Dogwood Winter Ale 2003

Formerly brewed at Dogwood Brewing Company
Style: Abbey Dubbel
Atlanta, Georgia USA

22oz bottle Thanks Crawford-pours a dissipating light tan head and hazy ? color. Aroma is fruity, medium malt, husky. Taste is syrupy, fruity, medium malt-toffee, husky, bitter/flat hops, some tannins. Big.

Not as good as the ’02. A little thin. The maltly flavor is nice and the rich fruityness in the background makes this quite unique.

Name: Winter
Date: October 30, 2003
Mode: Draft
Source: Twains, Decator, GA
Vintage: 2003
Appearance: opaque brown, thin whispy head
Flavor: rich malty flavor, chocolate covered bananas, rich essence of ripe fruit - figs and dates - well blended

Name: Winter
Date: July 09, 2006
Mode: liter bottle
Vintage: 2003
Appearance: nice lace
Aroma: still can’t get much of an aroma
Flavor: flavor is still very rich with lots of chocolate and some sweet ripe fruit that ripens as it warms

Name: Winter
Date: August 18, 2007
Mode: bottle
Source: tasting
Vintage: 2003
Score: 3.7 to 4.0
Aroma: sweet ripe fruit and milk chocolate aroma
Flavor: rich chocolate flavor, lots of fruity character, still a bit of caramel sweetness although it is drying out a bit
Overall: chocolate covered caramel candied fruit treat

Name: Winter
Date: January 10, 2009
Mode: bottle
Source: GMoT tasting
Vintage: 2003
Aroma: sweet fruity aroma, ripe fruits
Flavor: rich chocolate flavor, lots of sweet fruity esters
Overall: holding very well

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 8/10; Flavor: 8/10; Palate: 7/10; Overall: 17/20
Rating: 4/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: **4

12oz bottle from TheBeerCellar - thanks! A pretty murky brown with a fairly pungent aroma. This one seems pretty damn hot, and I wonder how it was fresh. Wow. At any rate, a decent winter ale with rich malts, deep dark plum notes and a bit of clove on the finish. Fairly thin palate, but drinkable overall.

12oz - thanks tbc2 - Aroma is strong roasted malts, chocolate, raisin, prune and a touch of spice. Pours very dark with red highlights a small head and good lacing. Flavor matches aroma starting with the dark fruit and finishing strong with the roasted malts. Palate is sticky and dry. While this is a very tasty brew (esp at 3 years old), it just doesn’t offer anything unique.

12oz bottle via trade with goldtwins - Thanks Larry - Pours dark brown almost black with a large foamy tan head that stays well and laces the sides of the glass. Good aromas of chocolate, molasses, some nuts, and even slight remnants of hops. Flavor is chocolate, nuts, molasses, caramel, and a hint of alchohol at the finish. Palate is smooth sweet and pretty balanced. I enjoyed this one the best of the 3 I tried today... These held up very well..

Bottle care of TheBeerCellar2. Pours a cloudy dark brown with a tan head. Medium body with fine carbonation. Aroma of chocolate, molasses and nuts. The flavor is milk chocolate, with some fruit (fig/raisin/prune) notes. I was sure this was going to be a sweet interpretation of the porter style until I looked it up. A bit of spice in the finish.

Surprising head retention, a nice layer. Nose is mostly chocolate. Pit of phenol in the flavour. otherwise a slightly bitter roast with a caramel, squash, malt.