Einstök Icelandic Winter Ale

Limited Edition 2017.
In Iceland, winter is not something we fear, it is something we embrace. We celebrate this with our super limited-edition Winter Ale, brewed with hand-cut and cured spruce tips. It is the perfect ale to inspire you to face the elements.

Key Ingredients: Smoked Icelandic barley, pale ale malt, crystal malt, chocolate malt, Bavarian hops, Icelandic spruce tips

3.5

160 reviews

Akureyri, Iceland

Community reviews

3.7 Can

3.8 Can. Pours clear chestnut, large beige head, dissipates to a ring with some lacing. Aroma is herbal, spruce, toffee, dark bready malt, dust. Minimal smoke, unfortunately. Flavor is medium sweet, light plus bitter. Medium body. Quite interesting.

3.4 Pours semi-opaque amber-brown with a tight, 3-finger bone-colored head. Mild aroma, lightly smoky with a touch of the spruce mixed in. Full-bodied and lightly syrupy. Long finish. Chocolatey flavor at the base, with the smoke and a bright spruce note sitting atop it. The smoke lingers some at the back.

3.8 Pretty darn tasty, full of toffee, caramel apple, and cocoa, with undertones of berry and spruce, finished off by a mild woody bitterness and a hint of smoke. No nutmeg, no cinnamon…nice.

3.5 Can at the DC post-Thanksgiving 2021 gathering. Poured a medium brown color, opaque. Aroma was light sweet malts, barley, light toffee. Not generally a fan of these kinds of beers, but maybe the cold temps I was drinking this in worked in it's favor.

2.2 12oz can pours a malty brown, no head. Nose has malt and cranberry and soap. Flavor has brown sugary and cranberry and malt, some herbs. Finishes a bit flabby.

3.6 Sweet. A pretty pleasant wee heavy type beer. Ruby sweet toffee alcohol touched. Good.

3.8 All things considered, I never expected this winter ale to be sweet, yet here it is. The description is spruce tips and smoked barley, yet the aroma is plums (mostly) and chocolate (slightly). From an 11.2-oz can with a BF (before?) date of 21/SEP/2022.

3.8 mahogany colour, medium sized creamy beige-ish head, which lasts for several minutes; aroma and taste of honeycomb toffee, butterscotch, buttery,, raisins, prune, some (dried) dark berries, hints of chocolate, herbal, yeasty, soy sauce and minimal christmas spicy notes; good one

3.5 Can - dark amber pour - substantial head - rich, medium-sweet maltiness up front - dark fruit through the middle, followed by a light acidity before the malt profile becomes drier and mildly smoky - spruce comes to the fore in the finish, which is dry, earthy, lingering - it’s good, but doesn’t leave much of an impression once the glass is gone.

3.4 11.2oz can from Arrow - Mason, bf 21/sep/2022, split with Heather. Interesting red berry notes up front, and the woody piney spruce tip, light spice. Smoke malt is subtle, not sure if I pick up on it at all. Moderate sweet taste, light to moderate bitter. Light bit of a spicy edge. Medium to bigger body. Light to moderate, soft light to moderate carbonation. Lightly slick. Nice cranberry-like red fruit and spice. Solid, interesting winter beer. My first of the season, and probably the first I've had since several years (didn't go for these when I took a break from rating).

3.2 Dark brown with orange highlights and a medium sized tan head. Malty with smoke and spruce. Long finish with growing smoke. Medium finish.

3.5 AR: rauchig, malzig, säuerlich, harzig, Karamell, AP: leicht trübes rotbraun TA: süss, rauchig, malzig, harzig, kräuterig,

3.3 Amber with off white head - Malt and some herbal aroma - Malt body with some caramel notes and a herbal spicy flavour - The malt with a herbal spicy flavour goes into the finish - This was nice

4.0 Tostada, incluso diría que algo quemada, pero es agradable, como el socarrat. Quizá sea la combinación con el punto ahumado y amaderado. Dulce.

