Winter Warmer
Highlander Beer

they were calling this wassail winter warmer where i had it, on tap at a pizza place in sun valley, and it was listed at 6.2% abv, but nobody makes more than one winter warmer do they? this has to be the same beer i think, especially given that it was added this winter season, but who knows. its sort of a half brown half sweet scotch ale to me, leaning sweet, long boiled and concentrated, and its well spiced, does that sound like this one? nutmeg, clove, ginger, orange peel, pretty bold on the spices too, maybe overdone to some palates, especially with the dark sticky almost malt extract-like grain sugar, molasses and mashed up raisins to me in both nose and taste, surprised at the lower alcohol too, it drinks stronger than its listed for sure, almost imperial, and with less carbonation than it could have, a pint felt like a pretty big dose. subtle black and white pepper, leather and tobacco, and more nutmeg than the other spices, some essential oil character from the orange is also very apparent, neat that there doesnt seem to be cinnamon in it, which usually gets tossed in with these other spices, and neat that there is a yeast element, kind of one part english to me and almost one part german bock, which i know is odd for this, but thats how it hits, obviously not a lager, but it a little bit tastes like that. some really intense grain here, and lots of chewy body, fits the winter warmer bill well, but is definitely not a high volume thing. i like the bit of orange pith bitterness later on, and the way the spices make it festive, even as we say goodbye to the season this is meant for. not the best ive had from these guys lately, they have really been bringing some cool beers to the market, but a unique take on a less and less common style. wassail isnt around much anymore, and i enjoyed this interpretation, but the sweetness is surely limiting for most drinkers.