Left Hand Snow Bound Winter Ale

Left Hand Snow Bound Winter Ale Bottle. [Another great tasting session @ Papsoe] Small creamy beige head that mostly diminished. Clear mahogany color. Fair display of lacework. Sweet Christmas spice and light toasted malt. Hint of fruity notes in the sniff as well. Over the palate ginger, yeast, cinnamon, cardamom. Medium bodied with an average carbonation and light dry texture. Moderated sweet flavor. Moderated spicy / herbal like finish that lingers. 6 / 3 / 7 / 3 / 14

This was a GREAT winter ale that is perfect for the holiday season. This beer is loaded with sweetness, cinnamon, nutmeg and a flavor that makes you want more, more, more! The alcohol is very well hidden, so be careful, because this great beer could come back to bite you the next morning! I loved this beer and will make it one of my yearly searches. Very well done.

Bottle: Pours a nice color; deep nut brown with plenty of clarity and a tan, creamy, lacing head. Sweet aroma with mild Christmas spice presence. Sweet ginger bread, brown sugar, lots of chai character and a sweet nutty notes as well. Sweet flavor. The mouthfeel is slick and warming. Has a light maple hint which leads to more toasted and spicy characteristics. Has some cardamom, clove, and slight boozy notes. Residual subdued cinnamon and a late roasted nutty malt hint. The flavor is a bit sweet for my taste, but something about it is reminiscent of a nice chai-tea, which I really like, and captures an ideal "warming" character for the winter season. Highly drinkable and enjoyable.

Not a bad Christmas beer but not my favorite by any means. Looks exactly like extremely strong tea when poured. Not much of a head to this. Smells like a big pumpkin pie that’s been laced with alcohol. Very sweet taste to this beer, as expected. Almost too sweet tasting. I can definitely taste the honey and spices in this but I’m not sure in a good way. I’m not sure how much of this I could drink. I finished this one but I don’t know if I would drink a second. It’s not a bad beer or anything, but it’s just a bit sweet for my tastes.

22oz. brown bomber served in a Duvel tulip. Poured a pretty clear ruby red. Medium bubbled low white head. Pumpkin pie spices in the aroma. Cinnamon, clove, allspice. Spices predominated the flavor as well. Rich and full bodied, big malt base with a long chocolatey malt finish. I don’t think I could drink a whole lot of this, a bomber was plenty. If you like spiced holiday beers, this would be right up your alley.

Draught: Aroma of spices, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Poured amber in color with a medium to large-sized, dense, foamy, off-white head that lasted throughout. Good lacing. Clear. Not sparkling. Flavor of cinnamon, nutmeg, and spices. Medium body. Dry, creamy texture. Average carbonation. Nutmeg finish.

Found this one bottled (22 oz.) at Binny’s in St. Charles, Illinois. Hazy, dark brown pour with a thick, foamy off white head. A bit of citrus, ginger and nutmeg in the nose, but dominated by bready maltiness. Spiciness continues into the taste. Considerable alcohol and sweetness, bitterness is low but present with a bit of orange rind and lots of ginger. Strong but clean finish. This is very good.

[Bottle] Pours light brown with a big light head. Beer is completely dominated by spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, etc.), which is alright in the aroma, but the taste takes on a bitterness from it that is really quite unappealing. I really did not care much for this.