Ithaca Winterizer

Dark and glassy reddish brown appearance. Head only lasts a minute but leaves a film on top. Spicy cinnamon-like aroma over a dark cherry. Ale taste is a slightly more saccharine cherry. Can’t tell if the balance will hold. Roasted malt coupled with a tart (too?-)sweet cherry/berry. Winter ale has that cinnamony spice which adds a dimension but doesn’t make it more desirable. At least it’s balanced. Watery but a little thick. A tiny bitter bite at the end. Not my bag. Too sweet for a beer. Beer should be a little bitter. Not stomach-churning (high praise, i know). Just not my thing.

Brown bottle, 355 ml, savoured on March 16 2009; eye: brown with a copperish hue, beige head that turns into a tiny ring, no effervescence, no lacing; nose: spices, ginger, clove, cinnamon, nutmeg, caramel; mouth: spices, clove, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, caramel malt, light hops, caramel, vanilla, finale in spices with a good presence of caramel malt, lightly bitter, rather sweet, medium body, sticky, average carbonation; overall: fine FRANÇAIS Bouteille brune, 355 ml, savourée le 16 mars 2009; œil : brune avec une teinte cuivrée, mousse beige qui se transforme en un petit anneau, pas d’effervescence, pas de dentelle; nez : épices, gingembre, clou de girofle, cannelle, muscade, caramel; bouche : épices, clou de girofle, cannelle, gingembre, muscade, malt caramel, léger houblon, caramel, vanille, finale en épices avec une bonne présence de malt caramel, légèrement amère, plutôt sucrée, corps moyen, collante, carbonatation moyenne; en résumé : bien

(Bottle) Pours a mahogany body with a small beige head. Aroma of licorice, roasted malt, caramel, and brown sugar. Flavor of roasted malt, dark fruit, cocoa, and some banana with a dry finish.

12oz bottle: Deep, deep brown pour with a wispy gray head. Spice additions are the name of the game with this beer with lots of cinnamon and nutmeg filling the Christmasy aroma. The body is a medium build, with a nice creamy carbonation. A chocolatey malt middle emerges to give support to the additive laden body. Finishes full and creamy, this is a nice example of the winter warmer style.

12oz bottle. Pours a murky, amber-brown color light tan head with patchy, fine-bubbled lacing. Very solid spice presence in the aroma: cinnamon, nutmeg, plenty of xmas-like spices, with a solid nougat and dried dark fruit character underneath. Medium-to-full mouthfeel: milk chocolate, leather, pleasant spicing (again, cinnamon and christmas spices) creamy feel toasted vanilla and nougat very nice, drinkable stuff touch of roughness on the edges and mild presence of alcohol (just a touch) very pleasant, spice-based beer. Lengthy finish: milk chocolate, leather, and toasty spices.

Bottle. An extra in a trade. Pours a dark brown body with tan head. Aroma is sweet malt, lactose, chocolate malt, and some abv. Flavor is Sweet malt and spiciness some cinnamon and ginger come up out of no where. A moderate warming with a crisp mouthfeel. Not bad.

Bottle. Pours ruby/brown with a thin beige head. Aroma is spicy, fruity and roasted, with notes of banana and caramel. Medium body. Flavor is more roast with smoke, coffee bean, and fruits and spices lying in the background. Very nice.

Bottle from the variety pack. Decent head a little malt. Taste is malty biscuit with a hint of spice but not nearly as much as I was expecting from it. Not bad but it feels like it could use a little more honing. Good but not great might buy again. As advertised it seems like it would be a perfect beer for sitting next to a fire on a snowy winter night/