The First Snow Ale | RJ Rockers Brewing Company
Brewed by:
RJ Rockers Brewing Company
South Carolina, United States
rjrockers.com
Style: Winter Warmer
Alcohol by volume (ABV): 6.00%
Availability: Fall
Notes / Commercial Description:
This hearty American pale ale contains a rich blend of spices that warms the soul on a cold winter's night. Chill the mug, stoke the fire, and savor this quality seasonal brew. Available only during the Winter season.
Added by SaCkErZ9 on 10-12-2005
Ratings: 198 | Reviews: 79
Reviews by Bernoulli:
More User Reviews:
3.82/5 rDev +4.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
12oz brown bottle, no freshness date.
Hazed amber with a healthy looking off white lace. Toasted grain and spicing in nose. Smooth and semi-slick medium body. First sip the taste buds get pushed around by the spicing and hop bitterness. After that settles more of an orange rind and dry toasted malt take over. A little fruity with a faint warming alcohol ester in the back. Maltiness mingles with the nutty yeast which both linger with some fading spiciness in the semi-dry finish.
Good balance for this spiced Winter Warmer, a little rough around the edges but I dig that. I find with spiced beers if they are too clean the spicing immediately takes over, not the case here. Give this one a go.
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look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
12oz brown bottle, no freshness date.
Hazed amber with a healthy looking off white lace. Toasted grain and spicing in nose. Smooth and semi-slick medium body. First sip the taste buds get pushed around by the spicing and hop bitterness. After that settles more of an orange rind and dry toasted malt take over. A little fruity with a faint warming alcohol ester in the back. Maltiness mingles with the nutty yeast which both linger with some fading spiciness in the semi-dry finish.
Good balance for this spiced Winter Warmer, a little rough around the edges but I dig that. I find with spiced beers if they are too clean the spicing immediately takes over, not the case here. Give this one a go.
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4/5 rDev +9.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Got from casemw!
The beer is a clear golden when poured into the glass with a one finger head that lasts most of the drink and leaves a nice lacing!
Smells of cinnamon, clove, citrus, and maybe a caramel tone to the beer.
This beer has a sweetness of I believe caramel malt and a slight bitterness, but not much. Nice though.
Beer has a medium body with a nice semi dry finish!
I could drink many of these!
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look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Got from casemw!
The beer is a clear golden when poured into the glass with a one finger head that lasts most of the drink and leaves a nice lacing!
Smells of cinnamon, clove, citrus, and maybe a caramel tone to the beer.
This beer has a sweetness of I believe caramel malt and a slight bitterness, but not much. Nice though.
Beer has a medium body with a nice semi dry finish!
I could drink many of these!
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3.28/5 rDev -10.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3
Poured from a 12 oz. bottle into a shaker pint glass.
A--Light amber/medium orange body with a single finger of fizzy white head which dies quickly and leaves no lacing. I have a feeling that's the glass's fault, though, not the beer's.
S--Apple pie--clove and cinnamon, with a hint of ginger. No malt or hops come through.
T--More of the same, with a bit of basic pale malt biscuit backing in the middle of the profile. Mostly it's the same spices as the nose, in the same proportion: clove and cinnamon, followed by finger. Hop bitterness but no hop flavor really. Kind of blah.
M&D--Mouthfeel's fine. Again, like a pale ale: somewhat chewy but light. Lively carbonation that's welcome. Drinkability? Meh. You've seen this before. Reminiscent for me of Smutty's Pumpkin Ale, without the pumpkin and without the great hop finish, or Hooker's Nor' Easter, except less clean and smooth.
Son of a Peach was better, but I'm interested in this brewery.
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look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3
Poured from a 12 oz. bottle into a shaker pint glass.
A--Light amber/medium orange body with a single finger of fizzy white head which dies quickly and leaves no lacing. I have a feeling that's the glass's fault, though, not the beer's.
S--Apple pie--clove and cinnamon, with a hint of ginger. No malt or hops come through.
T--More of the same, with a bit of basic pale malt biscuit backing in the middle of the profile. Mostly it's the same spices as the nose, in the same proportion: clove and cinnamon, followed by finger. Hop bitterness but no hop flavor really. Kind of blah.
M&D--Mouthfeel's fine. Again, like a pale ale: somewhat chewy but light. Lively carbonation that's welcome. Drinkability? Meh. You've seen this before. Reminiscent for me of Smutty's Pumpkin Ale, without the pumpkin and without the great hop finish, or Hooker's Nor' Easter, except less clean and smooth.
