FIRST DRAUGHT — Winter Ale is already here
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 14/12/2018 (2667 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Winter may not officially be starting until next week, but we all know that winter actually began back in September! One of the most popular beers during the winter time is Granville Island’s Lions’ Winter Ale.
Lions’ Winter Ale is a “Winter Warmer” ale that combines a medley of vanilla, cocoa and caramel. Granville Island describe it as a brew that’s the ultimate winter comfort brew, perfect with cream-based soups and other winter comfort foods. This beer has been available in Manitoba during the winter and spring months since 2011 or 2012 and has been a popular seller at Liquor Marts and beer vendors.
The Winter Ale pours a dark reddish brown with a ruby red hue to it. There’s a bit of clarity to it, and there’s a light amount of beige foam sprinkled on top of the beer.
The aroma is quite sweet with notes of vanilla, caramel, milk chocolate. So far, this is reminding me a bit of a dessert more than a beer — almost like an ice cream with a heavy amount of vanilla extract to it. If you don’t like vanilla, you won’t enjoy this beer at all.
The flavour isn’t as extreme for vanilla as we just saw for the aroma, I’m getting more of a sweet caramel profile from the toasted malt. There’s a good amount of chocolate to it, as well as a good amount of vanilla … but just not an overwhelming amount. It has a very light roastiness to it, so it gives of an ever so light presence of coffee, while the aftertaste is a bit of a combination of a metallic aftertaste as well as a hint of vanilla.
It has been a few years since I’ve had this beer, but I remember having it on tap at Brown’s Socialhouse (1.0) two years ago and I found it overwhelmingly chocolatey and vanilla-y to the point that I could barely drink the beer. But this time around the beer seems to be more balanced — even with the aroma stating otherwise.
If you’re a fan of porters, stouts or something like Fort Garry Dark, I think you will enjoy this beer as it has a lot of the same kind of malt profile and bit of heaviness that you experience in those beers. I find that this is more of a dessert beer than a typical porter or stout but the toasted malt profile gives it a bit of heft that makes it enjoyable even on a Saturday afternoon.
You can find Granville Island’s Winter Ale in 473mL cans for $3.15 as well as in twelve packs (355mL) for $25.01 at Liquor Marts in Brandon and Virden, and likely also at various beer vendors throughout Western Manitoba, as well as likely on draught at Brown’s Socialhouse. 5.5 per cent ABV.
3.5/5 Pints
Look out for Barn Hammer’s Fur Trader Spiced Winter Ale in the near future, as well as Farmery’s Great Wheat North Belgian-style White Ale. Fur Trader should be coming within a few weeks, while Great Wheat North should be out in Brandon and Neepawa by this weekend.