Mild Winter Ale
Okanagan Spring Brewery
- From:
- Okanagan Spring Brewery
- British Columbia, Canada
- Style:
- English Brown Ale
- ABV:
- 4.8%
- Score:
- 78
- Avg:
- 3.27 | pDev: 15.9%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 10
- Status:
- Inactive
- Rated:
- Dec 17, 2015
- Added:
- Oct 12, 2012
- Wants:
- 1
- Gots:
- 0
SCORE
78
Okay
78
Okay
Perfectly suited to the season, our Mild Winter Ale is a combination of deep roasted maltiness and subtle caramel sweetness. It’s a well balanced, full-flavoured craft brew that’s sure to become an instant favourite.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Reviewed by crimsonknight331 from Canada (SK)
4.61/5 rDev +41%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.75
4.61/5 rDev +41%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.75
This is my winter ale of choice. It's one of Okanagan Springs best next to their brewmaster's black.
It's not overly sweet like a lot of other winter Ales are. It's the perfect blend of vanilla, caramel, and hops along with the typical winter ale taste. A great combination, it looks great and smells better and tastes amazing. This is a true winter favourite!
Dec 17, 2015It's not overly sweet like a lot of other winter Ales are. It's the perfect blend of vanilla, caramel, and hops along with the typical winter ale taste. A great combination, it looks great and smells better and tastes amazing. This is a true winter favourite!
Reviewed by NeroFiddled from Pennsylvania
3.74/5 rDev +14.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.74/5 rDev +14.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Okanagan Spring Mild Winter Ale
12 oz. returnable brown glass bottle, coded H29131027V"
$2.09 Canadian @ Intermarche 8160, 850 rue St-Jean, Quebec, Qc
Appearance: Crystal clear deep mahogany brown body. The short head of creamy off-white / light tan drops readily and leaves little lacing about the glass.
Aroma: Caramel and brown malts in the nose. It hints at chocolate and roastiness. Clean.
Flavor: Not as malty as the nose suggests, but pleasant. Caramelish, toasty, gently chocolatey, and subtly roasty. There are only background hops, leafy and herbal, mainly coming through in the dry, lingering finish. Median bitterness.
Mouthfeel: Light-medium body. Gently crisp. Median carbonation.
Overall: Not a bad beer, but not a great one. Although it lacks in malt flavor, and body, I'd certainly take the flavors of the malt in this one over most of the bland golden lagers that are so popular in Canada (there are some good ones).
Oct 07, 201412 oz. returnable brown glass bottle, coded H29131027V"
$2.09 Canadian @ Intermarche 8160, 850 rue St-Jean, Quebec, Qc
Appearance: Crystal clear deep mahogany brown body. The short head of creamy off-white / light tan drops readily and leaves little lacing about the glass.
Aroma: Caramel and brown malts in the nose. It hints at chocolate and roastiness. Clean.
Flavor: Not as malty as the nose suggests, but pleasant. Caramelish, toasty, gently chocolatey, and subtly roasty. There are only background hops, leafy and herbal, mainly coming through in the dry, lingering finish. Median bitterness.
Mouthfeel: Light-medium body. Gently crisp. Median carbonation.
Overall: Not a bad beer, but not a great one. Although it lacks in malt flavor, and body, I'd certainly take the flavors of the malt in this one over most of the bland golden lagers that are so popular in Canada (there are some good ones).
Reviewed by Noxious26 from Canada (SK)
3.01/5 rDev -8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 3
3.01/5 rDev -8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 3
341ml brown bottle with twist off cap poured in a dimpled mug. Thanks to my buddy Mike for the beer!
Brown-ruby in colour and clear. Off white head is 1/8 inch on the pour and recedes to a thin ring around the outside. Specks of lacing here and there.
Subdued maltiness in the aroma. Hints of nuts and wood.
Pure maltiness through and through. Malty with some woody and nutty flavours.
Pretty simple and straight forward. Medium bodied with lots of pin pricks of carbonation on the tongue.
Not bad, but nothing to write home about either.
Apr 06, 2014Brown-ruby in colour and clear. Off white head is 1/8 inch on the pour and recedes to a thin ring around the outside. Specks of lacing here and there.
Subdued maltiness in the aroma. Hints of nuts and wood.
Pure maltiness through and through. Malty with some woody and nutty flavours.
Pretty simple and straight forward. Medium bodied with lots of pin pricks of carbonation on the tongue.