Son of a Peach was better, but I'm interested in this brewery.
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4/5 rDev +9.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
A - dark orangish amber with a thin lacing of off white head that has little retention
S - pie spice, bread, nutmeg, cinnamon
T - nutmeg, cinnamon, bread, pie crust, all spice
M - medium bodied, well carbonated
This is a decent brew. If there was a hint of pumpkin here it would make an excellent beer. There pie spices and crust-like bready notes are pretty damn good. I really liked this beer for it's drinkability and it's spice character. A few of these will definitely warm you up in the late autumn.
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look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
A - dark orangish amber with a thin lacing of off white head that has little retention
S - pie spice, bread, nutmeg, cinnamon
T - nutmeg, cinnamon, bread, pie crust, all spice
M - medium bodied, well carbonated
This is a decent brew. If there was a hint of pumpkin here it would make an excellent beer. There pie spices and crust-like bready notes are pretty damn good. I really liked this beer for it's drinkability and it's spice character. A few of these will definitely warm you up in the late autumn.
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3.87/5 rDev +6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
First Snow pours a hazy amber body with golden highlights beneath a short-lived head of creamy white.
Cinnamon is apparent in the nose, but there are other spices there as well, and a bit of caramel-laced malt too.
The flavor is just as spicy as the aroma, and it's easily on par with a pumpkin ale (cinnamon, nutmeg, all-spice, ...?). The spicing is a little bit different though, and it's a bit softer. I taste ginger in the finish, although I'm not sure if that's where it's coming from, it could be a combination of spices; perhaps some citrus zest as well. The malt is pretty basic, appearing bready with some medium caramel notes. It supports the spicing really well, but doesn't stand out on its own. Some mild grassy hops are also present, making themselves known across the middle, and then within the background during the finish. Surprisingly, the spices fade rather quickly given the strength that they show up front.
Overall, it's a pretty nice spiced ale that displays good balance. It could be a bit more rounded, but at the same time I kind of enjoy the slap of spice upfront, and then a soft finish. In fact, that's probably actually better than having everything a little bit more integrated throughout.
Worth trying, but I disagree with the label that suggests you "chill the mug" (or glass) before drinking - this was best after it warmed a touch and the malt was able to balance the spices a little bit more.
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look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
First Snow pours a hazy amber body with golden highlights beneath a short-lived head of creamy white.
Cinnamon is apparent in the nose, but there are other spices there as well, and a bit of caramel-laced malt too.
The flavor is just as spicy as the aroma, and it's easily on par with a pumpkin ale (cinnamon, nutmeg, all-spice, ...?). The spicing is a little bit different though, and it's a bit softer. I taste ginger in the finish, although I'm not sure if that's where it's coming from, it could be a combination of spices; perhaps some citrus zest as well. The malt is pretty basic, appearing bready with some medium caramel notes. It supports the spicing really well, but doesn't stand out on its own. Some mild grassy hops are also present, making themselves known across the middle, and then within the background during the finish. Surprisingly, the spices fade rather quickly given the strength that they show up front.
Overall, it's a pretty nice spiced ale that displays good balance. It could be a bit more rounded, but at the same time I kind of enjoy the slap of spice upfront, and then a soft finish. In fact, that's probably actually better than having everything a little bit more integrated throughout.
Worth trying, but I disagree with the label that suggests you "chill the mug" (or glass) before drinking - this was best after it warmed a touch and the malt was able to balance the spices a little bit more.
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3.3/5 rDev -9.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Poured into a pint glass.
A- Pours a coppery amber color. 2 finger white head, little retention. Little lacing.
S- Light toasted malts aroma mixed with nutmeg, cinnamon, and clove
T- Toasted malts , cinnamon, caramel malt, clove and nutmeg.
M- Carbonation is good, Spices is what comes out of this beer.
O- Not a bad beer will have again.
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look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Poured into a pint glass.
A- Pours a coppery amber color. 2 finger white head, little retention. Little lacing.
S- Light toasted malts aroma mixed with nutmeg, cinnamon, and clove
T- Toasted malts , cinnamon, caramel malt, clove and nutmeg.
M- Carbonation is good, Spices is what comes out of this beer.
O- Not a bad beer will have again.
