Winter Warmer
Harpoon Brewery & Beer Hall

Acclimated to 48°F and poured into a goblet.

Pours a hazy, the color of a vintage penny, with a 1.5 finger custard colored relatively quickly dissipating head. Looks like someone stepped in the floor bed of a lake

Initial aroma is ginger (which it doesn't contain), a smooth and sweet aroma promising a pleasant spice burn. A little bit of 50ish% dark chocolate and maybe a hint of lemon peel? Additionally I can't cast the smell of clove gumdrops from my mind's eye as I inhale.

Initial taste is alcohol fumes (a pleasant alcohol burn one would expect from a winter drink), followed by light spice warmth. This is the taste you get from eggnog, and the key to that is nutmeg (this is brewed with cinnamon and nutmeg.) So, nutmeg happens to be my favorite spice by a long long shot, so this is right up my alley. It's interesting that it really does taste like eggnog, it even has a creaminess to it. The maltiness and ABV are perfect in my opinion, higher than your average lager but not at all daunting.

Mouthfeel is cream. Creaminess in taste as I stated previously but in texture as well. It's smooth but not lavishly so.

Will surely buy again! I really enjoyed this primarily because it reminded me of eggnog, which I adore. I also love the texture, and slightly boosted maltiness and ABV. As an overall package it achieves in flavor, alcohol, and richness, without boasting opulence.

Noteworthy is that I am enthralled by the entire genre of winter spiced foods and drinks, so my rating may be high, but consider.

 

 

The bottle pours amber with a 3 cm cap of tan foam and hosts an aroma of allspice and cinnamon.
The flavor is of a light-bodied amber ale. The aroma-noted spices dominate. This is tasty in the holiday moment, but another purchase is not required ( by me).

Color is a clear reddish brown, with a lot of head.
Aroma is a mix of hops and spices - cinnamon and nutmeg.
Taste is smoother than I expected. The sweet caramel flavor balances out the spices very well. Cinnamon and cloves with a bit of a nutmeg aftertaste. The hops are much less noticeable in the flavor than the aroma.
The feel is mostly creamy with some carbonation.

 

 

 

Pours a clear mahogany, light visible carb, light ring of tannish head, good lacing. Nose is clove, cinnamon, treacle, and a bit of hot alcohol towards the back. Taste follows with clove and cinnamon up front, sweet malt and raw sugar, but mid-palate takes a weird and interesting turn to freshly baked dinner rolls before turning back to lingering spice. Mouthfeel is crisp and remains light. Overall, this isn't mind-blowing, it's pretty solid.

Nov.2022 Brew....Looking for a good Holiday Ale. A very good sipper superior to the Abita I just had, Smooth, full taste with just the right amount of cinnamon and nutmeg. 6.0 ABV just right!

Light amber with a 1" cream colored head, which slowly fades. Moderate lacing.

Aroma of spices, caramel.

Tastes of spices, mainly cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves.

Thin body, moderate carbonation. Dry, spicy finish.

Wasn't exactly winter when I drank this. Good for any season.

1.5 x 12 oz bottle
Glass: 0.5 L Festmug


Look: Deep and dark but clear ruby that drifts towards a shad of mahogany with 2+" creamy beige head. The head lasted for quite some time, leaving excellent lacing on the glass.

Aroma: Noticeable but not overwhelming note of spices - cinnamon primarily with some ginger and a touch of cloves. Fruitcake and candied fruits. A good undercurrent of malt, including darker malts (ie, dark bread) and even some toasted ones. The spices do dominate the aroma, but they don't really get out of hand.

Taste: Very similar to how the beer smells. The cinnamon is up front along with ginger, but these quickly give way to the malts and candy. As the cinnamon (and ginger) declines, the nutmeg comes forward. Things finish with the spices (primarily nutmeg with cinnamon and cloves added in). All in all, decently balanced.

Feel: Crisp. The body is medium-light.

Overall: Winter warmers and spiced ales/beers aren't really my thing, but this one isn't too bad. The spices are noticeable, but not overpowering, and they do blend with malts nicely. This is obviously a beer that has had some spices added instead of the other way 'round. It drinks far easier than other Winter Warmers/Holiday beers that I have had. I would drink this beer again.

I will note that the ABV (6%) is a tad low for what I prefer for a Winter Warmer, but that's OK.