3.4 Bottle 330ml. @ home. 🏡❄☃️ [ As Einstök Icelandic Winter Ale ]. ABV: 8.0%. Clear medium to dark red amber colour with a large, frothy, good lacing, mostly lasting, off-white to beige head. Aroma is moderate malty, toasted, caramel, dark malt, sweet malt, spruce, sugary spruce - meat - honey - brown sugar. Flavor is moderate sweet and light bitter with a average to long duration, sugary spruce, meat - smoke, sugary - brown sugar - honey - sugary spruce, dark malt - caramel. Body is medium, texture is oily - sticky, carbonation is soft. [20210108] 7-3-7-3-14

3.4 Amber, cloudy with a medium offwhite head. Aroma of malt, dried fruit and syrup sense. Light bittersweet with a dry malt and dried fruit, and some red berries finish. bb 10.2022, Bought at vinmonopolet.no 12.2020

2.8 Kobber klar skum råhvid Træ bær lys malt whisky korn Bitter lidt sød modrTe Oile blød

4.0 330ml Flasche. Braunes Bier, cremiger hoher Schaum. Echt interessante Nase. Gewürze, Brotteig, geriebener Apfel. Sanfte Säure. Riecht rund. Schoko-Rum Antrunk. Rosine, Röstmalz. Weich. Kann ich mir gut im Winter in Island vorstellen. Im Abgang sind die Röstnoten und Bitternoten im Vordergrund. Die Tannenspitzen brauchen etwas, bis sie sanft da sind. Könnte ich mehr darin vertragen! Insgesamt wirklich lecker.

3.5 Figs and dates. Reddish brown pour. Delicious warm flavor with date palate. Nice flavor. Warming.

3.5 Pours a reddish caramel color with a creamy head. Feint aroma. Taste of caramel, raisins, plums with a hint of the spruce. Warm finish, very good.

3.3 Creamy white excellent fully lasting head. Amber colour. Moderate malty and hoppy aroma. Moderate bitter dry woody flavor. Some caramel. Average moderate bitter finish. Oily palate.

3.6 Brown with a thin, creamy head. Interesting malty aroma that I take to be the smoked barley. Mild bacon undertone. Seems to get smokier the longer I sniff. Mild alpine note that’s no doubt the spuce. No real fruitiness. Taste has mildly bitter overtones on a sweet, caramel base. Dry at the end and increasingly bitter. Body to the full side of medium, moderate carbonation. A decent winter warmer.

4.4 Dark raisin colour with nice clarity, head is thick and creamy. Sweet, malty aroma with hints of wood smoke, cherry, butterscotch and chocolate, spruce and Christmas spices like nutmeg, allspice and cinnamon. Very nice!!

3.9 Særdeles god og velsmagende winter ale. Masser af fylde. tilpas bitterhed og sødmdme,

3.8 Pours clear caramel with a thick buff head. Aroma offers caramel, spice, toasted malt and subtle fruity notes. Flavor features spice - cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, maybe others - plus toasted malt, caramel, horehound, a little citrus, a bit of woody hops. Texture provides good body and peppy fizz. Enjoy the winter holidays!

3.5 33cl bottle. A dark orange brown beer with a beige head. Aroma of dark red fruits, caramel, spices. Taste of dried fruits, dark reddish malt, caramel, spices.

3.4 Aroma of fruits, caramel and hints of chocolate, herbs and and spices. Dark brown with a tan head. Medium to heavy sweet and medium + bitter. Medium to full body with average carbonation. Dry and bitter finish. Overall a nice, interesting brew.

4.2 Dates, dried leaves, maple syrup nose. Cloudy brown, medium tan head, good lace. Full body, soft, smooth, and creamy. Very well done, exactly what I want from a winter warmer.

3.2 Powerful caramel bomb this one Nice clear deep ruby pour and a fine head Good intensity in the aroma Also a bit to sweet. Fine carbonation level Lots of caramel and toffee in the flavor. Also a bit fruity and some spices [Bottle from Vinmonopolet in Rakkestad, Norway]