Beer & Cookie Pairings: Winter Warmer & Snickerdoodle

The First Beer of Christmas 2022 Beer: Holiday Ale Brewer: New Belgium Location: Fort Collins, CO Website: https://www.newbelgium.com/ Style: Winter Warmer ABV: 7.5% Cookies: Snickerdoodle & Chocolate Chip from United Supermarkets

Rahr & Sons - Winter Warmer

The Seventh Beer of Christmas 2017 is Winter Warmer from Rahr & Sons Brewing in Fort Worth, Texas.

Summary
Spiced just right with an extra dash of alcohol, perfect for warming you up on the inside.

• Appearance: Dark brown, burgundy around the edges.
• Aroma: Malty sweet, cinnamon, cherry pie
• Taste: Malty sweet, chocolate and toasted grain, cinnamon, raisins, crasins, & prunes, and warm gingersnap cookies. Finishes with spice and a warming boozy kick.
• Feel: Medium body, dry finish.

Stats

• Brewer: Rahr & Sons Brewing
• Location: Fort Worth, Texas
• Website: https://rahrbrewing.com/
• Style: Winter Warmer
• Alcohol Content: 8.0% ABV

Anderson Valley Brewing - Winter Solstice

For the Fifth Beer of Christmas, we prepare for snow & ice with a winter warmer.

Anderson Valley Brewing Company
Winter Solstice Seasonal Ale

This is the first beer I've had from Anderson Valley, but based upon tonight's results, others will certainly follow.

The beer pours up a nice chestnut amber-brown with a frothy, light beige head that subsides to a thin cap with scattered webs of chunky lacing. The head adds volume to the aromatics, allowing the smell of sweet malt with pine and cloves. Even a light touch of vanilla.

The mouth-feel is thick with much of the aroma coming through in the taste. The sweet malt is at the forefront. It's a bit roasted and the bittering that comes with that and the hops hits the back of the tongue on the finish. Before that, though, cloves and black pepper cut the sweetness of the malt and join a nice alcohol ester that warms despite the drink being cold.

After the Twelve Beers is over, I'll be running by Spec's to see what other Anderson Valley varieties they carry.

Stats
Brewer: Anderson Valley Brewing Company
Location: Boonville, California
Website: http://www.avbc.com
Style: Winter Warmer
Alcohol Content: 6.90% ABV
Interesting Note: Anderson Valley (the valley, not the brewery) is the origin of the Boontling language, a homegrown language or jargon developed about the time of the beginning of the 20th century. You can read more about Boontling at it's Wikipedia entry or watch this YouTube video.

Full Sail Brewing - Wassail Winter Ale

For the Eleventh Beer of Christmas, we set sail for a brewery with 47 employee owners. We'll delve into that cool little footnote at the end of the review.

Full Sail is another relatively new to Lubbock brew that I've been looking forward to sampling.  I don't know the first thing about sailing, but I do know good beer and the 47 employee owners of Full Sail apparently do, too.

Reddish brown with a moderate head, the beer makes for a pretty glass.  The head quickly subsided to next to nothing.  Just a thin ring where the beer met the glass.

Piney hops come through in the aroma.  There are also notes of citrus, roasted chocolate malt, and a hint of oak-aged whiskey.  I can't find any information that suggests this brew was barrel aged.  It's probably just a combination of the roasted malts and high alcohol content.

A strong does of roasted coffee and malt forms the base flavor.  Warming alcohol and a bite of citrus hops round out the middle taste while bittersweet chocolates close each drink.  Full bodied with low carbonation, each drink is just shy of being called "chewy."

By the end of the first glass, I was feeling a bit full and a bit warm.  This isn't a sessionable beer.  But it would make for a great night in front of the fire place with two glasses of beer.

Aaron said this was another good, toasty one.  Brandon said it had coffee flavor and he thinks it's "awesome."

Ratings

Aaron: 10
Brandon: 10
Wyatt: 8
Tracy: 10

Stats
Brewer: Full Sail Brewing Company
Location: Hood River, OR
Website: http://www.FullSailBrewing.com
Style: Winter Warmer
Alcohol Content: 7.2% ABV
Interesting Note: In 1999, twelve years (and certainly more than twelve beers) after opening, Full Sail split up ownership of the brewery among their 47 employees. Reading their company mantra, I have to admit that I felt a little choked up. Give it a read: http://www.fullsailbrewing.com/mantra.cfm .

Samuel Smith Old Brewery - Winter Welcome Ale

For the Sixth Beer of Christmas, we hop the pond and discover something new - "stone Yorkshire squares" ... more on that below.

Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout is a mainstay of the imports section of most beer stores.  Every craft/import beer drinker has noticed the gold foil top and distinctively tall bottle.  And being noticed means being purchased. Other than the Nut Brown Ale, I've never seen another offering from Samuel Smith's and was excited to see this on several beer store shelves this year.

The bright copper brew produces a finely bubbled, off-white head that evaporates off to a thin cap within a couple of drinks. A light lacing remained at the top of the glass from when the head was full, but didn't chase the beer down the sides the way last night's Jubelale did.

