A cold day brings me back

It has officially been forever since my last post.  Three months to the day to be exact.  Rest assured I have not stopped drinking beer during that time!  Work took over most of my personal life including time to seek out new beers and to keep up with the news.  In short review...new beers were released, hops are in short supply, prices are rising, and a few breweries were purchased.  And I think that gets us caught up.

Lately we have had a little bit of cooler weather here in Florida (below 60...burrrrr)which has made me crave a darker, full flavored, malty beer.  For some reason I always have this craving during the colder months.  Probably a matter of conditioning since a lot of breweries release porters, stouts, barley wines, and winter ales around that time.  Plus its hard to put down a heavy, high alcohol beer when its really hot out.  It can be done but I remember a particularly bad experience knocking down barley wine on a 85 degree day in Hawaii.

With the goal of satisfying my craving, I hopped in my car and was off to one of the near by convenience stores that happens to have a great selection of singles and 22 ouncers.  I stocked up on a few Belgians, Avery Hog Heaven, Lagunitas Maximus, and a Brooklyn Winter Ale.  About the best I could do without venturing out a little further.

First up is the Brooklyn Winter Ale.  This winter ale is a Scottish Ale made with floor malted Maris Otter malt, English crystal malts, Belgian aromatic malt, American roasted malts, and American oats.  Floor malting is a process where the barley is germinated on the floor of a large room before being roasted as opposed to in a vessel.  This is an old technique that is also utilized when making Scotch.  So how do all these malts come together?  Here are my thoughts: 

• Appearance: Copper color with a hint more red; Low head with only a small amount of tan foam hanging on to the side of the glass
• Aroma: Lightly roasted malt, toasted bread like aromas, little to no hop aroma
• Taste: Nice up front malt flavor; Nutty; Roasted sweetness lingers gently without overpowering; Very clean finish; Tight carbonation with medium body
• 6% ABV
• 16.5 degrees Plato

Overall, this was a very enjoyable beer with a good malt focus.  The Brooklyn Winter Ale is well balanced and never overly sweet.  As far as winter ales or winter warmers go, this is definitely a milder beer.  However, that in no way is a bad thing.  Definitely what I have come to expect from the Brooklyn Brewery...balanced, classic flavors.