Bison Winter Warmer

Pours a deep mahogany into the glass, with a non-retentive head that leaves no visible lace. The nose is of dried fruit, yeast and dark malts. Flavors follow somewhat in tow, with dark esters, raisins, doughy bread, and a hint of alcohol, molasses and fruit pits in the finish. The mouthfeel is airy, somewhat smooth, but weirdly thin. This is due to a lack of complexity in texture, and lively carbonation levels. Not a bad brew, but just not one that I’m going to remember.

Bottle sampled in Feb 2008: Pours a transparent copper amber with a wispy lacing off-white head. Aroma of sweet dark caramel and raisin fruitiness with some bready doughy yeastiness. Starts with some sweet caramel and doughy Belgian yeast toward an airy mildly bittersweet finish. A pretty decent winter warmer.

Pours brown with a thin whote head. Smells of cocoa, fruity, earthy. Tastes of caramel, some spciy hints, molasses. Decent.

Brown murky color, sweet plum aroma. Malty and bready with notes of raisin Mellow hopiness, alcohol is well masked.

Deep amber brown with a small off-white head. Aroma is of wood and old raisins. Taste is of raisin bread and malt. Smooth, but flavor is rather weak.

2006 vintage. In the bomber bottle from John’s Market in Portland. Pours a darks purple-brown with a fizzy and quickly dying brown head. The aroma is huge with vanilla, raisins and strong acetone. The flavor is big, without having a thick body. Big raisins all the way. The high alcohol burns on the way down. Good, but not legendary.

Sorry to be a deviant here, but I thought this was an excellent beer. Pours dark brown with an off-white head. Great sweet, complex dark fruit aroma. Taste is dark malt, chocolate, grapes, raisins, some spices. Full-bodied and smooth mouthfeel. A good one.

Pours dark brown with a fine, white head. Dark fruits and a complex set of aromas that are hard to describe. Very good.