BlackDuck's Winter Ale

[Beer-lord]

This Winter Ale poured a gorgeous black, not pitch black but very dark. It didn't have lots of head but the head it did have, had a nice lacing. The aroma is not strong but you there is a subtle hint of spicing though I can't tell exactly what they are.
The taste is right on! Good carbonation and those subtle spices blend well with the malt. There's a hint of vanilla though I don't know without checking for the recipe if that's even in the beer. I taste nutmeg too but it's very mild and blends perfectly well with the malts. And, as always, I let some of my beers warm a bit so that some of those subtle flavors become more pronounced.
There's something different about the malt but I can't put my finger on it. Not a 'bad' different, just something I'm not used too. I'll have to look at the recipe to to see what I can tell but this is a big beer at just over 7% ABV.

Chris, you and your partner did a great job on the recipe and your version gets high 5's!

IMG_1237 (Small).JPG (87.94 KiB) Viewed 425 times

[BlackDuck]

Thanks Paul....My partner on this was Rayyankee, and we both really like this. The spices include cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla extract, so your tasters are well trained and spot on. As for the malt, there is actually quite a bit going on there. The malt bill is Maris Otter as the base, then Munich, Crystal 60, biscuit malt, honey malt and roasted barley. I was a little worried that it would have too many things in it, but they really do seem to all blend well together.

Thanks for the kind words!!

[Inkleg]

How many cookie jars do you have?

Oh, the beer sounds great. Good job Chris, I do enjoy beers brewed for this time of year.

[Beer-lord]

I checked after I posted and knew it had to be MO. I don't use enough of that to know it well but I like it lots!

Jeff, one jar is cookies, one jar is dog treats and the other jar I can't really talk about. (actually, it's tea bags)

[wollffy]

Sounds Delish! I'd like to try a winter brew for my second batch. If anyone has any suggestions I'm all eyes and ears.

[John Sand]

I used Northern Brewer's Brickwarmer Holiday Red, all grain. I've only tried one, but it's good. When I pick a recipe, I like to use one that's well established and reviewed. I can always change it after, but I like to start with a proven recipe. HomeBrewTalk has a lengthy recipe forum. I choose recipes with many pages of approval.

[wollffy]

I used Northern Brewer's Brickwarmer Holiday Red, all grain. I've only tried one, but it's good. When I pick a recipe, I like to use one that's well established and reviewed. I can always change it after, but I like to start with a proven recipe. HomeBrewTalk has a lengthy recipe forum. I choose recipes with many pages of approval.

Thats great advice John Sand.

[Kealia]

I tried this one last night as well. I won't regurgitate what Paul wrote as I had the same impressions. Honestly, I'm re-discovering that I have a simple palette and prefer beers that just don't have so much going on in them. This beer is complex and rich (and well done) and I think that I'm just not man enough for it.

All kidding aside, I think I'm accepting that with all of my experimenting and tastings that I am coming back to the realization that my world revolves around pale ales, ambers, IPAs and the 'simpler' beers out there.

I can't thank you guys enough for the exposure to these beers, though. 2 years ago I didn't like IPAs and it took a lot of exposure to come to appreciate them. I'm just not there on many other styles though.