Winter Ale Taste-Off: Round Two

Last weekend, my wife and I held round two of our Winter Ale Taste-Off. Initially, I wanted to do a selection of Oregon holiday bombers for round two, but there were still a bunch of winter beers available in six packs that we weren’t able to procure for round one. We decided to grab another assortment of 12 oz. bottles for round two.

Having exhausted Beer Nuts’ supply of seasonal ales during our first round, we went to Market of Choice for round two. It looks like we timed our trip correctly. While selecting beers, an employee said that next week they would be raising their single bottle price from $1.95 to $2.50. Mind you, this is single 12 oz. bottles pulled from six packs only, all other bottles are already individually price. Although, some individual bottles are currently priced below $2.50, like Old Rasputin at $2.29, so I wonder if they will be experiencing a hike too.

Anyway, I digress. We ended up grabbing 6 winter ales for the second round of our taste-off; including all the missing Oregon beer we were unable to get for round one. We also grabbed a few other seasonals that will be getting reviewed in the near future.

Tasting Notes:

Anchor – Our Special Ale

• Appearance – Very dark red with a tan head. Amber highlights when held up to the light.
• Smell – Spicy, herbal. Strong licorice scent.
• Taste – Spicy, spruce and licorice/anise flavors. Pretty sweet with a slightly bitter finish.

BridgePort – Ebenezer Ale

• Appearance – Dark, hazy orange. Tan head with lots of carbonation.
• Smell – Sweet, fruity hops. Yeasty.
• Taste – Sweet caramel flavor, bready. Dry finish with a little alcohol presence.

Lagunitas – Brown Shugga’

• Appearance – Golden, clear. Thick tan head.
• Smell – Sugar/Caramel sweet and piney hops.
• Taste – Sweet from start to finish. Piney and citrus hops. Sweetness hides high alcohol well.

MacTarnahan – HumBug’R

• Appearance – Dark brown body with ruby highlights. Brown head.
• Smell -Roasted malts with a bit of alcohol.
• Taste -Thin bodied with big roasted malt flavor. Clean dry finish.

Sierra Nevada – Celebration Ale

• Appearance – Reddish gold. Foamy yellow head.
• Smell – Grapefruit and spruce with a malty caramel sweetness.
• Taste – Less malty than the smell indicated. Citrus and spruce hops.

Widmer – Brrr

• Appearance – Cola brown with orange highlights.
• Smell – Piney/citrus hops.
• Taste – Lots of hops. Citrus, less pine than expected, maybe grassy. Lower sweetness with a bitter finish.

Kevin’s Rankings

1. Ebenezer – Not the most flamboyant winter ale, but extremely well crafted and enjoyable to drink. It has that signature refinement that I have come to expect from BridgePort.
2. Our Special Ale – Christmas in a glass. It’s thick. It’s sweet. It’s loaded with spices and herbs. I image tonguing Santa tastes very similar to drinking this beer.
3. Celebration Ale – A big IPA sitting on a solid malty frame. I would drink this one over Torpedo any day.
4. Brrr – A solid offering from Widmer. Decent amount of hops on top of a candy sweet body. The choice of Simcoe hops seem a little odd to me. Not bad, just different.
5. Brown Shugga’ – The name says it all. This beer tastes like caramelized sugar from start to finish. The piney hops I could smell seemed to get lost in the taste, but I tasted this one immediately after the Celebration Ale, so that may be why I wasn’t picking them up. I don’t know if I could get through a six pack of this one. Although, if I did, I would probably be pretty drunk. Brown Shugga’ was the booziest beer of the night, weighing in at 9.8%.
6. HumBug’r – I just can’t warm up to this one. The bottle says “Robust Porter,” but to me, it tastes watered down. It does have an okay initial roasted malt taste, but it fades quickly and the body is damn thin. I may be alone in my thinking though. It’s been getting decent reviews and my friend Jesse thinks it’s great; says that it reminds him of Snow Plow. I just don’t get it.

Tiffany’s Ranking

1. Ebenezer – Delicious; I think this year’s is better than last year’s. And (for the first time ever in my boozy history) I think this beer is better in the bottle than on tap. This one takes top honors for “Beer of the Season” for me.
2. Celebration Ale – A good IPA, and a generally enjoyable beer. I could have a few.
3. Brrr – Despite the negativity I have observed regarding this beer, it was pretty good in my opinion. It’s hoppy and sweet. I’ve had better beers, but like Kevin said – it’s solid.
4. HumBug’r – I thought this beer was fine, but not something I would seek out and enjoy regularly. If I got handed a free one – I’d drink it.
5. Brown Shugga’ – I think this is may be the sweetest beer ever. It’s like beer syrup. Hell, it might actually be a good syrup; but not so good for drinking. Not my thing…
6. Our Special Ale – The most unique beer I have ever had, by leaps and bounds. It screams Christmas. In theory, I like it. That being said, in reality it is at the bottom of my list because I hate anise, and this is like the beer incarnation black licorice.

As a whole, this group of beers impressed me more that those in round one. With the exception of HumBug’r, I preferred the rest of the beer from round two to the bottom half of those from the first round.

My favorite Oregon winter six-packs this year are Jubelale, Ebenezer and Wassail. For out-of-staters, Chicory Stout, Our Special Ale and Celebration Ale are at the top of my list, with Sierra Nevada getting a nod for price. I picked up a six pack of their aptly named seasonal for the Civil War game; a bargain at $6.29. Go Ducks!

Cheers!
Kevin