into believing the palate will have more going on than it does. I was certainly expecting a heartier flavor and this doesn't deliver as well as it should. It's bitter, sure... but is it a well-balanced beer? I'm not so certain.
The feel is medium-heavy bodied, with a nearly-syrupy disposition and a touch of effervescent carbonation that shocks the palate very quickly before fading out to an unremarkable ending. The malt bill here seems pretty well-built, honestly, but the hop utilization is tough to commend. I've felt this way about several of SC's hoppier beers before (notably Big Cranky, which is just a huge, boozy and syrupy mess), so maybe it's about time they looked into their hop schedules and dry-hopping methods to determine if there's a better way. This isn't that bad, and for a hefty, hopped-up Winter red ale, it's not awful, but it also does very little to stand out and lacks the artistry it probably wishes it had.
Reviewed by ImHoppyNow from Massachusetts
3.87/5 rDev +0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.87/5 rDev +0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
L: beautiful red, nice head dissipates slowly
S: sweet malt's are the first,witha nice array of hop's coming through some earthiness
T: same as above alcohol well hidden nicely balanced
M: dam smooth with a hoppy bite,and again well balanced hidden alcohol
O: nicely done,worth having again
Nov 25, 2016S: sweet malt's are the first,witha nice array of hop's coming through some earthiness
T: same as above alcohol well hidden nicely balanced
M: dam smooth with a hoppy bite,and again well balanced hidden alcohol
O: nicely done,worth having again
Reviewed by sulldaddy from Connecticut
4.08/5 rDev +6.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
4.08/5 rDev +6.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Sampling a cellar temp 12 oz bottle poured into a chalice. Been sitting on this since the fall last year and glad to finally break it open.
the beer pours a clear garnet hue with a little suspended sediment and several lazy streams of carbonation rising to the surface. A creamy light khaki colored head of 1 cm foams up and fades to a sturdy edge layer and wispy surface layer. Every sip leaves densely packed lace on the glass.
The aroma is some rich toffee and caramel malt with a bit of biscuity note as well. I do get some earthy and herbal hops mixed in but the alcohol is well hidden and not present at this step in the game.
First sip reveals an average body with fine rolling carbonation and velvety texture.
The flavor starts with some sweet malt and toffee and a bit of fruit but rolls to an astringent hop bite of citrus rind and pine resin. Again the ABV is well hidden and the beer goes down very easy.
This is a tasty treat from Stony Creek and I find it enjoyable even though it is a fairly warm day today. Will buy more when if comes out next winter I suppose.
May 27, 2016the beer pours a clear garnet hue with a little suspended sediment and several lazy streams of carbonation rising to the surface. A creamy light khaki colored head of 1 cm foams up and fades to a sturdy edge layer and wispy surface layer. Every sip leaves densely packed lace on the glass.
The aroma is some rich toffee and caramel malt with a bit of biscuity note as well. I do get some earthy and herbal hops mixed in but the alcohol is well hidden and not present at this step in the game.
First sip reveals an average body with fine rolling carbonation and velvety texture.
The flavor starts with some sweet malt and toffee and a bit of fruit but rolls to an astringent hop bite of citrus rind and pine resin. Again the ABV is well hidden and the beer goes down very easy.
This is a tasty treat from Stony Creek and I find it enjoyable even though it is a fairly warm day today. Will buy more when if comes out next winter I suppose.
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