Red Brick Winter Brew (2008)

Brewed by Atlanta Brewing Company
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Atlanta, Georgia USA

Cloudy brown pour thick tan head and spotty lace. Caramel on the nose. Caramel and dark fruit flavor. Spicy hoppy finish. This was a solid beer

5point liquor in Athens, GA. Pours brown with beige tan head. Aroma of dark fruits, yeast. Taste, dark fruits, light caramel malts. Thick palate, with many of the Belgian Ale characteristics. Good warming notes of the alcohol.

Name: Winter
Date: November 26, 2008
Mode: Draft
Source: Brewery
Vintage: 2008
Appearance: muddy brown, creamy beige head, bits of lace
Aroma: sweet malt aroma with lots of fruity character
Flavor: rich malt flavor, lots of fruity esters, brown sugar sweetness, light balancing spicy hops, touch of chocolate

Name: Winter
Date: December 09, 2008
Mode: bottle
Source: Green’s
Vintage: 2008
Appearance: cloudy dark ruby red, wispy beige head
Aroma: big sweet fruity aroma, lots of sweet esters, peaches and apricots, touch of peppery alcohol
Body: sticky sweet body
Flavor: big sweet fruity ester flavor, caramel sweetness adds to the fruityness
Overall: bottle and draft are very close on this one

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 16/20
Rating: 3.7/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: **4

Pours a dark, lightly hazy, reddish-brown color with asmall, foamy, khaki colored head. The foam settles quickly to a wispy film with a thick edge, scant spots of lacing marking the glass. Aromas include sweet candy sugar, burnt caramel, figs and caramelized bananas, with a strange, vegetal sort of note lingering in the background. Hints of off-smelling Belgian yeast and alcohol finish things off. There’s almost a faint wisp of paint thinner or some other chemical solvent in there as well. Flavors are equally off-putting, with the same vegetal, chemical notes and strikingly bitter spices mucking up what would otherwise be a decent dark fruit and caramel profile. Medium bodied at best and astringent on the finish, even the mouthfeel is lacking. I am far from impressed with this one.

12oz bottle. This bottle is infected I think. Soon as the beer touched by glass it exploded in a volcano of carbonation. Tan head with a dark brown body. Smells like apples. Tastes like chocolate and coffe with a sour slightly bitter finish. It fizzes up worse than champagne in the mouth.

Poured cloudy dark brown with no head. Aroma of dark fruit, yeast and spices. Tastes of dark fruit, raisins, cocoa and a hint of spice. Notes of Belgian yeast. Touch of bitterness.

12 oz. bottle. Pours a reddish-brown. Thin, light tan head. Aroma of raisins and candi sugar. Flavor is really nice. Hints of dark fruits, burnt toast, and yeast. Finish is lightly bitter with dark chocolate hints. Glad to see these new beers coming from ABC.

I am really happy that in the last few years Atlanta Brewing has turned into a brewery where I am excited when they release a new beer (or turn the previous version of the Winter Ale into a year-round offering, because that beer was awesome). This actually comes across as a pretty good Belgian-style dubbel. There is a bit of a hazelnut quality to it, and there is a slight hint of chocolate. The yeasty aromas and flavor show they used an actual Belgian strain here instead of ignoring the importance of yeast to the Belgian styles like some American brewers. This is a good beer.