All Hail Winter Ale

We sit at two weeks until the real beginning of winter, December 21st. However, this information must have missed the desks of brewers the globe over. Because winter ales are everywhere. The abundance of these festive, holiday brews is a testament to the love of this group of beer and its match for this time of year.
I’ll begin the winter ale journey in the most likely home of the, if not style, then, holiday tradition. Given the different types of beers that fall under the catch all categories such as ‘winter warmer’ ‘Christmas ale’ or ‘winter beer,’ you can understand that no real distinct style exists.
The British type of winter ale tends to follow along the winter warmer manner, distinct in that they are typically beers with more character than a brewer’s standard offerings. The discrepancy often comes from the use of more and better malt and higher alcohol levels. British winter warmers of the cold months are not usually the spiced variety, often found in Belgium and the United States. However, before hops became the ‘spice’ of choice for beer, classic British ales were often heated during the winter, and were spiced with a variety of seasonings to make various winter drinks.
Roasted apples or other fruits and warmed ale, or a heated pint mixed with nutmeg, brandy and eggs might have been a holiday tipple. Just as likely would be to find a seasoned, spiced piece of toast floated atop a hot beer. But, as hops came into fashion in the brewing tradition in England, hot ale drinks faded, although they likely influenced the winter ales brewed in Belgium and America.
Whether it was driven by public demand or brewer invention, the winter months usually meant a different beer. It was the hearty, strongly malted, sweet, higher alcohol cold season brews that became a perfect choice for the winter months. Likely similar to the category of strong ales, which include old ale and barleywine, the winter warmers were just bigger, better versions of the malt driven beers already available, especially mild and brown ale. Hops provided the fruity and seasoning spice to compete with the heavy malt and alcohol.
No beer from England personifies the winter warmer ethic and mode quite like that from Samuel Smith. The Old Brewery from Tadcaster, England gives us the seasonal Winter Welcome Ale, pretty much the standard for the British winter ale. A spicy hop/fruit smell and aromas of honey and butter on warm bread blend with a mineral note. Toasted malt flavors cross the mouth, accompanied by grain and butterscotch before a dry, flowery hop essence is found in the aftertaste.
Similar to Sam Smith’s, St. Peter’s Winter Ale, from England’s St. Peter’s Brewery, is another fantastic winter warmer, eschewing spices for fine hops and malts, giving flavors of dark fruits and citrus rind instead of cinnamon or sugar. The slightly higher (alochol by volume) ABVs of these beers will certainly live up to their name; tis’ the season for winter warmer! Enjoy the brews … Cheers.

Gene’s Haufbrau has at more than 200 beers in bottles or on tap. While they don’t have every beer the Beer Snob writes about, they probably have most. Gene’s is located at 817 Savannah Hwy. 225-GENE. E-mail the Beer Snob at publisher@westof.net.