Laughing Dog Cold Nose Winter Ale

Brewed by Laughing Dog Brewing
Style: English Strong Ale
Ponderay, Idaho USA

A true belly warmer. Bottle poured a dark brown nearly black. Nose essence of Rogue Hazelnut-Brown, in a good way. Chocolate and Spruce aromas as well. Well balanced delicious beer. It would be a great one for the Holiday Ale festival in Portland. Which came first, Laughing Dog or Lucky Lab??? Very similar logo.

Pours almost black with a lighter tan head. Aroma is fresh yet subtle with hints of hops, fruit, vanilla, raisins, and oak ? Flavor is not at all similar to the aroma, with notes of malts, Chalk, cocoa, dark chocolate and toffee. Much better than I anticipated.

Hazy burgundy brown colour, thin light brown head. Chocolate, woody aroma with notes of earth and toffee. Very hoppy profile - big woody character. Strong coffee/chocolate note as well...just big all round. As it warms, more chocolate comes through, toning down the bitterness. Nuts emerge in the finish. Rich, complex if you let it get to a decent temperature. That was worth the wait...burp.

12 oz bottle from BrewDad; Nose of caramel, toffee and popcorn butter (diacetyl); clear brown with a small beige head; flavor of butter, caramel, and faint hops. Might be good without the diacteyl.

Molasses maroon color with a solid head. Sweet aroma of candi and butterscotch and piquant, spicy, piny, minty hops. Moderate diacetly component throughout this beer with a distinctly butterscotch flavor and some candi malts. Minty and piny refreshing hops. Old world style winter ale. Quite good and surprised it has such a high alcohol percent, though it is warming.

Darker brown with a creamy head. Aroma is molasses with some vanilla and a touch of oak. Sweet upfront with a real rich flavour of peaty malts and roasted malts. Drys as it goes down with the woody and spicey flavour. A nice beeer.

(Bottle thanks to BuckeyeBoy) Smooth and creamy palate, butting against a woody hop flavor and bitterness. Oak and vanilla are prominent (this isn’t oak aged is it?). Rich malty, nutty base with a searing bitterness running all over it. cherry and hazelnut transition into coffee and cocoa. Palate is wonderfully smooth and silky, almost a nitro like veel to it, without the flavors being covered up. the flavors don’t all mesh perfectly, but the complexity is impressive. Certainly a unique beer, and defintiely one I wish I could get my hands on more often.

Bottle: Dark brown colored pour with medium sized head. Hoppy, pine, wood aroma. Slight sweet malty, dry finish. Not for me.