Flannel Channel
Seapine Brewing Company

Exceptional - a fresh almost piney taste, orange to amber color - from 12 oz can purchased at Total Wine

 

Pours a caramelly, butterscotchy color with a frothy, lip smacking head of foam. Aroma is caramel, brown sugar goodness. Malt is present too though I'm not hit over the head with it. Taste is piney and not much else; some malt, some citrus. Overall, this is a nice walk from the path and my sample went down far too quickly.

16oz can from Tavour. Hazy amber, with a fluffy beige head, thick lacing. Toasted malt aroma, caramel . Taste is more sweet caramel, brown sugar, malty, brown bread, gingerbread. Not a warmer, but a full, thick tasty malty ale.

Beautiful orange-copper color with abundant foam in the glass. Modest grainy aroma but a long roasted herbal note in the nose. It's both malty and hoppy. Starts out sweet and cereal-tasting, then gradually gets bitter with some woody aftertaste. Overall this is quite interesting, but I'd say it's too bitter for a proper Winter Warmer. It's more like a junior-league SN Celebration, which is not a bad thing. There is a very different taste, though, like wintergreen and honey plus some kind of sweet cornbread. From the 16 oz can purchased at Town & Country market.

 

Poured into a Seattle Beer Week pint glass. Pours a hazy, medium orange with a one finger ivory head with great retention and solid lacing; looks nice. Aroma of pale and light biscuit malt, citrus hops, lemon, grapefruit and a touch of pine. Flavor is light biscuit malt, citrus and piney hops, pine, lemon and grapefruit; citrus rind and pine finish. I imagined wisps of holiday spices, but maybe because I was looking for them in the citrus and pine. Medium bodied with light to moderate creaminess. A lighter take on the winter warmer, both in ABV and flavor, although it has a nice malty backbone. Seems to be similar in intent to Anchor's Our Special Ale, but with no cocoa character. Shares that brews body and piney notes. Not quite a winter warmer in my book, but enjoyable and the forward tasting pine is quite seasonable. Nice ale to sit down with as the season cools down. There really is something comforting in a malty, piney ale this time of year.

 

 

A: The beer is very hazy reddish brown in color. It poured with a half finger high off white head that died down but never completely faded away, leaving lots of lacy rings of bubbles down the sides of the glass.
S: Light to moderate aromas of spices and bready/caramel malts are present in the nose.
T: The taste follows the smell, except that the flavors are a bit stronger. Little to no bitterness is perceptible.
M: It feels medium-bodied on the palate and has a moderate amount of carbonation. No warming is perceptible.
O: This beer is quite malty but doesn't really have any warming qualities.

Serving type: can