REVIEW: Mt. Carmel Winter Ale

Today's beer, Mt. Carmel's Winter Ale, is the fourth and final in the Cincinnati brewery's seasonal series. I took a look at the Springtime ale, Summer wheat, and Harvest ale (Hey, I did them in order too!) and enjoyed them all a whole lot. You can check out all of those posts my exploring the Mt. Carmel tag here. The Winter seasonal is a Winter Warmer brewed with spices and honey. Hmm, seems to be a bit of a pattern. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. As far as I'm concerned, that's a winning recipe. Anyways, this has been a bit of a stressful week what with moving and all so I was awfully ready to sit down with this beer last night. Winter Ale checks in at 8% ABV and 38 IBUs. To the beer!

Winter ale pours very very dark. In fact, I had to hold it right up to the lamp to see that this beer is actually an incredibly dark, yet crystal clear, ruby red. I had the good sense to pour this beautiful brew into my friend, Grant's Dogfish Head signature glass. That resulted in a steady stream of bubbles rising from the nucleation point at the bottom of the glass. Those bubbles fed into a finger of bubbly khaki colored head. That head hung on all night long. It receded into a resilient rim that wasn't going anywhere and left some lovely spidery lacing. A very pretty package al around.

The aromas are led by bready, slightly toasty malt. A subtle roasty chocolate/ coffee prescence joins in as well. It's also very pleasantly spicy with an interesting green piney character also.

Quite surprisingly, a punchy, resiny, slightly fruity hop character hits first. I didn't see that coming at all, but it's a rather pleasant shock. That hoppiness, paired with a rather lively carbonation keeps what is a very big, full bodied, and creamy beer, moving along quickly. A lovely roastiness adds some hearty hints of chocolate and coffee to the proceedings. Fruity hints of plum and raisin join in the party as well.  The seasonal spices come out near the end and linger on through the finish. Also, in all of this lovely flavor there's no hints at the 8% ABV.

I remember back when I visited the Mt. Carmel brewery someone asked one of the brewers what their favorite Mt. Carmel Ale was. They answered that they preferred whatever seasonal they were brewing at the time. Now that I've had all four, I think I can see why. They're all great. But right now, after just having had it, I think Winter Ale is my favorite. That might just be because it's winter and it fits the season so beautifully. That may be just a what have you done for me lately type thing. Whatever the reason, you need to try this beer. It's complex, rich, and damned enjoyable.

HD