Lions Winter Ale
Granville Island Brewery

Lions Winter AleLions Winter Ale
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From:
Granville Island Brewery
 
British Columbia, Canada
Style:
Winter Warmer
Ranked #87
ABV:
5.5%
Score:
84
Ranked #22,318
Avg:
3.73 | pDev: 15.55%
Reviews:
86
Ratings:
281
Status:
Active
Rated:
Mar 04, 2024
Added:
Oct 11, 2004
Wants:
  18
Gots:
  83
Our Lions Winter Ale combines premium malt with aromatic specialty hops. The vanilla-like finish of this robust ale is a great excuse to get out of the cold and enjoy BC’s favourite winter beer made from the finest natural ingredients.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by biegaman:
Photo of biegaman
Reviewed by biegaman from Canada (ON)

3.77/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Chestnut is always a handsome colour for a winter seasonal and, indeed, Lions Winter Ale has a look that exudes both class and personality. It demonstrates flawless clarity, decent froth and is rich with gleaming highlights. You'd sell a lot of magazines with this on the cover!

A bit quiet initially, the aromas of vanilla and creamy caramel build effortlessly once they've had a chance to properly breathe. A dash of carob and pecan-like nuttiness also grows on you, as does the faintest whiffs of waffle and bittersweet Belgian chocolate. These sweet, universally appealing scents make a very friendly introduction.

The vanilla flavouring is hardly creamy or candy-sweet - it tastes like vanilla pod not vanilla cupcake. Still, the beer feels a bit artificial. The toffee and creamy caramel notes aren't the subtler, nuanced type typically suggested by specialty malts - they are the kind you get in a store-bought cake. The flavours are rather buoyant and very toothsome, which isn't bad...

though it must be said that there is hardly a palpable taste of winter in this 'winter ale'. Christmas, maybe, because of a carob/nutmeg-like spice. But winter? This doesn't quite have the body, strength or makeup to match the harsh realities of a (non-Pacific) Canadian winter.

British Columbia's Lions Winter Ale is kind of a reflection of where it's brewed. It would be a great pint to share with friends after a mild day on the slopes, but it doesn't have the depth and complexity to support a long night of solitary inner-reflection in the midst of a dark, dead, frost-bound environment. Very tasty stuff, but buy accordingly.
Mar 08, 2013
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 1 by paylstep from Canada (ON)

Mar 04, 2024
 
Rated: 3.59 by staubot from Canada (MB)

Dec 16, 2023
 
Rated: 3.75 by basedL from Canada (AB)

Dec 08, 2023
 
Rated: 3.81 by waudozer from Canada (BC)

May 27, 2023
Photo of wildvanisle
Rated by wildvanisle from Canada (BC)

3.17/5  rDev -15%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 3
Just ok
Dec 19, 2022
 
Rated: 4.6 by jayfisher73 from Canada (SK)

Dec 08, 2022
Photo of smcolw
Reviewed by smcolw from Massachusetts

3.85/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Light brown color and clear. No remnants from the small head. No lace.

Mild vanilla spice to the nose. Mostly toasted malt smell.

The vanilla is strongest upfront on the tongue. Decent body with an average carbonation level. The finish is quick.
Nov 19, 2022
Photo of Sunsetlane_guy
Rated by Sunsetlane_guy from Canada (AB)

3.83/5  rDev +2.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Very nice winter ale Definitely recommend
Apr 16, 2022
 
Rated: 3.42 by Electros from Canada (ON)

Mar 26, 2022
 
Rated: 4.02 by Adamhb from Canada (BC)

Dec 12, 2021
Photo of Jiminie
Reviewed by Jiminie from Canada (ON)

1.06/5  rDev -71.6%
look: 2 | smell: 1 | taste: 1 | feel: 1 | overall: 1
I guess it's not surprising for a city that doesn't have winter to produce a "winter ale" like this. Appearance is not bad, but it's all downhill from there. It tastes like some unidentifiable liquid with vanilla extract and chocolate dumped in after the fermenting process. The flavour is entirely separate from the liquid itself. Somebody wrote elsewhere that it tastes "artificial," and that doesn't go far enough. Someone else wrote that it doesn't seem like these flavours came from malt alone - no kidding!! It's the winter ale for people who don't like beer, because it doesn't taste like beer at all. I suppose I should have been warned when I read "flavoured beer" on the label. If you are actually a beer drinker, stay away. This is like drinking Malibu Rum if you appreciate good rum. Disgusting.
Dec 11, 2020
Photo of InspectorHound
Reviewed by InspectorHound from Canada (ON)

