WINTER WARMER

Winter Warmer, a Winter Warmer Ale by Powerhouse Restaurant & Brewery.

On tap, served in a 16 ounce shaker glass. 7.2% alcohol by volume.

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It seems that a lot of winter things are appearing earlier each year, creeping through autumn, ever closer to summer. Christmas cannot wait until Thanksgiving any longer, appearing throughout our culture immediately after Halloween. Likewise, many winter warmer ales are released in early or middle fall, rather than waiting for their namesake season.

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With that being said, the Powerhouse makes an interesting variation on a winter warmer.

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The beer board reads "SERIOUSLY BITTERED WITH COPIOUS SAAZ HOPPING." It is only one of two beer board listings in all capital letters. (The other is the Kölsch.)

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The glass arrives at the table with a hazy yellow body with a thin white head.

The nose is of butterscotch candies, shortbread cookies, and lemony citrus.

The tongue includes those flavors, although a strong varnish-like alcohol bite is what is first encountered, accompanied by a bitter hoppiness. Then the other flavors appear, followed by a background of broth and nettle leaves.

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There is almost too much alcohol and bitterness on the front. The more I think about what I just tasted and the more it settles onto my tongue, the better it becomes. Is this "instant nostalgia"? The flavor is so intense and the ale doesn't quite fit my stereotype of a winter warmer (more hops than malts, lacking some of the spiciness I have come to expect), yet it's higher alcohol content, the initial bitterness tempered by the smoother flavors on the finish, and its overall balance as it lingers really make it enjoyable.

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Recommended.

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The wife, the child, and TWT walked in the snow to our neighborhood brewpub for dinner and ale. It was worth the walk. The Overload Pizza and the Winter Warmer helped to keep the cold and snow at bay, as did the full beard!