Dogwood Winter Ale 2003 (Special Edition)

Formerly brewed at Dogwood Brewing Company
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
Atlanta, Georgia USA

I don’t know what kind of crack the other raters are on. This is a top-notch brew. It’s kind of a cross between an American IPA and a mild. Very dark, great 1L bottle, although it’s a knockoff of the big Sweetwater Festive Ale in Atlanta. Fruity, semi-sweet, spicey. Tanginess and coffee clinginess hang on in the finish. Lots of character and a good regional.

Bottle #448 of 2500 - Dark, almost purple appearance, with a trailing off white head. Aroma is very sweet with some citrusy notes and a chocolate back end. Flavor has a sweet and sour thing going on that is quite pleasing. Some Christmasy spices and fruits with a little bit of chocolate. Tasty. Mouthfeel has a bit of carbonation, that I usually do not enjoy but find refreshing in this one.

Aroma of Jagermeister. There are alot of spices in this brew, a little too much for my liking. Anyways it was nice to taste.

Eiríkur says it has the aroma of Jagermeister. If my memory is correct then that is spot on. Coffee and cinnamon flavour - is that a bit like Goldschlager?

Appearence is similar to the standard winter ale, with a bit larger head. Aroma is HEAVY, it almost filled the room, but it wasnt a complex good aroma, much more a pile of spices and cinnamon. Taste is almost ruined by cinnamon and spices, you cant feel nothing else. I probably would rate this lower if I would taste it again, but this was something different from anything else.

Smells of strong ginger and cinnamon. Appearance is a nice dark brown. Flavor is SPICE! Overload going on here. Cinnamon, ginger, and cloves is all I can taste. I enjoy a nice spiced winter beer but this is too much. It's darn close to a drain pour. I still appreciate biermonk giving me this beer and he did warn me of the excess spice. Bottom line don't seek this out, just get the regular Dogwood 2003-2004 winter ale its a very good beer.

Dark rich brown with a thin ring of tan head. Musty highly spiced aroma, kinda reminds me of Old Spice cologne. Semi-sweet malty flavor throughout, mostly covered by a tremendous ginger, nutmeg and clove spice. Finishes dry and lightly acidic. Very similar to Anchor Our Special Ale. This could use some more balance and aging for the spices to mellow.

Chocolate and a hint of nut overwhelmed by spice flavor. The aroma was ok, but somehow seems odd, woody maybe. Color is a nice dark amber. This beer is ok, but could be better.