Winter Beer Month: Day 3

December 3:  After a parking lot fender bender, a seven hour math training, and an allergic reaction to allergy shots, it went without saying that I was having more than a case of the Mondays.  An afternoon winter beer tasting with my favorite family, the Js, proved to be the perfect remedy.  Armed with garlic white cheddar and potato lefse, we embarked on the following three.

Rogue: Santa's Private Reserve Ale

Over the years, Rogue bottled beers have been hit or miss for me.  Therefore, I was a bit trepidatious to try what they considered to be their ale to celebrate winter.  Upon the first sip, this beer was sweet and tasty.  MJ noted that it resembled a beer that she had had before.  A few more gulps and we determined that this beer bore a striking resemblance to an Irish Red.  It was easy drinking with some mild spruce flavor on the back.  Definitely a brew that we could drink any time of the year.

Silver City Winter Bock Lager

If there is beer category that I need to explore, it undoubtedly is lagers.  I currently don't have an immediate draw to them.  Whether I am just born to be an Ale Girl solely or not, that has yet to be determined.  When we poured this Bock into the pint, the dark barley wafted out.  I stuck my nose in for more.  The aroma was spot on to what I would quantify as a Winter Warmer.  My first sip caught that lager taste and the mouth feel threw me off.  MJ's German palette absolutely loved it.  She excitedly went to her fridge to show me that she had picked up a bottle of this one too.  When JJ came home, he couldn't get enough of this one either.  The German malts, lack of astringent hops, and lager love is definitely a souvenir brought back with them from Germany.  I learned one valuable lesson after drinking this beer, I MUST go to Germany.

HUB Abominable Winter Ale
Amber in color and citrusy in flavor, this brew instantly became my pick of the night.  Not quite as dark as a Black IPA, or IBA if you will, it had roasty malts with a great balance of hops weighing in at 70 IBUs.  MJ didn't think that this ale was much of a winter warmer, but did confirm that she would reach for it any day of the year.  Not much of a hop chaser himself, JJ remarked that he still enjoyed the dark flavor and citrus bitterness the hops delivered.


rogue.com     www.silvercitybrewery.com     hopworksbeer.com