Light fruity esters chased stronger aromas of butterscotch, caramel, and toasted malt with a touch of honey laying over the entire mix. The bouquet was light but very pleasant, only filling my nose when the glass was close.

The taste is smooth and crisp. Fully of fruity ale goodness, the medium carbonation and body provide a very pleasant drinking experience. It starts sweet and finishes with an ever-so-light warming, a touch of pepper, and a mild bittering on the back of the tongue. It reminds me of a Redhook ESB (Extra Special Bitter) but with a higher malt profile.

This is a nice Winter Warmer. The lower alcohol content makes it slightly more sessionable and would be a great any-time-of-year drink.

Brandon got specific with the fruit flavor, expressing it as an apricot flavor.

Ratings

Aaron: 8
Brandon: 9
Wyatt: 8
Tracy: 8

Stats
Brewer: Samuel Smith Old Brewery
Location: Tadcaster, North Yorkshire, UK
Website: http://www.SamuelSmithsBrewery.co.uk/
Style: Winter Warmer
Alcohol Content: 6.0% ABV
Interesting Note: Samuel Smith Old Brewery uses traditional stone Yorkshire squares when brewing their beer.  I found this to be a very interesting approach to fermentation.  Click the link to read more about it at Wikipedia.

Deschutes Brewery - Jubelale

For the Fifth Beer of Christmas, we visit the brewer of one of my all time favorite beers.

Last year I fell in love with Deschutes Brewery's Black Butte Porter. Since we picked the theme of holiday/winter beers for the Twelve Beers of Christmas this year, I was excited to see Jubelale sitting on the shelves.

The beer pours up a deep cherry brown.  Lisa (the soon to be Mrs.) and I went looking at hard wood flooring the other day to replace the carpet in my living room.  This is almost exactly the shade of the cherry flooring we saw.  A nice, light tan head develops on top from the pour.  As I drank it, thick lacing clung to the sides of the glass.

The aroma is earthy.  Like moist soil and long, uncut grass back from a river in Cimarron Canyon, New Mexico.  Yes, I know, that's kind of specific.  But that's what I got from it and I haven't been there in 20 years.  That's just the memory it pulled up.  There's also a low undertone of dark fruit and alcohol from the high ABV that comes with the Winter Warmer style.

Like the aroma, the strong alcohol content comes through in the taste, but subtler than last night's Christmas Ale.  It's definitely a warmer, but a complex malt character of bitter-sweet chocolate, medium roasted coffee, and dates masks the alcohol.  This medium to full bodied beer finishes clean and crisp and leaves you warm and satisfied.

Lisa ... can we go to Oregon for our honeymoon?

On the other hand, I don't think Wyatt cared much for this one.  What makes me think that?  He said, "I'm gonna need at least two beers before I enjoy this one."

Ratings

Aaron: 5.5 (also precise)
Brandon: 6
Wyatt: 5
Tracy: 7

Stats
Brewer: Deschutes Brewery
Location: Bend, OR
Website: http://www.DeschutesBrewery.com/
Style: Winter Warmer
Alcohol Content: 6.7% ABV
Interesting Note: In the about page, I mention being a former homebrewer.  Well, that was two years ago.  Over the summer I got back into it and am brewing all grain batches.  Given my absolute love of Black Butte Porter, I cannot tell you how excited I was to find that Deschutes has posted a Black Butte Porter clone recipe on their website.  Seriously, how freakin' cool is that?!  I'll be brewing that up soon and drinking some original BBP while doing so.

Breckenridge Brewery - Christmas Ale

For the Fourth Beer of Christmas, we make our first of three trips into the beer brewing powerhouse of Colorado.

Breckenridge is known for good beers (I reviewed their Agave Wheat last year and enjoyed it).  This is one of their four seasonal brews, along with Pandora's Bock (I like that name) in spring, SummerBright Ale in summer, and Autumn Ale in ... wait for it ... autumn.

The Christmas Ale pours up a very attractive medium-brown ale with a low to medium head of foam that subsides to nothing fairly quickly and leaves minimal lacing.

Nutmeg, dark fruits (not quite fruitcake), sweet malt, and alcohol undertones make up the aroma when close to the glass.  But a light spiced and sweet malt scent carries several feet from the glass.

This is a very sweet beer.  It's got a heavy malt presence that masks, though not completely, the higher-than-normal alcohol content.  It's definitely a "warmer," as the style would imply.  Traditional Christmas spices back up the sweet alcohol: cinnamon, nutmeg, a touch of cloves.  It finishes with a bitter sweet burnt sugar taste.  While the alcohol content is high, the beer has a medium body and would not be terribly filling. It's definitely a session-able drink.

This beer would go very well with a roaring fire in the fireplace.  The heat of the flames warming your outsides and a Breckenridge Christmas Ale both cooling and warming your insides.

Aaron described this one as hoppy while his brother Brandon came at it from a similar vantage with "flowery."  Wyatt felt spicy was the best description.

