Except for Hale's, every beer
mentioned here--plus a whole lot more--will be on tap at the Winter
Ale Fest Dec. 4-6 at Pioneer Courthouse Square.
From a sales perspective, November is the worst month for beer. From a
drinking perspective, it may be the best: After a summer of making light,
refreshing beers, brewers revel in the opportunity to create bigger, more
aggressive winter brews, and there are few breweries or brewpubs that
haven't created a special holiday seasonal. There are so many, in fact,
I'd need several columns to mention them all. You'd do well to try them
all, but if you can't do that, here are the ones you shouldn't miss.
Deschutes Brewery
Once again, Deschutes' winter seasonal Jubelale
sports the work of a Central Oregon artist--this year, Paul Alan Bennett
of Sisters. I haven't enjoyed the art on past labels, but this painting
is beautiful and a fitting introduction to what's inside the bottle.
Dark reddish-brown in the glass, the beer is topped by a thick head
that, despite the 6.7 percent alcohol, lingers for some time. Deschutes
typically prefers beer with a chewy texture, and Jubel is no exception.
It is a bold beer from start to finish, with malt, hops and alcohol
all assertive in equal measures. Sweet and nutty malt arrives first,
followed by the warming sensation of the alcohol and a long, dry, hoppy
bitterness.
Saxer/Nor'Wester
The folks from Lake Oswego have released two
seasonals, Nor'Wester's White Forest Ale and Saxer's Jack Frost. Both
are excellent. Sporting the new Nor'Wester label, White Forest arrives
this year with a new recipe by Tony Gomes, whose love of malt is all
over this one. The aroma, which blossoms as the beer warms, has notes
of new pine and vanilla. Called a Scottish-style ale, it's appropriately
malty, reproducing the vanilla and sweet pine of the nose with a silky
finish. Unlike many of the sharper winter beers, White Forest is a softer,
sweeter ale made for quaffing.
Saxer's Jack Frost Winter Doppelbock is the Leroy Brown of winter seasonals.
It's a true winter classic, a huge beer made to take the sting out of
the coldest nights. But despite its macho image--the label still sports
a grizzled mountain man riding a horse in the dead of winter--it's a
remarkably smooth, sophisticated beer. Jack Frost's strength is hinted
at by its appearance; it seems almost viscous in the glass. But on the
tongue, the alcohol punch (a very healthy 8 percent) is muted by the
richness of the malt--roasty and sweet with an evident note of almonds.
The hops are present, but they definitely play a minor role, keeping
the malt crisp to the finish. This is the kind of beer people hoard
to sample over time. Buy it while you can.
Grant's
From Washington, Bert Grant brings back his Winter Ale
for a second year. Grant is at his best when he's got a little malt
to work with, and the complexity of this beer shows it. Even at cold
temperatures, Winter Ale's earthy, spicy aroma rises richly from the
glass. It has a smooth mouthfeel suggestive of chocolate and finishes
with the spicy play of Mount Hood hops. It becomes more sherrylike as
it warms, with notes of raisins, plums and candied orange--a delightfully
complex beer. Of all Grant's seasonals, each of which features a single
hop variety, this beer suffers the least for its travel to Portland;
perhaps because they're preserved in 6 percent alcohol, the hops come
through fresh and spicy.
Hale's Ales
Wee Heavy Winter Ale was first brewed by Hale's Ales
in Colville, Wash., in 1985, which qualifies it as one of the oldest
winter ales still brewed. The name would lead you to believe that this
is a Scottish strong ale, but one taste of the hops and you'll know
it was brewed right here in the Northwest. It has the most intoxicating,
malty aroma of all the beers I tasted. The flavor is equal to the smell,
and the malt and hops are at turns rich and spicy. The brewery adds
cinnamon, which is evident in both nose and palate but strangely unidentifiable.
Earlier this year, Hale's began bottling its beer, making Wee Heavy
more broadly available to Portlanders. If you've never had a Hale's,
this is a good one to start with.
Other beers of note include Portland Brewing's Icicle Creek, the most
understated of the winter offerings. Though it won't win any contests
for its size, it is a zesty, tasty beer that would nicely complement
a Thanksgiving feast. Pyramid's Snow Cap has become a winter standard;
it's a big, booming beer, making up in weight what it lacks in subtlety.
Full Sail's Wassail strikes a nice balance between strength and quaffability
with its thick body, chocolaty malting and hoppy bite. Finally, there
is Golden Valley's Tannen Bomb, which isn't named facetiously: At 8
percent alcohol, only Jack Frost is as strong. Surprisingly, it's one
of the smoothest beers available. The brewery's yeast, a rich, butterscotchy
strain, is perfectly suited for this big beer.
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Willamette Week | originally
published November 18,
1998
|