Not bad, but nothing to write home about either.
Reviewed by papat444 from Canada (QC)
3.25/5 rDev -0.6%
look: 2.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25
3.25/5 rDev -0.6%
look: 2.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25
Poured from a 341ml bottle, no #freshbeer info.
Bit of a murky reddish-brown body with a very thin head that disappears too fast and leaves nothing behind. Aroma is metallic nuttiness, peanut skins and dried fruit. Flavor is much the same with dried cranberries, unsalted nuts with the skin. Malty, medium bodied and very chewy. This would have scored higher if it was more visually appealing.
Feb 24, 2014Bit of a murky reddish-brown body with a very thin head that disappears too fast and leaves nothing behind. Aroma is metallic nuttiness, peanut skins and dried fruit. Flavor is much the same with dried cranberries, unsalted nuts with the skin. Malty, medium bodied and very chewy. This would have scored higher if it was more visually appealing.
Reviewed by thehyperduck from Canada (ON)
3.45/5 rDev +5.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
3.45/5 rDev +5.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
341 mL bottle pulled from a brewery sampler pack; bottled July 31 2013 (a weird time to start bottling a light winter ale, but whatever). It's been a few years since I've tried anything new from OS - I managed to sample a few of their flagship beers when I was living out west and was mildly impressed, but to be fair I hadn't had much experience with craft beer at that point. Served well-chilled.
Pours a deep, chestnut-bronze colour, topped with a half-finger of puffy, off-white coloured head that is rather short-lived, fizzling away in less than a minute's time. The aroma is fairly enticing and unsurprisingly mild, with notes of caramel sweetness, toasted nuts and a slight hint of baker's chocolate. Nothing fancy, but I really want to take a sip at this point, so the bouquet is certainly doing its job.
The flavour is comparably balanced and mild. Notes of toasted, bready malts start off the profile, with a light brown sugar sweetness present initially. After a light brushing of plum fruitiness, It dries out toward the finish, offering up a combination of chocolate milk powder, toasted nuts and some vaguely earthy hoppage. The finish is bittersweet, with the taste of nutty roast lingering briefly on the palate. Light-bodied and a little thin, with a bit more carbonation than I want from a mild/brown ale. Quite easy to drink, due to the balanced flavour profile and extremely light nature.
Final Grade: 3.45, a B-. Mild Winter Ale doesn't offer any surprises, especially to people familiar with this brewery - it isn't especially creative or all that interesting, but it accomplishes what it set out to do - which is to create a nice, light, sessionable mild dark ale for the winter months. Not a bad beer, but I am left feeling a little underwhelmed. I'd try this on-tap or something, but it's nothing memorable as far as this style goes.
Nov 09, 2013Pours a deep, chestnut-bronze colour, topped with a half-finger of puffy, off-white coloured head that is rather short-lived, fizzling away in less than a minute's time. The aroma is fairly enticing and unsurprisingly mild, with notes of caramel sweetness, toasted nuts and a slight hint of baker's chocolate. Nothing fancy, but I really want to take a sip at this point, so the bouquet is certainly doing its job.
The flavour is comparably balanced and mild. Notes of toasted, bready malts start off the profile, with a light brown sugar sweetness present initially. After a light brushing of plum fruitiness, It dries out toward the finish, offering up a combination of chocolate milk powder, toasted nuts and some vaguely earthy hoppage. The finish is bittersweet, with the taste of nutty roast lingering briefly on the palate. Light-bodied and a little thin, with a bit more carbonation than I want from a mild/brown ale. Quite easy to drink, due to the balanced flavour profile and extremely light nature.
Final Grade: 3.45, a B-. Mild Winter Ale doesn't offer any surprises, especially to people familiar with this brewery - it isn't especially creative or all that interesting, but it accomplishes what it set out to do - which is to create a nice, light, sessionable mild dark ale for the winter months. Not a bad beer, but I am left feeling a little underwhelmed. I'd try this on-tap or something, but it's nothing memorable as far as this style goes.
Reviewed by CookstLiquor from Canada (BC)
3.62/5 rDev +10.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
3.62/5 rDev +10.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
Poured from a 355 ml bottle. Pours a clear brownish orange colour. Notes of cereal malt on the nose. Not much else. Palate offers nutty, roasty chocolate malt notes. Slight bitter finish. Very easy drinking and pleasant, but simple. An unusual style for a "winter ale."
Oct 22, 2013
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