SSA Member
Single Speeds Anonymous

Specializing in SS, Trials, Dual-Slalom, & Dirt Jumping equipment

Its that time of year again and this singlespeeder's thoughts quite naturally turn to winter weight beers. This is one of my favorite times of the year for seasonal releases. So, I hope to get through a bunch of unprofessional but much appreciated reviews. A hard job but hey ... someone's gotta do it. Feel free to weigh in with reviews of your own. I'm especially interested in reviews of winter beers that I can't get over here in Seattle. Send reviews and input to the head Dragon Tongue.

WINTER BEER REVIEWS

Excellent

• Deschutes Jubelale - Bend, OR (bottle)
  Great dark ruby color. Pours with a tawny colored head and big malt nose. Very good body with good balance between the malt sweetness and the hops. Long aftertaste and very pleasant. I like the bottled version better than the cask version I tasted at the Cask Festival this year. A perennial favorite of mine.
• Maritime Jolly Roger - Seattle, WA (draft)
  Intense malty caramel taste. Golden brown in color with not too much nose. Good lace on the glass Another favorite that delivered BIG TIME again. I had this at the brewery tasting room and found out later that they also have this on cask and nitro. I'll have to go back and see how a nitro pour would change the taste.
• Elesyian Bifrost - Seattle, WA (draft)
  I asked for a schooner of this beer since it was at the tail end of a pub crawl. Instead of a schooner glass, the beer was delivered in a tulip glass which perfectly suited the taste profile. Very similar to a belgium ale with complex sweet taste but not overpoweringly sweet. Slight bitterness on the sides of the tongue. Great lace on the sides of the glass and a dark gold in color. Make no mistake ... this is a big beer and would probably cellar quite well. Loved it.

Very Good

• Pyramid Snow Cap - Seattle, WA (bottle)
  Pours with a nice white head. Whiff of the hops in the nose. Beautiful ruby red color. Good malt taste and mouthfeel with not too much noticeable hops. I've been consistently impressed with the Snow Cap. Normally I'm not a big fan of Pyramid's beers - just seem a little thin. Another good year for Snow Cap though.
• Big Time Yulefest - Seattle, WA (draft)
  The pour is a dark brown in color and leaves a nice lace on the glass. Big malty mouthfeel with an aftertaste of hop bitterness. A very good example of a winter beer. I'd go back for more.

Good

Okay

• Redhook Winterhook - Woodinville, WA (draft)
  Noticeable change in recipe from last year. Bartender at Redhook pours with a decent head on the beer. Dark brown in color but a little thin in the body. Beer recipe "tweaked" this year with the addition of a dark rye. Taste is interesting but its more like a simple dark rye rather than a winter weight beer. Very faint hop bitterness. Last year had that great ruby color with really good hop bite to it. Hope they revive the 2004 recipe for next year. A little disappointed to be honest.

  (cask) This beer is much better when you can get it on cask. It seems like the recipe has been tweaked a little more to give it some more hop bitterness and flavor. Still a big letdown from 2004, IMO, but given a choice, I'd drink a cask version over draft or bottled.

Avoid

• McMenamin Kris Kringle (Doc Watson) - Seattle, WA (draft)
  Very disappointing for a beer with a Christmas theme name. Just an average ale with nothing to distinguish it.