Strong Gale Winter Ale
Buoy Beer Company

Pours a darkish brown with some reddish color also. Not much of a head and it dissipates rather quickly. The aroma is chocolate, pine and a bitter sweetness. Taste is chocolate malt and a nutty roast with bitterness. Not my favorite beer, but decent. Rated 6-29-2023

 

 

19.2 oz can from Brewers Haven. Clear brown pour, thin beige h ad, streaky lacing. Malty aroma, roasty, nutty. Taste is nutty, woody, bitter. Nice feel on this all around. Solid.

Look: Rich reddish-brown and ruby-red when held to light with a frothy beige head that holds some before slowly settling to reveal nice lacing left behind
Aroma: Grapefruit flesh and rind, rose petals, orange, Cannabis, pine sap and needles, toffee, lime, and freshly baked bread
Taste: Kicks off with a tongue-puckering punch of pine and citrus that hits hard up front and starts to develop as bready malt follows closely behind. Weed and warmed rose petals hold down the middle along with some lime and closes with citrus, pine, and a big bite
Mouthfeel: Full, medium-high carbonation, minimal felt alcohol presence, and finishes quite dry
Overall: This is awesome and right up my alley for a ‘Winter ale.’ I love what these folks do and it had been a year or two since I last had this so had to score the new 19.2oz can and revisit it and glad I did. This reminds me of my first experiences with Arrogant Bastard over 15 years ago as it’s a bigtime, hoppy, in-your-face beer but also with a great malt profile to try and keep up with the hops. Plus, I dig the Centennial, Simcoe, and Columbus hop blend and it shows well here. Recommended

Clear brown with three fingers of light tan head. Swathes of lace appear as the levels drop.
Smell is malty with herbal leathery hops.
Taste is herbal hops and toasted malts.
Mouthfeel is medium and well carbonated. The finish is lightly dry and balanced.
Overall a tasty winter warmer.

#1861.

Poured from a 19.6oz "taller buoy". Canned on 10/5/22. Labeled a "Robust IPA" and definitely a Winter IPA. Excellent and easily drinkable even at the 7.7% ABV. Will definitely seek this out again!

 

Dark garnet/ruby colored body with a supreme, creamy beige head.
Sweet caramel and floral hop aromas.
Taste is strong caramel and toffee..balanced by floral hop bitterness.
Nice smooth mouth feel,,even if it is ell carbonated.
Good winter beer,,,,rather hoppy for an ESA

Strong Gale cascades from the bottleneck a rich coppery color. The ammassed presence in the glass takes on a cola brown appearance with burnt brick red highlights. It's clean and clear, but very placid looking overall. Peacefully resting above is a sturdy khaki colored mound of smooth foam. Waves of seafoam like spots lace the glass with ease.

Aromas do in fact come in with gale like strength. Caramel and toffee have a hard time establishing themselves as wet pine, citrus zest, mulling spice, and what I can only describe as "freezer burn" quickly wrestle to the front.

Surprisingly, the flavors are held back. Chocolate exposes itself along with a brown bread base. A dried flowery taste takes it's role accompanied by cola spices and just a dash of citrus bitters and pine.

Buoy is predominantly a lager beer focused brewery, and this ale seems to lead more in that direction as it's very crisp and light on the tongue. Virtually no sweetness, the intense bitterness slaps your face to keep you awake through this cold snap. It's elevated abv almost undetected, but it's definitely keeping me warm.

This is a good beer. More of a red IPA to me than a true Winter Warmer as it lacks that comforting rich sweetness. I think I will buy another and see what a month can do to it in hopes it smooths out its edginess. Cheers.

Firsties! A very dark clear amber. Dense head, no distinct aromas beyond a beer-y nose and some hints of caramel. Let this get to cellar temperature before serving, or else you'll be missing a lot. Dry on the tongue, no sweetness at all. Malt-forward, balanced with a bit of hop bite on the backside. Good mouthfeel, nice finish.