Fish Tale Organic Winterfish Seasonal Ale
Here is the full-bodied seasonal ale that brings meaning to Winter Warmer. With a snappy hop character, this isn’t just another brown beer masquerading as a seasonal. This is hearty fare brewed for the season of celebrations. Enjoyed at ease with friends and food, Winterfish will put a glow in the cheeks and warmth in the veins.
Pale and honey malts provide an abundantly deep foundation. Then, for bittering, flavor, and aroma, we use 100% Yakima Chinook hops in the kettle. For additional flavor and aroma, it’s more Yakima Chinooks in the hop-back. Perfect for festive feast, this is the hoppiest winter ale we know of! Savor a pint and you’ll know why Northwesterners agree: An ice cold Winter never sounded better!
Pale and honey malts provide an abundantly deep foundation. Then, for bittering, flavor, and aroma, we use 100% Yakima Chinook hops in the kettle. For additional flavor and aroma, it’s more Yakima Chinooks in the hop-back. Perfect for festive feast, this is the hoppiest winter ale we know of! Savor a pint and you’ll know why Northwesterners agree: An ice cold Winter never sounded better!
3.5
259 reviews
Olympia, United States
Community reviews
Total Wine, McLean 12oz: Pours copper with a white head. Aroma is piny, citrusy, with some malty backbone. Taste is hoppy, but mostly in a very bitter way. Kind of cloying without even being all that sweet. I don’t know, but perhaps my mood was not right for this beer, for I did not enjoy it very much.
orange lemon hoppiness like summer, flowery. thicker than I expected, but that’s good, citrus supplemented with leather & caramel, smooth balance, clear darkish yellow with modest off white head. maybe too balanced, for my own edgy leanings. well done in its frame.
Earlier Rating: 11/21/2006 Total Score: 3.7
sharply citrus hops. head thin and quickly gone. flattish and dense in the mouth, some good aroma escaping. my tongue is quickly numbed, grapefruit peeling, vague sense of honey. quite visceral. sugar-alcohol warming. sense the malt more by the weight than what my tongue can see. the hops keeps echoing in the finish.
Lively, orange, well carbonated pour. Has a decent white head. Grassy aroma. Lemony flavor on the front end with a mildly bitter finish.
Bottle from Total Wines, Sterling VA. Deep gold with a slight white head. Big citrus fruits, a hint of earthy spice, warming alcohol in the finish. Good.
I make it a habit not to buy anything that is labeled organic. Luckily for this beer, it was not so labelled or I never would have tried it. Aroma stands out inthis beer as it does with the Fish IPA. Probably uses Willamette finishing hops.
Pours amber with short lasting lacy white head. Aroma of subtle citrus. Medium body, with a dry bitter finish. Flavors of grapefruit. Aftertaste is a lingering bitterness.
Bottle courtesy of nuplastikk, thanks! Hazy golden color, white head. Aroma of bright citrus. Taste is bitter lemon, dry finish.
12oz bottle -
The beer pours out a hazy orange body, 1" small white head. Moderately hopped, nicely balanced. Soft malty sweetness, some grapefruit-like hops come up. Flavor is sweeter up front with a nice bitter grapefruit finish. Easy drinking.
Poured from bottle. Promising aroma of hops and spiced malt. Good lookin partly cloudy gold. I taste piney and citrus hops with pepper, grass and malt. Feels a bit astringent at first but it mellows quickly. Interesting and enjoyable.
Bottle. Pours orange with white head. Floral aroma with a bit of tropical fruit. Full bodied with much hop. Finish is like a strong ale.
Earlier Rating: 10/19/2008 Total Score: 3.6
Bottle. Poured orange gold with thin white head. Moderate lacing. Floral and citrusy aroma. Hoppy flavour. Balanced with some sweetness to balance the hop. Lasting middle of the tongue finish.
IPA-like winter warmer. Think low-bitterness IPA with winter warmer spices. Unusual to say the least, but the jury is still out on whether straddling these two styles makes sense. B/B-
Bottle from Beer Revolution. Pours cloudy amber with a modest beige head and a honey aroma. There is a medium-bodied toffee flavor with a bittersweet honey and citrus finish. An interesting brew.
Bottle. Cloudy orange body, full of sediment, thin off-white head. Nose of oxidized citric hops and lots of bready/crackery malt and yeast. Hoppy body with orange and tangerine rind and pulp, toasty, bready malts, and alcohol notes. Bitter, hoppy finish. Light caramely sweetness. Not bad but I’ll review a fresher bottle next winter.
