Winter Cheer Ale
Spanish Peaks Brewing Co.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This beer poured out as a nice looking deep red color. The head was an off white and left a decent lacing. The smell of the beer was a little spicy but not anything like what a typical Winter Ale is usually like. The taste of a beer had some deep roasted malts in there with some caramel ones to balance out the beer. The other flavors don't really give off a lot of Christmasy flavors to me. It's more like a typical red ale really. The mouthfeel is decent. Overall I wouldn't go out of my way to try this one again.

DOn't remember where or when I got this, and it must be somewhat old, but here goes.

The head rises up to about a finger and fades at a decent pace with lots of big bubbles mixed in a thick creamy head. The beer is very dark, mostly brown with lots of dark red mixed in, like a maroon chocolate color.

THe nose brings on lots of dark syrups, a little brown sugar, molasses, and maybe corn syrup like, with some dark malts, and there's some interesting fruit aromas. Interestingly it has a light aged bourbon oak chip aroma too, which is surprising.

The taste is not like that, but it does start with more syrups. Some molasses, brown sugar, and sweet syrups add to the rich maltiness of it. A little caramel malt as well. Lots of malts, darker, also bring some minerality to one of the roasted malts. There is a very light hoppy bitterness, which is probably stronger when fresh. SLightly chewy malts, and very light fruits finish it off.

The mouth is medium bodied with decent carbonation.

It finishes slightly sweet but dries a bit, with some bitterness coming on strong on the finish. It has a nice earthy and very slightly spicy bitterness, reminds me of an ESB. Some lingering toasty and dark malts, with more syrupy flavors and stickiness. A slight mineral bitter off flavor also finishes through.

Sampled a 12 oz bottle in season, 2009. Review from notes.

Pours very dark brown/copper, cloudy. Dark malty aroma. Taste is old coffee, a little musty with a bitter hop twang at the end. A bit of spices detected. Finish and drinkability average. OK, worth this one try.

The color is a deep coppery brownish amber. An aggressive pours makes for a thick, dense and rocky head that leaves fat patches of lacing in the glass.
The aroma is strongly off malts right up front, with natural toffee, dark chocolate and coffee notes. A gentle nutmeg-like spice in the back reminds that it is a winter seasonal.
There's surprisingly good balance and more hops than I'd expect. Hops and malts compliment each other well and the gentle spice is underlying rather than overwhelming, adding a nice effect and aftertaste.
The body is medium and there's moderate carbonation. It's more crisp than smooth.
This is a good winter offering and I'm sure it's fairly old; this makes me wonder if it just ages well. The spice is at an optimal level; evident, though not especially strong, and lingering through every sip.

Found a bottle in the back of the fridge so I thought I'd give it a try even though it's a little out of season...

A- Pours a deep amber with a decent size off-white head, which retains slightly and leaves some lacing

S- Nutty and some chocolaty notes accompany the generally malty aroma..not much hop character detected

T- Sweet with hints of nuts and chocolate, overall a fairly smooth drink..not a ton of complexity, but could be worse

M- Good body to this beer with a medium amount of carbonation..

D- Overall a nice beer with good drinkability...definitely a beer I might keep an eye out for next year..

I think this is correctly listed as a red ale...the description on the bottle makes one think this will be a heavy duty high gravity beer but in reality it is a nice drinking, relatively hopped up Amber Ale.

A-Brown with amber highlights.

S-Very nice....spicy and fruity hop notes...malt gives off a toffee aroma.

T-Not as good as the smell but decent....relatively hoppy but backed with the toffee like malt backbone...hops are earthy and spicy mainly with some mild fruitiness (pears).

M-Medium bodied at best...seems thin and watery at times...finishes dry.

D-Once I got past the expectation that this was going to be a big ass winter beer and started enjoying it for what I was actually experiencing I actually liked it...solid red ale...I wouldn't turn one of these down...biggest knock is a watery feel to the body...

A - Single finger of head that dies down to a steady lacing. The color is exceptionally dark, but when held up to the light it is a very very dark red.

S - Lots of yeast and spice. Very pleasing to the nose.

T - I had hoped for more from the smell, but the flavor is relatively weak, some malt and a slight hop bit, but not much above average.

M - Much thinner then most of the style, the aftertaste is pleasant coffee, but again nothing to write home about.

Poured from a 12 oz. bottle exactly like the one pictured above. Poured into my clean, clear Samuel Smith pint glass. Got this from my friend Floyd around Christmas time. Thanks Floyd!

A Nice frothy head over a ruby red dark brown translucent head. Nice lacing left on glass after repeated drinking.

S Nice winter warmer smell with some strength, some body to it.

T Malt, hops, spice, maybe nutmeg, cinnamon, a nice bigness to it. A nice beer that should be categorized a winter warmer and not an amber/red ale.

M Full with malt, hops, spices. A big beer.

D Good. I would look for this again.

Notes: A very solid holiday beer. I am glad that I tried this one.

Pours a dark brown chocolate color with a quickly disappearing tan color head.

Mostly smells of malty sweetness but there was a good smell of hops lingering in the back.

Again, the malt comes through early on, but the hops are strong in the middle and the aftertaste is a weird spice.

The mouthfeel is medium to think which tastes thicker than the beer actually is.

I can't put my finger on the aftertaste, but I don't enjoy it. The beer is alright overall.

I was pleasantly surprised at how dark this beer poured. There was only a minimal head (am I pouring incorrectly?) that quickly dissipated. The smell was primarily of malt, but hops could be detected. Slight spiciness was present but not too prevalent. The taste was pleasing but a little too hoppy for my liking. I think this would be better with a burger or other hunk of red meat rather than a sit-back-and-relax drink. Mouthfeel was good: not too thin. Overall, I would say this beer is slightly above average. I'm not a fan of hops but if you are, this would be very nice.

It's a deep chestnut in the glass with a thinnish but dense and creamy khaki head. Leaves sheeting lace. There's a nutty, malty aroma intertwined with a biting herbal hop smell.

The first sip delivers lots more hops than I expected. Spicy, herbal hops balanced by a nutty sweet malt. Sticky finish but a relatively light mouthfeel.

Be forewarned...if you're looking for a big, bold winter warmer, you won't find it here. But it is well-balanced and an easy drinker. As long as you're not expecting it to hit you over the head, it's well worth checking out.

Pours a very deep dark ruby with a big foamy tan head that falls to a minimal head. Nice lace.

Malt nose with hints of hops.

Sweet malt in taste with considerable hop spice. Not a very pleasant metallic finish.

Medium bodied in the mouth.

Very average beer.

Winter Cheer Ale pours a dark brown color with an off white head from a brown twelve ounce bottle. The aroma is kind of hoppy, although malt is clearly present as well. The flavor is malty up front but finishes fairly hoppy and with some caramel. A decent ale, worth a try.