Ratings

Aaron: 8
Brandon: 9
Wyatt: 7.5 (he's very precise)
Tracy: 8

Stats
Brewer: Breckenridge Brewery
Location: Breckenridge, CO
Website: http://www.BreckBrew.com
Style: Winter Warmer
Alcohol Content: 7.4% ABV
Interesting Note: Breckenridge was started by Richard Squire, a homebrewing ski bum (they called him a ski bum, not me) who loved good beer and, coincidentally, could make it as well. If you'd like to be a regular at the Breckenridge Brew Pub (and who wouldn't?), pull up chair and get ready to shell out some big bucks for a house.  The cheapest house I could find at www.Breck4Sale.com was $1.1 million.  According to a 2009 report from www.BreckenridgeHomes.net, the average price for a single family house was just over $1 million.  I'll have to settle for having it shipped to my local beer store.

Saint Arnold Brewing - Christmas Ale

For the Third Beer of Christmas, we pick up our first six-pack from a brewer that's a perennial favorite in our house.

Saint Arnold is only 45 minutes from Aubrey's place in Houston, so during my first trip to visit her after she moved, we had to hit up Saint Arnold. I'll post more on that another time.  But for now, just accept that you need to visit this brewery (and show up early ... the place gets full in a hurry).

Houston (from what I'm told) is home to two type of people ... Aggies and Cougars (graduates of Texas A&M and the University of Houston, respectively).  But this one comes out of the bottle a very University of Texas burnt orange.  I don't know what they were thinking on brew day. :)  The head is a very thin beige and frittered away to nothing as I was taking the pictures.

A fruity aroma filled the area around the glass.  It was light but pleasant.  Chocolate peeked through the background with a touch of buttered biscuits.

My first sip carried a big, yeast flavor with strong notes of semi-sweet caramel and a warming dose of alcohol.  Spices are present, but partially hidden behind the yeast and alcohol. Moderate carbonation combines with the flavors to create a medium bodied beer.

Brandon found pumpkin in the flavor while Wyatt felt it had a "Belgian ale thing going on" and was "earthy but not real earthy."

Ratings

Aaron: 6
Brandon: 8
Wyatt: 8
Tracy: 6

Stats
Brewer: Saint Arnold Brewing Company
Location: Houston, TX
Website: http://www.SaintArnold.com/
Style: Winter Warmer
Alcohol Content: 7.0% ABV
Interesting Note: The best part of the Saint Arnold tour is hanging out in the great hall and meeting new people.  On our second tour, we struck up a conversation with the guys below (unfortunately I don't remember their names now) who were sitting next to us and spent the afternoon drinking beer and playing games with them.  I'm looking forward to meeting new strangers next trip.

Anchor Brewing – Christmas Ale 2010

For the First Beer of Christmas,
Anchor Brewing gave to us,
Their 36th holiday ale!

For Christmas Day’s beer, we had to go with a Christmas brew. What could be better than a bottle that wished us a Merry Christmas (and a Happy New Year) right on the label?
Anchor Brewing Company has a reputation for brewing great beers, with Anchor Steam being the flagship of this nautical themed company. I’ve had plenty of Anchor Steams, but never ventured into their other offerings until now. Not for any particular reason, though. I just never got around to them. But after drinking tonight’s beer, I’m going to have to give some of their others a try … and before next year’s Twelve Beers of Christmas.

While pouring it into the glass, two things struck me. First was the rich aroma. It reminded of my childhood when we kept a real Christmas tree in the house and my grandmother mulled spices in apple cider. It was so strong at first that I thought the taste might be overwhelming. But the smell mellowed quickly to a comfortable and inviting aroma.

The second thing was the gorgeously dark color. I do love a deep brown, yet translucent, color in a beer. Held up to the light, the beer reminded me of a deep mahogany dining table that we used to own. It was a beautiful table and this is a beautiful beer. When poured, the head frothed up into a light caramel color.

The taste matched the aroma. Sweet and smokey. Spicy (holiday spicy, not jalapeno spicy) and crisp. And an hoppy twang to end each drink. Given the deep color, I expected a heavier beer, but I really enjoyed the lighter than expected feel. That strong a flavor mixed with a sweet, heavy beer would have been more than I wanted. But the Christmas Ale’s medium body was a good match for the strong flavor and intense hoppiness. (Is that a word? Spell check doesn’t like it.)

Overall, a nice change a pace that I think the Christmas-in-a-bottle feel would be a great addition to any holiday gathering. It’s certainly not my favorite beer of all time, or even in the top 10, but it’s a nice beer that murmurs “Merry Christmas” while you drink it.

Aubrey says, “It’s smokey.”

Stats
Brewer: Anchor Brewing Company
Location: San Francisco, CA
Website: http://www.AnchorBrewing.com
Style: Winter Warmer
Alcohol Content: 5.5% ABV
Interesting Note: This is the 36th Christmas Ale from Anchor Brewing. Each year, they customize the bottle by featuring a different tree on the label. This year’s tree is the Ginkgo biloba tree. For a look back at past labels, check out http://www.anchorbrewing.com/beers/pdfs/Flyer_ChristmasAle2010.pdf.