Winter Snack
Apocalypse Ale Works

 

It pours an almost black shade of brown with a very thin cover of creamy tan head. It has decent retention and leaves some small spots of lacing. The aroma is big and reminiscent of a holiday fruit cake, boozy, fruity, spicy, and sweet. The taste is similar but not quite as assertive. The body is light, verging on thin. But it's not quite and it manages to hold up.

 

 

 

Bottle, 2015:
Deep mahogany brown, clarity can be discerned with little effort. Head builds ok, but fizzles out fairly quickly, leaving a thin tan line.

The adjuncts come out in the nose, which is good. Nose is orange, raisin, toast, reminiscent of a breakfast before work.

The taste smacked me with juiciness from the orange - which I am more used to in IPAs than stouts. The orange never leaves my palate during each sip. The beer does roll over my palate fairly quickly, helped by miniscule-feeling carbonation. Raisin and bread hit next, along with a little cinnamon to bring the toasted raisin-bread impression from the nose to the taste. This is enjoyable to me, but the ever-present orange gets in the way.

I think this beer needs a little bit of tweaking on the strengths and interplay of the flavors it is showing. Mainly the orange needs to be more subdued to let the other notes shine. Also, I seem to lose the stout nature of this beer a bit; combined with the raisin flavor and thinner feel, it reminds me more of a Dubbel.

A-Opaque, deep brown with a small tan head and little retention.

S-cinnamon, raisins, maybe a bit of nutmeg with sweet malt underneath.

T-Very tasty. Cinnamon, oats, raisins and dark fruit, a tiny bit of a tang.

F- Medium bodied, medium carbonation, fairly dry. Lacks the velvety mouthfeel the best oatmeal stouts have.

O-Very tasty. hides alcohol nicely. Very enjoyable.

 

Pours a dark brown color that doesn't quite seem pitch black. The head is a finger high and khaki in shade. While retention is underwhelming, it still manages to leave behind some lacing. Still, this looks a bit "light" for a big 10% stout.

People here are saying this smells like an oatmeal raisin cookie. And holy crap, does it ever! I really pick up a lot of cinnamon on the aroma, and yet it's balanced incredibly well by the dark fruit notes. I also pick up some chocolate, caramel, brown sugar, and...orange peel?! Hey, this was brewed with orange peel. Still, I'm left wanting more stout characteristics like roast and coffee. Otherwise, who cares? It smells like oatmeal raisin cookies, and I love oatmeal raisin cookies.

This tastes unusually fruity for the style, as raisin qualities seem to dominate from start to finish. It has an initial note of cinnamon (thankfully, one that never overpowers) and finishes with a touch of dark fruit tartness. Nuances of glazed caramel, chocolate, and orange peel give it depth. I'm digging the hell out of this blend...but there's one thing that lets me down. It doesn't taste very much like a stout at all - there are no real roasted qualities. But other than that, it offers an alluring hybrid of fruit, spice, and sweetness.

The feel is full and thick, though not very creamy. Here's where I think this needs work - it's too sweet-feeling and sticky, yet the high carbonation doesn't seem to help cleanse it from the palate. One thing that saves the mouthfeel is its well-attenuated bite.

My only real niggle is how this lacks stout qualities like roast or coffee. But as an oatmeal raisin cookie beer, it's fantastic. It's loaded with dark fruit goodness in the best way possible. This will probably continue to fly under the radar, but that's good - more for me...

3.97/5: Great beer, now we just need the Alstrom Bros. to give this a 100 for people to go crazy for it...

 

My apologies......just did not like the Winter Snack. It poured a nearly opaque dark with no head or lace. The scent had mostly raisin. The taste started like a raisin oatmeal cookie and then turned very sour.....no thanks!!!! The mouthfeel was lighter in body with little carbonation. Overall.....nope...nope....no likely.

This opens with a huge dose of allspice and nutmeg, perfect for the holiday season. Malty mid palate of barley and toffee as it finishes with cranberries.

 

 

 

Pours like a stout, black with a tan head. Smell is as advertised, like a holiday dessert, specifically like an oatmeal raisin cookie. Taste follows but with a sour note that is jarring though not totally unpleasant. Thin feel for a stout. Overall a decent beer though not one I would revisit given other options.

Bottle into a big duvel glass. Pours pitch black purple with 3 full fingers of fluffy tan head that lingered awhile. Beautiful color. Smells of raisins, oats, vanilla and some sort of sugar like caramel. No notes of roasty malts or coffee. Good smell. Taste is heavy raisin and oats up front. Oddly like an oatmeal raisin cookie. Very thick and gummy in the mouth. Hints of malts, caramel, maybe toffee and slight vanilla. Not hot. Barely notice abv. Definitely chewy. Slightly sweet like an oatmeal raisin cookie. Taste improves as the beer warms to 50 degrees and warmer. No hoppy bitterness. Low ibus. Nice holiday fireside sipper. Well worth the try. Solid stout.