Genesee Brew House Winter Warmer
Genesee Brewing Co.

 

 

I tried this from the bottle in a glass.

the color is dark cocoa brown with translucent clarity with average bead and retention. the smell has a toast aroma with toffee and spice with a mild fruity ester and gentle alcohol aroma. The feel is very good with moderate sweetness yet toasted grain in texture and slight creamy body with mostly dry finish and light bitterness with mild alcohol influence.

The taste is good with mild hints of caramel and light raisin-like flavor but yeast has an almost ripe banana quality in the taste with slight spice in the back from hops with a subtle alcohol taste that increases as it warms with mostly dry finish. Overall this is a decent take on the style - but comes off almost like a 'mock bock' with caramel and bready malt dominance.

 

 

 

Pours a dark brown . Clear with a ruby hue. Tan head.
Nose is fruit cake and flowers. A little raisin and dark sugars. Light milk chocolate and as it warms, light peppery alcohol. A meticulous attention to detail in brewing is where you find all kinds of range in color, flavor and style. To me, the beers that show clarity remind me of water colors. Although this beer is 9 percent and uses dark specialty malts it is not a stout. The style can show flavors like dark fruits and cherry and finish a little sweet. This one had a small bubble with a small bite. You can see them coming up from the bottom and they are what make the cheerful and leggy spots of lace. While the bubbles do seem to effervesce, the carbonation is moderate and not truly bubbly like we mean when we talk about champagne or the Belgian beers. Raisins , chocolate and hop floral take a silken bit of cake like malt to the finish with just enough bitterness. It seems to end with a hint of cherry. Hops are spicy but not bitter to the finish.

A-pours a muddy reddish amber color with an off white head with a quick dissipating head
S-caramel, toffee, biscuit, spices
T-caramel, dark fruit, burnt sugar, more spices in the finish
M-medium bodied with a good amount of carbonation
O-Not my favorite beer, but also not my favorite style, probably would not seek out again

 

 

 

 

Poured into a small chalice: color is dark brown to black, head presents 1/4 inch thick and is light tan in color, mainly fine bubbles. No lacing.

Smell is mainly malt dominant, not quite deep in noted dark malt potential flavors but some light fruit/raisin/toffee.

Taste is similar to the aroma with big malt presence and sweetness; flavor has more depth than the aroma and the hop bitterness seems appropriate for the style. Malt like flavors include fruit/raisin/toffee; hops are light but earthy, maybe some grassiness. The flavor seems fresh and might need some aging to fully develop some more interesting malt based flavors. Absolutely no hint at the 9.0% ABV strength.

Mouthfeel is a little cloying and full, and a little gritty like (maybe just dry).

Overall a nice beer from Genesse, big malty flavor, lighter off flavors typical of strong ale/malt heavy beer - this is not a spiced winter warmer, but a malty deep warmer. ABV is hidden well with the fairly sweet malt flavor. I'll buy this again to age some to see if those deeper flavors develop.

On tap at Acme Bar and Pizza in Rochester, NY.

This one pours a dark, tawny brown, with a one inch head, and a bit of lacing.

This one smells sweet and malty, some caramel, a bit of chocolate, and some toffee.

This feels a bit more like a scotch ale than a winter warmer, but styles don't really matter after all. This has some caramel sweetness, a bit of chocolate syrup, some toffee, etc. Just a lot of maltiness here. Not the most hugely complex beer ever, but still pretty tasty.

This is medium bodied, with a slightly syrupy mouthfeel, and a lower level of carbonation.

A fairly solid beer from Genesee, but nothing to really write home about.

 

Robust ale taste with a caramely/malty finish. Reminds me of a scotch ale body but with more of a complex finish. One of the best beers I've had from Genesee brewery!