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3.15/5 rDev -13.7%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
4/5 rDev +9.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Served from tap into a Dogfish Head shaker. Poured golden yellow with a one and a half finger bone white head. Maintained phenomenal lacing throughout. The aroma was comprised of malt, cinnamon, corriander, cloves, and candy cane. Yes, candy cane... The flavor was of malt, cloves, corriander, cinnamon, and a slight banana note. It had a light feel on the palate with mild carbonation. Overall this was quite a nice brew. Given that it was a winter brew and I had it in the early fall really says something about this one. I am still in shock even after the next day that I got candy cane on the nose... This is definitely a nice and smooth drinking beer with no harsh flavors anywhere in sight. I will definitely be drinking more of this in the coming winter months for sure. This is a definite must try on tap.
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look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Served from tap into a Dogfish Head shaker. Poured golden yellow with a one and a half finger bone white head. Maintained phenomenal lacing throughout. The aroma was comprised of malt, cinnamon, corriander, cloves, and candy cane. Yes, candy cane... The flavor was of malt, cloves, corriander, cinnamon, and a slight banana note. It had a light feel on the palate with mild carbonation. Overall this was quite a nice brew. Given that it was a winter brew and I had it in the early fall really says something about this one. I am still in shock even after the next day that I got candy cane on the nose... This is definitely a nice and smooth drinking beer with no harsh flavors anywhere in sight. I will definitely be drinking more of this in the coming winter months for sure. This is a definite must try on tap.
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3.64/5 rDev -0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
A holiday nose that features health spicing makes me draw back and admire the amber color and lovely head on this one. Nose showcases the spices while allowing a solid malt bill to underpin and hold court. Taste is an enjoyable pale ale holiday. Feel and flavor give a winter weightiness. Nice. An above averages take on the style that lends itself to session style rounds of drinking.
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look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
A holiday nose that features health spicing makes me draw back and admire the amber color and lovely head on this one. Nose showcases the spices while allowing a solid malt bill to underpin and hold court. Taste is an enjoyable pale ale holiday. Feel and flavor give a winter weightiness. Nice. An above averages take on the style that lends itself to session style rounds of drinking.
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3.32/5 rDev -9%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Poured from 12oz bottle. Thanks to VinnieVanGogh for the bottle.
A- Pours a coppery amber color. One and a half finger white head shows poor retention. Specks of lace left on the glass as the streaks tended to fall back into the glass.
S- Light toasted malts aroma mixes with nutmeg, cinnamon, and hints of clove in the front of the aroma. Very spice forward. Light darker fruit seem to be in here...nothing else is really in here. Just a lot of spice forwardness to the nose. Alcohol really doesn't show at all.
T- Toasted malts with a hint of darker fruit in the front end. The toasted malts dominate over the darker fruit which lets the cinnamon come out as the first spice. Middle of the beer shows a light caramel malt with clove and nutmeg. The ending of the beer shows the trio of spicing with a light alcohol hint in the ending.
M- Light mouthfeel. Carbonation is good for the style. Spicing is mostly all that is left on the palate. Aftertaste is mostly light alcohol and spicing. Flavors are spice forward which is kind of what I expected. No off flavors were present in this beer. Light alcohol drying on the palate.
O- This beer was nothing special but a nice one time beer. The ABV doesn't show at all which I liked. A little spiced forward which I thought could be tones down a little. Overall I would try again but wouldn't go out of my way to buy it again.
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look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Poured from 12oz bottle. Thanks to VinnieVanGogh for the bottle.
A- Pours a coppery amber color. One and a half finger white head shows poor retention. Specks of lace left on the glass as the streaks tended to fall back into the glass.
S- Light toasted malts aroma mixes with nutmeg, cinnamon, and hints of clove in the front of the aroma. Very spice forward. Light darker fruit seem to be in here...nothing else is really in here. Just a lot of spice forwardness to the nose. Alcohol really doesn't show at all.
T- Toasted malts with a hint of darker fruit in the front end. The toasted malts dominate over the darker fruit which lets the cinnamon come out as the first spice. Middle of the beer shows a light caramel malt with clove and nutmeg. The ending of the beer shows the trio of spicing with a light alcohol hint in the ending.
M- Light mouthfeel. Carbonation is good for the style. Spicing is mostly all that is left on the palate. Aftertaste is mostly light alcohol and spicing. Flavors are spice forward which is kind of what I expected. No off flavors were present in this beer. Light alcohol drying on the palate.
O- This beer was nothing special but a nice one time beer. The ABV doesn't show at all which I liked. A little spiced forward which I thought could be tones down a little. Overall I would try again but wouldn't go out of my way to buy it again.