Going way crazy on rDev with this one - I love it. All the warm cozy spices and malt make for a delicious dessert beer. Not going to drink a bunch of them in one sitting, but very enjoyable.

The Winter Warmer from Harpoon bottle opened in late February. Beer was about 45F, poured into a simple glass. Look and smell were pleasant. Amber body with a moderate tan head; aroma mild malt and spice. Taste is mellow, with a good balanced flavor. I'm not a big fan of spiced holiday beers, but this was pretty good. The 6% alcohol is not apparent.

 

 

Not that good but it tastes wintery I suppose

A very nice dark amber with a tint of orange and a decent, but short lived, off white head

Aromas of nutmeg, cinnamon, sweet malt, and dark bread

Flavor follows smell with nutmeg, cinnamon, mild toffee, and malts. But something is off and it almost tastes like artificial flavors.

Light bodied and thin with a slickness that, again, feels artificial.

A decent winter warmer, but it just tastes and feels off somehow

 

 

 

Tasty, especially in the wake of a rather disappointing Shipyard offering. Nutmeg was noticeable and appreciated. I really enjoyed the fact that the spices didn't interfere with the sense/taste that this is actually beer, rather than one of countless flavored sugar drinks.

 

 

 

 

My first beer from Harpoon Brewery. 12 oz bottle. Pretty standard-looking, caramel-colored holiday ale. Very minor head and lacing that doesn't last. Looks lighter and like more of an early Fall/pumpkin beer more so than a deep Winter beverage. The advertised spices (cinnamon & nutmeg) come through on the nose. Something loose, almost watery about the taste. By the end of the glass both the taste and smell seemed to have toned down or disappeared. Carbonation dwindled away pretty quick as well. It's not a bad beer, but it is lacking. I'll drink anything you give me, but I probably won't "buy" this with my own money.

 

 

From a 12oz bottle into a pint glass. Pours a dark amber color with about a finger of off white head. So-so retention, decent lacing. Smell is of cinnamon and faint bready malts. Taste: If there is such a thing as cinnamon juice, I'm pretty sure I'm drinking it. I like cinnamon as much as the next guy, but the taste is so overpowering that it's quite off putting. It's strong and literally all I can taste. Mouthfeel is smooth with a not so surprising cinnamon aftertaste. Winter warmers are not my most favorite beer style in the world, but this one is way out a whack even for me.

A very nice little holiday season beer. Good spice aroma and flavor

 

12oz can. Canning date stamped on can bottom is '09/30/19'.
Clear, deep amber colored body. Slight off white head, stays around as a couple of drifts and a ring. Leaves behind a few scattered small spots of lacing.
Aroma of lightly roasted malts, cinnamon and nutmeg. Reminds me of 7-Up soda.
Taste is a spiced malt ale. Spices rise up more at the end, and have the flavors of nutmeg and a little cinnamon.
Thinner mouth feel. Okay carbonation.
Pleasant enough, but not memorable enough for a return. Entire taste experience lacks depth and complexity, for what should be a spiced and comforting winter warmer.

 

A great drink for the holiday season.

L: 3.75 dark, but welcoming.
S: 4.5 The spices are readily apparent. One whiff and I want a swig.
T: 4 sweet malts and spices. Cinnamon. Not overly complex, but appreciable taste nonetheless.
F: Great. The spices aren't overbearing on the way down. You can have more than one a sitting.
O: 4. Recommended.

 

12oz bottle. Poured out a dark burgundy color with a small, khaki-colored head of foam. It smelled of nutmeg, cinnamon and dark bread. Sweet toffee taste with some roastiness and a spiced finish.

 

Had a bottle at home.
A: poured caramel amber body with small, tan head with minimal retention and lacing.
S: sweet caramel and nutmeg notes; hints of vanilla as well.
S: sweet, nutmeg and toffee notes with vanilla and cinnamon in the finish.
M: medium bodied and pretty smooth
O: decent winter warmer, overall. Nice easy going beer beer.

It is a nice amber color. The head goes to nothing quick.
Its smell is all spices.
The taste is a bit bland, overwhelmed with the spices. Cinnamon, nutmeg, etc. Not balanced.
Feel is so so.
It is drinkable, better with the right food to offset those winter spices. OK if it is on sale.