Winter IPA
Brooklyn Brewery

L-Pours a dark amber almost mahogany colored ale with a two fingered rocky head.

S-Malty up front with notes of cranberry and orange, maybe some nutmeg, heavy malt finish.

T-Bitter bite up front, slight malty sweetness, Notes of cranberry, orange peel and biscuit. Bitter bite towards the end as well.

F-Medium to lightly heavy mouthfeel. Carbonation is heavy.

O-Ehh, not my thing. Too bitter without any real reward to me. Some slight winter notes, but not very enjoyable.

RB transfer

Pours an opaque rusty orange brown, 0.5" head with moderate retention and lacing. Nose is barley, sticky, tacky malt, big spiced pine resin; forest floor and mulch; yeast esters. Taste is less evocative than the nose - malt forward and resinous sweetness builds through mid-palate; hops are mild and provide subtle balance. Maybe some golden raisin or similar dried fruit sweetness as well. Spice and barley on the nose isn't present. Feel is on the moderate to heavy side like most Brooklyn beers, but the mouthfeel is pretty nice and creamy. Totally fine and not blowing my mind.

12oz can
Served in a stemless wine glass

This beer pours rust colored with copper highlights and a slight haze. It is topped with a couple inches of tan head that leaves rings of lacing as I consume.

Malty and piney. I get some toast and caramel notes as well as resin aromas.

Caramel and biscuit flavors up front with a citrus and pine flavor on the ass end. Mild bitterness that lingers briefly.

Medium bodied with a creamy mouthfeel

I remember when east coast IPAs were a thing.

 

 

 

From the bottle, it pours a clear reddish brown color with a modest, though long lasting, light tan head that slowly reduces and leaves lacing. The nose gets some slight spice. The mouth gets slight bitterness initially, followed by some spicy notes and malt.

12 oz bottle poured into a tulip glass.

Nice, light brown color with decent head. Some carbonation noticeable. Not much to speak of on the smell, especially for a Winter. Bitter tones on the taste and no spiciness to speak of (as is sometimes evident with a Winter). Malty/bitter is the tone. Nice, dark beer.

 

December 2023. Des Plaines. Overall quite good Amber colored not too strong on the Christmas spice could drink more than one of these slight bitter hops.

 

A bit more pale ale-ish than I expected, but nonetheless tasty and solid. Citrus and piney notes first come to mind, followed by a notable dryness. This one grew on me as I made my way thru a sixer over the course of a few days.

 

From the lower neck of the bottle: "2573U 10003948 07:30 BB 3/31/2024"

Appearance: The body of the beer is a dark reddish-amber color with hints of dark gold at the edge. It is much darker than a standard IPA. The head is medium-short and it has both a creamy and fluffy texture. The head is slightly off-white with a bit of a tobacco stained yellow tint to it. It has excellent head retention and leaves great lacing on the glass.

Aroma: It has a bit of a caramel aroma with hints of orange marmalade.

Taste: Up front there is a sweet caramel flavor which is followed by some mellow gummy orange character. The middle of the palate has a bit of citrus pith flavor with some lingering sweetness. The back of the palate is this weird mix of freezer burn flavor and citrus pith.

Mouthfeel: It has a strong hoppy bitterness so buyers are definitely getting their money's worth in that department. The body of the beer feels a bit light. Although there is some sweetness to the beer it doesn't work to combat the bitterness but rather it exists in its own little realm similar to how oil and water don't mix. It is just a weird feeling beer with an odd drinkability.

Overall: The orange marmalade character in both the aroma and flavor were nice but there were just too many weird elements to this beer that made it unenjoyable. It has this odd sweetness and this strong citrus pith character which mostly dominates the flavor. It's still a drinkable beer but it's not something I would want to buy again and it's not something I would recommend.

 

 

 

 

12/18/22 can @ Winking Lizard Macedonia