Winter Warmer Ale
No-Li Brewhouse

22 oz bottle into a Samuel Smith pint glass.

A: Pours a dark chestnut color with high levels of haziness. The head is a somewhat fluffy one finger light caramel color. Good texturing, retention, and lacing in general.

S: The well-hopped nature comes out immediately - there seem to be a lot of Centennial hops in this one, as the grapefruit peel and piny qualities make themselves known somewhat strongly. After a slight period of warming up, caramel, marzipan, toffee, and delicate winter spicing pop up. An enjoyable aroma that harkens back to Arrogant Bastard.

T: It's hoppy, but pleasantly so. Definitely a pine-forward hop profile, but the hops also seem to bring forth a slight nuttiness forward, as well. It will take a couple sips, but some very subtle spicing (ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, maybe even some vanilla) enters the back end nicely. The general balance of flavors is the trump card here - it could have been overhopped, but it skirts the line between winter warmer and IPA nicely. Once it warms up, it becomes sweeter and less hoppy.

M: It's a bit tingly and sharp, likely due to both the malt backbone and the carbonation. The flavors linger strongly on the finish and aftertaste, leaving both a lot of bittersweet syrupiness and slight hop oils. Feel wise, it does a good job of fulfilling the premise of a typical winter warmer.

O: I know I compared this to Arrogant Bastard in the aroma synopsis - but with the nuttiness, the piny hops, and the subtle spice esters, this bears a passing resemblance to Stone's ubiquitous strong ale, albeit with a bit more balance and craftsmanship. I wouldn't necessarily seek it out, but I'm nonetheless enjoying this one very well.

 

 

 

This is a dandy beer - not really "as advertised", but dandy nonetheless. It pours beautifully - frothy head, clear amber, lovely lacing as it disappears. To me, the flavour and smell scream "pale ale that got put into a winter warmer bottle by accident". There is plenty here to make me like it - bready malt, orange-pamplemousse hop bite, kinda like...a pale ale. I don't pick up much seasonal spice, though the warming ABV makes me happy in a Christmas kind of way?

 

 

 

Nice spicy, piney big red ale

 

 

full review: http://wp.me/p5urG4-gL
Poured a nice amber head. Small and lacy. Great amber/red hue. It was really difficult for me to get the light caramel smell I finally got. With the taste and palate this could almost be a year round beer. In my opinion, it wasn't what I have come to expect about the winter seasonals. Not saying it was a bad beer, just not what I was expecting. To me, I got an acidic taste up from with the bitterness coming in on the backend. It was on the lower end of the medium body.

 

22oz bottle, apparently part of No-Li's Expo Series.

This beer pours a clear, bright medium copper amber hue, with two skinny fingers of puffy, loosely foamy, and mildly bubbly ecru head, which leaves some chunky iceberg profile lace around the glass as it evenly subsides.

It smells of semi-sweet bready caramel malt, soft dark orchard fruit, a low-key orange and white grapefruit citrus bitterness, faint earthy spices, and a tame, lurking estery alcohol warmth. The taste is somewhat sugary toffee, softly grainy caramel malt, concentrated drupe fruit, a bit of seasonal spice - maybe some cinnamon, perhaps some nutmeg - fading weedy, piney, and citrusy hops, and ascending cold, steely booze.

The carbonation is adequate for the job at hand, what with its lifting frothiness, the body a sturdy middleweight, and more or less smooth, the malt taking on all comers, and even engendering a mote of creaminess as it warms. It finishes well off-dry, toffee this, caramel that, dark fruitiness over there, you get the picture, because the hops and alcohol kinda don't.

I suppose I shouldn't be so hard on this one, as one of the tenets of the style is a husky maltiness. Maybe it's my expectation of a PAC-NW brewer to hop the hell out of everything, but I know that to just be a (well-earned) stereotype. So, in the end, a tasty, engaging, and uber alles, warming (if edging on hot) winter brew.

So incredible. That is all I have to say. There is nothing I would rather come home to on a snowy winter day than this beer.

 

 

Pretty boozy. Nothing special, except for the fact that there's no weird ass gingerbread spices floating around in this one.

