Berghoff Hazelnut Winter Fest Ale

Brewed by Minhas Craft Brewery
Style: Brown Ale
Monroe, Wisconsin USA

Rust-colored and still with hardly any head. Definite hazelnut presence in the aroma … the flavor is fully nutty and smooth. It’s nice, but the sharply sweet finish doesn’t fit with the main flavors. OK.

Bottle: Reddish highlights over the amber hue that produced a small fizzy head and some lace. The aroma has notes of hazelnut (duh), toasted and buttery malts, floral hops, vanilla, and earthy yeast esters. The taste starts sweet and nutty. A strange note of cuurent and cherry pop in for a moment and then fade. Some bitters on the the finish with the lingering hazelnut aftertaste. The feel is fizzy and buttery, becomes bland after half a glass. I love hazelnut but found this brew lent itself to much towards the nutty character and not enough ale. Still, nice enough to try fresh on tap if I can find it.

Beautiful amber color with little head when poured carefully. Nice sweet nutty smell. Great roasted malt taste with a definite hazelnut presence. There is a hazelnut candy (can’t remember the name now) that this resembles alot because of the sweet nuttiness. I hope to find more of this to share with family.

Pours amber with a medium white foamy head. Smells delightful, you can definately smell the hazelnut and some caramel, and peanuts. My mouth was watering after smelling it. Had this in June. Malty with a nutty taste provided by a combination of different nuts. I can’t wait to have this during christmas time around the fire with the tree up.

Redish amber in color, clear, with a large, off-white head. Thin, spotty sheets of lacing. For one of the few times I can recall, I can actually detect roasted nuts in the aroma of this beer -- I can’t identify them as hazelnuts per se, but the roasty, woody nuttiness is definitely there. Lightly spiced hop flavor is nicely accented by roasted nuts and caramel malt. Surprisingly drinkable, even in June.

Dark amber color with a small quickly diminishing head. Very sweet malty flavors with some toasted almond with quite a creamy body as well as other nutty (roasted) flavors and a hint of vanilla. Seemed fairly complex but did not sit well with me, not a bad attempt though.

Draft, at the Berghoff. Normally, I don't like nut flavors in anything; coffee, even brownies. Don't know why. But this beer is quite all right. A nice coppery color under a thin head. A hazelnut/marzipan smell is definietly present. The nutty taste acts to complement a mild hop profile and a nice toasty caramel malt taste that leaves a sticky moustache behind. A note of cherry(?) toward the end. I'd think this should go in the listing as a fruit or spice beer. Either way, the Berghoff in the Loop sells drafts for $3.25, a great bargain for any big city's overpriced downtown.

Bottle pours a copper color with no head and lace. The aroma is of hazelnut, but in a stinky socks sort of way. The flavor is really bad - hazelnut, in a stinky socks sort of way, trying to cover up all else in the flavor with a lingering ale fruitiness. The palate is average for an ale, but who can get to it through the obnoxious flavor? Overall, I dont think I can even use the rest of the six pack to cook with as it is too nutty.