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Beer buzz for the holidays;

Check out these winter warming brews

By Dylan Hackett, Staff Writer

re you absolutely itching to
take that toboggan out for a
run? Are you stuck waiting for

the winter to be ushered in by snowfall?
Probably not, but if you can’t wait

for the winter beer season, grab your
favourite pint glass and pour a cold one
because the first wave of winter ales are
hitting the shelves!

For those of you not soaked in the
world of craft brewing, I’m here to
acquaint you with some of my favourite
winter beers on the shelves; some
harder to find than others. Specialty
beers of the winter season are often
heavily flavoured, and breweries will
likely employ liberal use of caramel
and chocolate malts in flavouring their
seasonal creations. This gives a chance
for those turned off by the bitter bite
of your normal set of ales and lagers
to enjoy a wholesome craft beer in the
cold months!

Winterbraun is a thick, smoke-
wood brown/near-burgundy-coloured
ale brewed in the small, Northern
California dock city of Eureka by Lost
Coast Brewery and Café. It’s a strong
winter ale clocking in at 6.5 per cent
alc/vol. Coming in a standard craft
650ml brown bottle, the flavour mix on
this one is almost as interesting as the
label art. The label depicts a Picasso-
faced man riding his snowboard down
a treacherous slope that wouldn’t look
out of place on Grinch Mountain. It’s
less-than-moderately carbonated with
flavour tones of walnut and yeasty
sweetness. It also carries a slight spice.
It tastes much like a milder version
of Anchor Brewing Christmas Ale
2010 but with less plum and grapefruit
undertones. The undertones are still
present and linger past swallow. Being
served out of a bottle, the cloudy
brew left quite a bit of sediment at the
bottle of the glass, and the salty-sweet
sediment taste will linger on the roof of
your mouth. This brew scores points for
drinkability; especially when held next
to other dark winter ales that bullock
your taste buds. You can find this on
the shelf of most BC Signature Liquor
Stores. You may be able to catch of
glimpse of it in private stores in the
downtown area but for a surefire find,
Visit the single-serve section of BC
Signature Liquor stores.

Granville Island Lions Winter
Ale is a seasonal staple on the taps
of Metro Vancouver pubs from
November—March. The most popular
and commonly found winter ale in
Vancouver is a top contender to be
the best. If your favourite pub has a
variety of Granville Island beers on tap
then they’ll like host this one during
the cold season. A true testament to

the enjoyable smoothness of vanilla,
caramely beers, Lions Winter Ale is my
uncontested favourite for banter filled
pub nights; these boys just quaff down
so easy! For those of you who enjoyed
GI’s Raspberry Ale this summer, this
is what you should switch to drinking
in the cold months. The beer looks and
tastes almost like a vanilla brown cream
soda, but with a slight bitter pinch of
hoppy goodness. I would suggest giving
the beer a wiff before sipping as the
scent of the ale in almost as enjoyable
as the first taste. This beer isn’t a dark,
murky winter warmer—it’s a clear and
smooth 5.5 per cent. The carbonation
level is weaker than most GI brews but
still is bubbly enough to embrace the
throat with a tickle. This year it’s also
available in cans as well as the standard
341ml bottle.

Tree Brewing Vertical Winter
Ale is a contemporary of the GI
Winter Ale but the vanilla flavourings
polish the aftertaste instead of holding
ground at the forefront of the swig.
Its colour is also comparable to that
of GI’s, but a little darker. For those
who like Tree’s Cutthroat West Coast
Pale Ale, this might be your favourite
winter ale, as this ale is a definite well-
rounded contender, good for both party
slamming and fireside sipping. There’s
a lot more hoppy bitterness than in the
GI variant, so IPA lovers would likely
be more inclined to buy this now that
this season it’s finally available in a six-
pack. Years previous it was only found
as a member of Tree’s Winter Character
12-pack; my sole reason for bringing
the 12-packs to parties last year. I'll
admit, I’d horde these out of the box
for myself. Even though this fella is
brewed in Kelowna, you can still buy it
for a quarter cheaper than the GI Lions
Winter Ale. Good news for festive
imbibers on a budget!

Each year, the winter brewing

season comes in earlier and earlier
as the current top breweries want to
keep you in habit of drinking their
brew before the new breweries enter
in the winter beer market. Watch out
for other winter beers to come your
way within the next couple of weeks
including Howe Sound Father John
Christmas Ale (my absolute favourite:
comes in a mighty 1L bottle and an
8 per cent alc/vol that warms your
belly like a Christmas carol), Anchor
Brewing Christmas Ale 2011 (they
brew a new recipe every year), Nelson
FACEPLANT Organic Winter Ale,
Red Racer Limited Edition Winter
Ale, and Dead Frog Christmas
Beeracle (six-packs come with gift
tag!). Take your pick and trust me,
forego the ricey, plain bro beers like
Budweiser and Molson this year and try
something festive! Cheers and bottoms up!

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