Winter Ale by Goose Island Beer Company
Trying another Winter Ale, seeing as we are in the season to be trying this style of brew. Most places try to do Winter Ales in they are trying to have seasonal releases. I am trying a brew from a brewery I have tried before and I am excited to try their Winter brew. I think that many beer drinkers find a brewery that they like and they make sure they try all the brews in the company line. Right now, I am in the process and I have not found one I do not like, so far. Goose Island Beer Company is the beer company, I am trying to try more of right now and I recently had the Imperial Stout, which was really good. Now I am focusing on trying the Winter Ale by Goose Island. The Winter Ale by Goose Island is a Brown Ale style brew. This brew has an alcohol by volume or ABV of 5.3% and an IBU or Bitterness of 25. Below are some of the brews recently I have tried by Goose Island Beer Company:
The Muddy Imperial Stout by Goose Island
Sofie Belgian Style Farmhouse Ale by Goose Island
Appearance of Winter Ale
Now back to the beer I am having tonight. I am curious about this brew and I cannot wait to find out more about this brew. The color of Winter Ale is a deep brown, if you had to compare it to something I would say it's color is like a dark chocolate. The foam or head of this beer has a tan appearance and leaves a thin layer at the top of the beer glass. Based off of the color appearance, I wonder what the aroma and taste have in store for my tastebuds and my nose. First whif, I took from this beer was a rich sweet malty aroma. I began trying to pinpoint the aroma, I picked up a nutty note and a caramel aroma. The color did match with the aroma in a sense that I did notice a dark chocolate note in the brew. I think that picks up on the the rich aroma I picked up on. Time to move forward into the tasting aspect of this brew and time to see what flavor notes I can pick up in the Winter Ale.
I am eager to taste this brew and based off of the aroma and the color I am really excited to try this beer. Took my first sip and the aroma pairs perfectly with the taste notes I am picking up. You do notice a malt presence in the sip. In addition I picked up on the rich chocolate and nutty notes in the brew as well. I think the more and more I drink it they all blend perfectly together. After a few sips I noticed that sweet caramel note in the brew. The rich chocolate taste is subtle but noticeable. I think if I had to say what type of chocolate note I am picking up on is a dark chocolate note that is perfectly blended in the sweet malt note in this brew. The other important part about taste is that you pick up on the mouthfeel and the body of the beer. The mouthfeel to me is a roasty, but a smooth brew. I noticed the roasted characteristic more as a drank the beer and as a reminder of the notes in the beer that I just enjoyed.
Winter Ale by Goose Island Beer Company
Overall, I thought this was a really good brew. The flavor notes all blended perfectly and made this brew a really enjoyable beer. Out of the Winter Ales, I might have to say this has taken over the mantle as the favorite right now. It is just a beer that you can really enjoy on a cold wintery night, like tonight. To me it makes me think of warming up by a fire on a cold night. I even think the fact that the IBU is 25, makes me enjoy this brew even more, because I like the malt forward brews. To me malt forward brews make me think of Winter and that is what Goose Island did with this beer. Hopefully I can try some more good brews when I visit Chicago during the first weekend of March.
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