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3.5/5 rDev -4.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
12oz bottle poured into a pint glass, bottled 10/13/14
A- pours a deep golden color with a ruby hue, small fizzy white head quickly reduces to a film floating on top
S- lots of holiday spicing on the aroma with an emphasis on cinnamon & allspice, there’s some fruit aroma reminiscent of fruitcake, slightly sweet from the honey
T- initial honey sweetness up front eventually gives way to spicy flavors of cinnamon & clove, dryi-ish finish with lingers of spices
M- medium body and carbonation leads to a foamy mouthfeel and finish
O- a nice winter warmer that has a good blend of spicing
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look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
12oz bottle poured into a pint glass, bottled 10/13/14
A- pours a deep golden color with a ruby hue, small fizzy white head quickly reduces to a film floating on top
S- lots of holiday spicing on the aroma with an emphasis on cinnamon & allspice, there’s some fruit aroma reminiscent of fruitcake, slightly sweet from the honey
T- initial honey sweetness up front eventually gives way to spicy flavors of cinnamon & clove, dryi-ish finish with lingers of spices
M- medium body and carbonation leads to a foamy mouthfeel and finish
O- a nice winter warmer that has a good blend of spicing
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3.96/5 rDev +8.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
Pint on-tap at Rooster's Beak.
A: The pour is a slightly clouded amber color with a finger of soapy, dirty-white head that holds and laces very well.
S: Orange peel, coriander, caramel, and toast. It smells like an American Pale Wheat Ale with a bready edge.
T: Strong citrus, coriander, biscuit and caramel malt, and faint grassy notes. It tastes like the coming of Spring.
M: The body is medium with lots of creaminess and a very smooth finish.
D: This very good but not what I expected with the name "First Snow Ale" because it is quite light and citrusy for the style.
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look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
Pint on-tap at Rooster's Beak.
A: The pour is a slightly clouded amber color with a finger of soapy, dirty-white head that holds and laces very well.
S: Orange peel, coriander, caramel, and toast. It smells like an American Pale Wheat Ale with a bready edge.
T: Strong citrus, coriander, biscuit and caramel malt, and faint grassy notes. It tastes like the coming of Spring.
M: The body is medium with lots of creaminess and a very smooth finish.
D: This very good but not what I expected with the name "First Snow Ale" because it is quite light and citrusy for the style.
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3.59/5 rDev -1.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Poured from a brown 12 oz. bottle. Has a very dark golden color with a 1/2 inch head. Smell is full of spices, cinnamon coming through strong. Taste is lighter than the smell, some spices, malts, a touch of honey, very easy drinking. Feels medium bodied in the mouth and overall, while not spectacular, is a solid beer.
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look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Poured from a brown 12 oz. bottle. Has a very dark golden color with a 1/2 inch head. Smell is full of spices, cinnamon coming through strong. Taste is lighter than the smell, some spices, malts, a touch of honey, very easy drinking. Feels medium bodied in the mouth and overall, while not spectacular, is a solid beer.
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3.77/5 rDev +3.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Had this on tap at Sonny's in Spartanburg tonight. Poured a pale amber with a decent head. The smell was full of spices and grain, as was the taste. No real hops to it. Very earthy grainy flavor, almost gritty. Had some suprising fruit undertomes to it. Went down very easy and could easily see myself drinking more of these. This was my first offering from RJ Rockers but I will be trying more
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look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Had this on tap at Sonny's in Spartanburg tonight. Poured a pale amber with a decent head. The smell was full of spices and grain, as was the taste. No real hops to it. Very earthy grainy flavor, almost gritty. Had some suprising fruit undertomes to it. Went down very easy and could easily see myself drinking more of these. This was my first offering from RJ Rockers but I will be trying more
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The First Snow Ale from RJ Rockers Brewing Company
3.65
out of 5
based on 198 ratings.
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Looks like a beer... or a cider (amber). Minuscule head. Smells like a cider without the apple.
Tastes like a winter beer (a hint of the pumpkin pie spices like nutmeg and all spice, nothing like a fall or a pumpkin, and they dominate any cinnamon flavor that might be there... that we didn't really taste). Spice up front and then the ale-i-ness following it up. Not overpowering... and even better as the glass goes on.
Very full mouth feel... maltiness and spice.
Some winter beers you have one and then it's off to sleep... this one, you'd happily have a second.
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