Serving: from bottle--purchased at Full Throttle Bottles.
Aroma: lightly, grapefruity hoppy
Appearance: small, rocky, white, initial head with fully diminishing longevity and fair lacing. Tiny body particles, and cloudy, light-amber body.
Taste: lightly bitter and citrusy initial flavor and finish with average duration.
Palate: light-to-medium bodied with watery texture and lively carbonation.
Overall: very good and easy to drink while still being interesting.
12oz bottle picked up at Total Wine
Appearance: Pours hazy golden with a small white head and some lacing
Aroma: Tropical fruits and grapefruit
Taste: Citrus, caramel, grassy and bitter pine
A nice beer, I like this
Bottle. Pours a hazy golden color with almost no head. Nose is a little hoppy, but not overly so - some bits of floral notes in there. Taste is a little bitter, but fairly well balanced. I’d have guessed IIPA.
Bottle. Nose a beautiful load of orange peel (+ juice + rind), lovely brightness and punch from the strong hops. Lightly hazy orange body with a short whitish head. Taste is big on the citrus, mild alcohol, light-medium bitterness, not too sweet, medium-full body with bready streaks. Chinook here is fresh and lusty, touch of wood and dank, with plenty of oil in the finish and long hoppy aftertaste. Had this at [3.6] to start but the bottle is quite in its prime and my level of enjoyment is off the charts right now.
Bottle: dark gold pour with a thin white head.
aroma is fruity apricot, honey and biscuits malt.
Flavour is piney/floral hop, light fruitiness over slightly burnt caramel.
Very drinkable for 7.5. Nice body.
Nice enough, but an off target hop attack. I can tell where they want to go, but the malt to hop exchange is uneven after a nice sweet roasted malt start.
Bottle sample at Total Wine West Richmond. Pours a clear copper color with a thin fizzy white head. Decent head retention. Aroma of floral hops and caramel malts. The taste is toasted caramel malts, floral and citrus hops. Medium bodied.
Pours a cloudy orange correct with a nice off white head that dissipates quickly but leaves some lace. Aroma is a malty citrus and pine with a hint of honey. Taste is sweet honey malts up front with some pine and then a nice smooth grassy bitterness on the finish.
12 oz pours light amber, smells of Carmel malts and a little cat piss. Tastes like a mouthful of malt and no hop flavor very unpleasant.
Bottle from Total Wine & More in McLean, VA. Clear orange pour with a pure white head. Grassy hops in the aroma and taste, backed up by caramel malts and a palate that is more dense than the appearance would suggest. Not bad at all.
Bottle. Pine hop aroma, bitter but moderated by the winter traits. Clear, yellow with tall head. Long finish.
Very cloudy golden orange colour with big off white initial head leaving a small nice sticky lace. I’m getting a sweet malty smell with nice orangey citrus notes. Fantastic balance of bitterness and orange rind with a light sweet malt finish.
Totally dominated by grassy hops. Flavor is grass, wheat, biscuit but fairly balanced. Surprised to see this at 7.5 abv. All in all nothing noteworthy.
Bottle poureda clear golden amber with a small lingering amber head. Aromas of biscuit, ciutrus and light earthiness. Palate was light bodied and crisp with a dry finish. Flavors of bread, earthiness, citrus and light pine with a crisp dry lingering bitter finish.
650ml bomber pours a slightly cloudy golden color with a 2 finger white head with some good retention that leaves some nice lacing rings. Aroma is very pleasant with light fruits and citrus (oranges and grapefruit) and caramel. Taste is light grapefruit bitterness with some caramel and orange sweetness finishing with some hop bitterness in the finish. Medium bodied with decent carbonation. A very interesting blend of an IPA and a winter seasonal sans spices.
Hoppy aroma has a sour citrus note that has both grapefruit and orange elements plus a woody underpinning. It pours a pretty clear amber with a thick, fine-bubbled white head that leaves some generous lacing. Flavor is hoppy and woody, a little bitter, with more than a hint of fruity sweetness and some citrus. Smooth texture has about average fizz and body. Overall, not terrific, but worthy of a try.
Hay and orange peel nose. Cloudy amber, fine foaties, medium yellow head. Whole orange flavor. Rosehip finish, solidly bitter. Good.