Winter. The time for frosty temperatures and snowfalls aplenty. Luckily, there are plenty of local potent beers to warm you up and fight back the seasonal chill.
Buckeye Lake Winter Shanty
ABV: 5.5% ABV
Availability: Bottles and drafts
Buckeye Lake’s Christmas Ale begins with an aroma of mild crackers at the sides of each breath. Hints of raisins and cherries fill in from behind before notes of cinnamon and nutmeg arrive with some holiday cheer. On the tongue, bread malts and toast arrive first. A touch of brown sugar and burnt caramel deliver a faint hint of sweetness, while raisins and a hint of plums deliver some dark fruit power. Notes of cinnamon and nutmeg deliver the holiday spicing, topped off with a tea-like bitterness at the end of each drink.
Wolf’s Ridge Rosy Cheeks
ABV: 7.7% ABV
Availability: Draft only
Departing from the spice and malts of Buckeye Lake, Rosy Cheeks shows up with big malt power. A touch of molasses delivers a nosefull of sweetness, while raisins, plums and figs deliver plenty of dark fruit power. Pay attention to the lack of spices within each breath. You’ll discover that spices have no power here! Flavor-wise, huge malt notes arrive with toasted sugar and molasses. Sweet and slightly tangy cranberries bring some fruity sweetness, while raisins and plums add to the fruit side of things. As each drink passes, the sweetness grows slightly, bringing more and more roasted malt qualities to the tongue, finishing with a big malt finish, complete with faintly fruited sweetness.
Seventh Son Glad Tidings
ABV: 5.5% ABV
Availability: Draft only
On the nose, brown malts and big citrus arrive alongside hints of caramel. Cinnamon, clove, and ginger show above sweet overtones, bringing some sweetness alongside a balanced spiced aroma. On the tongue, bread malts team up with a faint touch of molasses while big spice notes of cinnamon, clove, and ginger slide in from the sides. Orange zest sets up on the tip of the tongue while the malts fill the mouth and bring a nice and warming heat. The alcohol strength is nicely complimented by the crackling fire pits outside of the taproom.
Elevator Winter Warmer
ABV: 8/6%
Availability: Bottles and draft
Kicking things off, an aroma of crackers and bread crust swirl around the nose, while cinnamon and a touch of clove slide in from the sides. Hints of orange zest compliment the spices without going overboard. Each breath is finished off by a gentle breeze of brown sugar and caramel. Pleasing your taste buds, brown sugar slides across mellow bread malts to create a solid base. Cinnamon, clove and nutmeg deliver some holiday spicing, while subtle notes of orange zest works its magic from the back. Toasted caramel and slightly burnt toffee create a full-bodied maltiness that allows for a nice warming glow to spread across the tongue, without the numbing tingle of alcohol to raise its head.
Smokehouse Brewing Saint Nick
ABV: 11.4% ABV
Availability: Draft only
A mild bouquet of malts and ginger brush against the nose, joined by a faint hint of orange zest. Caramel sweetness shows up later, joined by brown sugar and an ultra-faint touch of molasses. Across the palate, big malts arrive in full force, aided by a hint of spicing (specifically cinnamon and ginger) which is boosted by a massive alcohol presence. Velvety smooth and full-bodied, this brew brings out a festive freshness that is held in check by powerful malts and an underlying sweetness, courtesy of brown sugar and molasses. At the end of each taste, a faint touch of orange zest caps everything off, delivering perhaps the most massive local winter warmer out there.
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photos courtesy Crafted Drafts
