Dogwood Winter Ale 2001

Formerly brewed at Dogwood Brewing Company
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Atlanta, Georgia USA

Name: Winter
Date: November 06, 2002
Mode: Draft
Source: Twains, Decator, GA
Vintage: 2001
Appearance: hazy dark yellow, whispy head
Aroma: spicy sweet aroma
Body: thin body
Flavor: dry malt flavor with a spicyness from start to finish, slightly alcoholic but masked by a hint of sweetness, just a touch of bitterness in the finish

Name: Winter
Date: November 06, 2002
Vintage: 2001
over the last year this beer has gone from a sweet malty beer with a strong spicy burst to a mellower drier beer with a mild spicyness from start to finish

Name: Winter
Date: October 30, 2003
Vintage: 2001
big aroma with a very smooth flavor, only a hint of alcohol

Name: Winter
Date: January 10, 2009
Mode: bottle
Source: GMoT tasting
Vintage: 2001
sweet and spicy, holding up well,

Aroma: 6/10; Appearance: 5/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 5/10; Overall: 16/20
Rating: 3.5/5.0
Score: **4

The score was calculated based upon the notes and an old scoring system.

(12oz bottle, thanks artusory) Small beige head atop lightly hazed light amber body. Aroma is medium sweet, stewed apple, apple wine, alcohol. Taste is medium sweet, apple wine, some yeast. Medium body. Hard to believe the ABV was that low.

Hugh bottle numbered 73 of 2500. Poured a cloudy, amber color with an averaged sized off white head. Aromas of spices, citrus, and toffee. Tastes of the same with caramel. Has a light candi sugar sweetness to it as well.

Murky earthy golden pour, the light soapy off-white head fades slowly. Rather spicy nose is explosive with its coherent spice blend, no individual spices dominate, but the melting pot is a bit too much, ultimately taking more room than basic ingredients. Rye, coriander, ginger are all noticeable. Otherwise, it feels rather juicy, the carbonation is fading rapidly in mouth where the medium body does a job that much have been better in the past. Slight oiliness, lots of pineapple, orange, almost torpical flavours. Spicy, wheaty, bready playing on those nuances constantly to finish up leaving a decent complexity impression. A sweet and original Belgian take that may have been a treat a few years ago.

Hazy golden color with very little head. Aroma is some bready Belgian yeast, with a hint of wheat and some citrus. Body is smooth, syrupy sweet and has a good yeasty spice. Sticky, lightly bitter finish. Good Belgian ale, and a treat from Georgia. My guess is that it's above 6% abv, but not by much.

Any first impressions?
-No head whatsoever is sported by the orange golden tint.
-Sweet tropical fruitiness merges with the caramel maltiness.
-Candied fruitiness and many kinds of cereal (rye being evident) propose a sugary, yeasty treat.
-The low, delicate carbonation makes room for the near-syrupy maltiness.

What if you dig deeper?
-A rather sweet orientation evokes the able maltiness, but might bother some.
-Ultimately, this feels like it was much brighter a few years ago.
-Pineapples, oranges, cantaloups form a complex fruitiness.
-A strong ale without any specific origins, a fun try, but yet another disappointment due to aging.

Bottle; nearly 5 years old this point.

Bottle courtesy of ? (most likely TBC or slob). Pours mahogany with some spritzy bubbles. Smells of ginger, dry malt, touches of spice. Tastes of pepper, sweet malt, sugar, some molasses, hints of spice. Considering its age and ABV, this one held up very well.

From a trade with Goldtwins, back in 2004. Hazy golden ale with a thick creamy white. Sweet malt aroma with orange, nutmeg and maderized honey. Sweet malt with touch of coriander, maple and orange peels, nice and smooth. A bit oxidized i believe as i got some cardboard notes. still, a very nice trade from GT.