 

 

 

 

RB

22 picked up today at the COOP but seen it around town at most of the usual haunts.. Pours a very deep red.. pretty clear.. light khaki head.. Smells like dark toast and malt extract stewed in water.. A bit of grassy/earthy hoppiness helps... Flavor is really weird to me, tastes like malt extract water .. Tons of toasty maltiness/melanoidin malt(?) without enough hop bitterness or (especially) hop flavor to balance.. Not a fan..

I could have been much worse on this one.. but perhaps my taster is broken tonight.. But I don't think so.

3.75/3.25/3/3.25/3

 

22 oz bottle served in a snifter.
Cloudy brown-amber body with a weak head.
Aroma: toffee; dark bread; bisquits; plums; mixed spices.
Flavor: complex and dynamic, with a sweet start and a moderate load of hops kicking in mid-taste, adding mild bitterness and nice herbal and floral notes.
O: distinct, interesting and recommended.

 

 

Pours a hazy amber red with decent head and nice lacing. Aromas of caramel, cinnamon, and spice. Tastes of medium roasted malts of caramel and light brown sugar up front with bittering hops and cinnamon and nutmeg dominating the aftertaste. A hopped up ESB, not fantastic but not undrinkable although could use more alcoholic umph! to make it a true "warmer", although it is a creeper. Not the best of the winter warmers, but far from the worst. Cheers

 

 

A: Ruby amber hued body with a thick creamy tan head leaving behind good lace. Decent head retention.
S: Toffee, caramel malt aromas. A hint of spice and cinnamon becomes apparent as it warms.
T: Malt forward flavors start sweet with caramel, toffee and brown sugar notes. The finish is dry, lightly hoppy, spicy & bitter.
M: Chewy body that is smooth with a clean dry bitter back end.
O: Balanced spicy malt-centric warmer that is perfect for even colder spring days.

 

 

A nice beer to quaff. Minimal head, more than ample carbonation, not a great deal of lacing. Smells like you would expect an ale to smell. A little woodsy, even. Strong hop presence, firm bite at first taste. Good afterburn. I liked this ale well enough, but there was nothing terribly interesting or exciting about it. Just a good, solid ale with a pleasing taste.

 

22 ounce bottle, it's a new arrival at my local beer store so I assume it's pretty fresh. It's the new red screen printed label so I think it's a 2013 bottle. Served in a pint glass, the beer pours a clear reddish/copper color with an inch off-white head that sticks around a while. There's also a good amount of lacing. The brew smells like citrusy hops, nuts, toffee, and some bready malt. It tastes like citrusy and spicy hops, toffee, nuts, bready malt, and some light fruit and vanilla. Mouthfeel/body is medium, it's a bit slick and syrupy, and has a good amount of carbonation. It's certainly not a traditional winter warmer, but I think it's a good beer. It was certainly a nice surprise compared to the usual heavily spiced winter warmers out there. This is the first No-Li beer I've had, so I'll have to try more of their brews now. $7.99 a bomber.

Pours into an impy nonic a clear brilliant ruby with a half finger slightly off white lacey head atop.Aromas of brown sugar,vanilla,and light nuttiness,not much hop presence.Flavors ar of that brown sugar and nut along with caramel toffee,a good smack of spiciness from the hops in the finish.My first winter seasonal of the year and yet again Iam left pretty impressed with No-Li.

 

 

Poured from 22oz bomber into a pint glass. I know we're past winter, but in the chilly early spring of Seattle, I could use a little warming.

Appearance: red-orange hue with a mostly haze-free body but several big floaties in the mix. A moderate effervescence leads to two thick fingers of pillowy tan foam, due possibly to an overzealous pour on my part. Still, a rather-attractive beer.

Smell: sticky-sweet and almost fruity aroma. There's a little bit of hop character here, but I think this brew could be best described as pear juice. Not necessarily a bad thing for the style, but really it is a bit over-sweet for me.

Taste: sweet and syrupy; somewhat appropriate but even for the style this is really sweet. Flavor is good, but ... holy diabetes, Batman!

Mouthfeel: moderate body with a decent carbonation. Honestly, from the syrupy flavor, I would have expected a little more body. It's alright.

Overall: I harped on the sweetness plenty above, but I should say that it's not wholly out of style. It is, however, largely out of my range of appreciation. Try this beer if you want a treacly dessert.