alaskan winter brew

[oshea3333]

was wondering what the board thought of this seasonal brew. I think its great but im still a newbie

[beerking]

Really great beer, especially if you get it fresh. It does not keep beyond about 3 months (looses the spruce character). Really nice pine character in the fresh versions.

[ScottKingofBeer]

It's very good. This is my favorite holiday ale by far. I think it has just a little bit too much alcohol, but the spruce flavor is great. Let this warm for 10 mnutes or so after taking it out of the fridge and drink it out of a glass for best reults IMO. Try Alaskan Smoked Porter too if you can find it.

[ClockworkOrange]

Unfortunately I don't see it in PA.

[chazwicke]

I've still got a few bottles of the 2001 smoked porter. Last one I opened was great. I brought them back from a trip up there. Toured the brewery as well.

[BlueCanoe]

I like the Winter Ale, but I've always disappointed that the spruce flavor hasn't been more prevalent. I've barely been able to taste it over the malt. As for freshness, Seattle's about as close to Alaskan Brewing Co. without being in state. :confused:

We've been more excited about Deschutes' Jubelale in our house this year.

[chazwicke]

I'm thinking of opening some of the smoked porter on turkey day. I've found that some of the smoked brews go very well with the bird.

[ScottKingofBeer]

Originally posted by BlueCanoe
I like the Winter Ale, but I've always disappointed that the spruce flavor hasn't been more prevalent. I've barely been able to taste it over the malt. .

I've not found that to be true unless I drink it straight from the bottle, which I would only ever do if I hadn't done dishes in a while. I do agree however that the body is more malty and alcoholic then it needs to be. Have you had the Jolly Roger Christmas ale from Maritime Pacific? I would choose that over Jubelale any day of the week and you can drink it straight from the source since you live in Seattle.

[BlueCanoe]

We were drinking Jubelale and Jolly Rodger side by side the other weekend. While I like them both, something about the JR is "too much" for my taste. Too alcoholic? The Jubelale seems to be different this year than my memory of last year's batch. More roasted and bitter in '06?

I will have to do another careful tasting of Alaskan's Winter Ale to get at the spruce, but the fact remains that it hasn't jumped out at me in the past.

I drink my beer out of glassware whenever possible, BTW. There are too many delicious aromas and beautiful heads out there not to. :)

[BPProb]

Alaskan Winter Ale -
I'd definately say that this is one of my favorite non-belgian style christmas ales. the spruce character does fade, very quickly. we've served a couple of kegs of this at our pub already this year, and I think that it might be one of the best. oddly enough, snowcap is doing as well as the alaskan this year.

Re: Jolly Roger being too much:
I'd tend to agree. while the ABV is high, its the extract malt flavors that get me on this beer. for some reason, I can't get past the overwhelmingly cloying aspect of this beer. drinking it too warm maybe? I know that in previous years, this has been hands down my favorite winter ale..... can't wait until we get the kegs next week (or the week after?). I'd love to taste this beer in cask, but I don't think thats gonna happen. we had one a couple of years ago, but it was hard to get, as G.H. and Co. run out so fast!

[roggae]

up in AK for the holidays and i am enjoying an alaskan winter ale right now. i am not a big fan of the alaskan brewery, i think most of their beers taste the same. however this beer is pretty good. i get hints of plum and malt after taking a sip, but i cannot taste the spruce. it has a decent aroma pretty similar to the other alaskan brews. i'd give this beer a favorable rating, but not exactly my bag. i will bring one home however....

[BPProb]

Re: my earlier Jolly Roger Comments.
wrong. totally wrong. somehow, I think what I had had was not a good bottle. once we got the draft, came out awesome. also, we DID get a cask-conditioned keg for the bartop from them. and man... good stuff.