3.47/5  rDev -7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Look: Pours opaque coppery brown with a foamy 2 finger white head.
Smell: Dominated by the vanilla.
Taste: Tonnes of Vanilla, some caramel, very sweet.
Feel: This beer is a little light and more watery than I remember it from past years. Plays forward in the mouth.
Overall: This beer was a favourite dessert beer of mine from years past. I always looked forward it becoming available in the LCBO each winter season. Not sure if the recipe has changed or my tastes have, but now this beer is underwhelming me. It's not a bad beer, but it's not anything I'm going to be seeking out. I'd give this beer a B-
Mar 07, 2020
 
Rated: 3.75 by bikko from Canada (ON)

Feb 21, 2020
Photo of altstadt
Reviewed by altstadt from Canada (BC)

3.64/5  rDev -2.4%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Clear red-brown color. Head formed of medium sized bubbles and quickly dropped down to a thin skiff. No lacing. High flux of small bubbles rising from the bottom keeping the minimal skiff of head replenished.

Very sweet smell blended from caramel, marshmallow, and some floral/herbal scents that seem more familiar in a soft drink like a coke. Swirling the glass kicked up cherry and chocolate scents as if a black forest cake had gone into the mash.

Tastes like a thin black forest cake, with sweet cherries and some mild chocolate. The caramel malt joins in a mid-taste. The aftertaste is of a slightly bitter chocolate that has been baked a bit.

Some tongue tingling for a while as it builds to a large bubbled foam. The foam ends up feeling like a medium heavy body.

Interesting scent and flavor. This should probably appeal more to the chocolate lovers. I would have enjoyed it more if there had been more caramel malt and less chocolate.
Nov 05, 2019
 
Rated: 3.6 by LocoLori

Oct 03, 2019
Photo of woodychandler
Reviewed by woodychandler from Pennsylvania

3.99/5  rDev +7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
Happy CANada Day, hosers! Take off, eh? This is one of my FAVORITE holidays of the year since it provides me with the impetus to a) drink CANned CANadian beer ISO The CANQuest (tm); b) watch hockey (either pre-recorded games or movies, like "Slapshot"; c) watch "Strange Brew"; d) eat some beaver & e) parade nekkid in the street while waving a CANdian flag. 2017 was their 150th Anniversary so I pulled out all of the stops, using sparklers & firecrackers as accoutrements, which was attention-getting, to say the least. The local CANstabulary was bemused & amused as they led me away, but I was less-than-thrilled with the 1st & 2nd degree burns, especially to my sensitive bits! Needless to say, I have scaled back since then. This will be my last for the holiday since having drank extensively of Ontario & some of Quebec, now it is British Columbia's turn!

A BIG "THANK YOU!" to my local, in-person trading partner, @tone77 , for providing me with a buncha beers for today's CANebration! He said that many of them will take me back to the early days of The CANQuest (tm), when AALs were the standard & the norm. No matter! Today, we CANebrate & inebriate! Cheers to our CANuck neighbors!

From the CAN: "This winter warmer features robust notes of cocoa, caramel and vanilla. So get out of the cold and into the bold. It's good to be here (R)."

I had "Rush's Greatest Hits" playing on YouTube as I Crack!ed open the vent to begin this momentous CANebration. I went with a slow, gentle C-Line Glug on this one, having just awakened from a late-evening nap. I watched in rapt fascination as it billowed into two-plus fingers of dense, foamy, rocky, deep-tan/light-brown head with moderate retention. Color was a gorgeous Coppery-Brown (SRM = > 17, < 22) with CANadian-quality clarity. Nose smelled like a liquefied chocolate cookie with notes of chocolate and vanilla with a bready, doughy sweetness. Mmm. Mouthfeel was medium. The taste was VERY chocolaty & quite sweet with an inherent doughiness. It was closer to cookie dough than an actual cookie. Finish remained sweet & chocolaty. I was less-than-enthused, but only because sweet does not do it for me. YMMV.
Jul 02, 2019
 
Rated: 3.79 by Oh_Dark_Star from Washington

Apr 21, 2019
Photo of tone77
Reviewed by tone77 from Pennsylvania

3.68/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
Poured from a 16 oz. can. Has a bronze color with a 1 inch head. Smell is of cocoa, malts. Taste has lots of cocoa powder, some vanilla is present. Feels medium bodied in the mouth and overall, not exactly what I expect from this style, but an enjoyable beer nonetheless.
Mar 22, 2019
 
Rated: 4.95 by accronin from Canada (ON)

Mar 21, 2019
Lions Winter Ale from Granville Island Brewery
Beer rating: 84 out of 100 with 281 ratings