Weyerbacher Winter Ale
At Weyerbacher we have created a Winter Ale that is a must for any malty beer lover. Winner of a Silver Medal in the 1998 World Beer Championships, Weyerbacher Winter Ale is brewed with deep-roasted chocolate malt. The taste predominates with a warm, roasty flavor, balanced out with a slightly dry finish. It is smooth but not cloying, with a warming belt of alcohol (5.6% ABV).
Although winter ales predate history, they are believed to have their origin in the pagan celebrations of winter solstice. Later, when monasteries produced the local brew, winter ales were made each year to commemorate the birth of Christ. Back then, winter ales were brewed full-bodied as a source of nutrition for the upcoming winter months. Today, winter ales are typified by their seasonality, their rich, malty flavors and by their deep, dark coloration.
Generally available November-March, Weyerbacher Winter Ale is the perfect libation for a winter meal, with good friends, or beside a warm fire fending off a cold winter night.
Although winter ales predate history, they are believed to have their origin in the pagan celebrations of winter solstice. Later, when monasteries produced the local brew, winter ales were made each year to commemorate the birth of Christ. Back then, winter ales were brewed full-bodied as a source of nutrition for the upcoming winter months. Today, winter ales are typified by their seasonality, their rich, malty flavors and by their deep, dark coloration.
Generally available November-March, Weyerbacher Winter Ale is the perfect libation for a winter meal, with good friends, or beside a warm fire fending off a cold winter night.
3.2
529 reviews
Easton, United States
Community reviews
Pours medium brown with a half finger off white head with decent lacing. Aroma is of toasted bready malts, coco, cherries, herbal hops, brown sugar, and nutty malts. Taste is chocolaty with cherries, brown sugar, bready malts, and sweet malts also present. has a medium body with a semi watery mouthfeel and a mostly sweet, slightly dry, medium finish. Overall, a decent brown ale that is a little thin for a winter seasonal.
Bottle into pint glass, clear deep dark ruby brown color with tan head. Aroma of toast, caramel, light coffee, some nuttiness and cocoa. Taste adds notes of toffee, milk chocolate and light herbal/earthy hop bitterness. Medium body, low carbonation, creamy, soft, rich with some earthy roast finish. Very nice malty rich winter ale.
Brown color, medium off-white head. Earthy , malty aroma with coffee notes. Coffee , malt , bread in taste. Gentle roasted bitterness in warming aftertaste.
Pours auburn brown body with thin tan head and decent lacing. Earthy malt aroma, hint of of coffee. Nutty molasses flavor. Smooth dry finish. Well balanced seasonal.
Pours a dark brown with a red hue. Roasty taste with a light body more carbonation than I expected. Nice change of pace for a winter ale, not a "big boy" beer by any means, but it's a good beer on a cold night.
12 Fl. Oz. Bottle. Poured clear, brown with a nice tan head. Aroma of roasted malts, some caramel notes and some fruit. Taste is also malty, some roast, some caramel. Very decent and drinkable beer, a bit watery but not bad.
Appearance is large white head with orange-amber. Aroma is some spices. Taste is a bit of toasted malt with spices. Overall a pretty good winter ale.
12 oz bottle. Pours brown with tall, long lasting, fluffy, off-white head and nice lacing. Aroma is of bready malt, herbal hops, chocolate, cherries and brown sugar. Body is medium and smooth. Taste is of chocolate, bready malt, honey, cherries, cacao, brown sugar and herbal hops. Finish is long and semi-dry. Well made brew.
Pours brown with a thick off white head. Caramel and toasted malt aroma. Flavor starts out toasted malt with sweet caramel malt and chocolate malt flavors. Slight hoppy finish. Nice malty brew.
An attractive deep brown with reddish undertone, pours with a small tan head that lasts several minutes before leaving slight lacing.
Bouquet is mainly roasted malts, with slight chocolate, bread and caramel undertones.
Like many dark or spicy beers, this really needs to sit 10 minutes or so to allow those flavors to come forth. Until then, it’s not very intriguing, just toasty, and I was having a hard time figuring out how it differs from a straight brown ale.
It gets better as it opens up, and a caramel and spice finish saves the day. Not bad.
355ml bottle. Pours a reddish brown, quickly dissipating off-white head. Smell is straight up burnt caramel and toffee. Flavor is butterscotch, buttery and sweet with a savory english style savor hop/yeast combo in the finish. Definitely an English-tinged concoction.
Poured form bottle a reddy brown with small tan head. Head receded to sides of glass quickly and there was little to no lacing, really just a ring were it was clinging to sides of glass. Aroma was sweet, roasted malts, caramel, a hint of raisin and dark fruit. Taste was malty with a bit of toffee, caramel that slightly bitters in finish. I heard some saying it was boring but after summers hop punch IPA’s followed by fall pumpkin pie beers this is a refreshing change of pace. A good simple beer.
Beer pours a dark brown with a thick head. Aroma is roasted malts. Malty flavor with chocolate notes. Slight hoppy finish. Really good beer!
Bottle consumed at home from notes. Pours dark brown in color with reddishhighlights and a small creamy beige head. The aroma and flavor have sweet caramel, toffee, toasted bread, mild spices, not the biggest beer, gets dry to the finish.
It pours with a large head. There are roasted aromas which are not overly strong. It is dark amber in color with a medium brown head. The carbonation is a bit strong and the malts aren’t overly favorable.
Transfer from BA -
Had on tap in a pint glass
Appearance – A light brown/dark red color with a bit of head formed upon reception that faded quite fast.
Smell – Some sweetness of sugar with a bit of nut and char aroma.
Taste – Nothing too overpowering here. Some Nuttiness and maltiness first meet the tongue followed shortly by a few sweet notes of chocolate and sugar fading away to a roasted nut flavor.
Mouthfeel – Relatively normal foe the abv. although a little lighter then would be expected for the winter style darker beer. Carbonation was just about right.
Overall – Nothing special here. Its worth a try, but not a beer I would pine for.
Really just tastes like an average brown, with an OK barley profile. Finishes with light bitterness. Some roast. Pours brown with OK head and lacing. Bottle.
Brown thin head. Minimal head thin head. Somewhat smoky and sweet. Thin palate OK
Not terrible. Tired of making all these comments after a long day of fantasy baseball.
Bottle from Total Wine in Boca Raton, FL. 12oz pour into a snifter. Deep brown, nearly porter looking pour. Almost no head or lacing. Aroma of dark malts, spices, bread, sweet dark fruits. The aroma was very nice but the flavor was missing. You get the bread and dark malt, but the spice profile seemed to be missing as well as the candied sweetness. It was fairly underwhelming for a Weyerbacher. Medium body, light carbonation. Finish is rather bland and minty. Not sure what is going on with this one.
Bottle. Hazy reddish brown pour with a finger of off white head that leaves a nice lacing. Raisin, apricot, coffee, caramel, barley wine, spice. Spice carbonation initially. Medium body with a slightly sour finish. Refreshing beer
12 ounce bottle into pint glass, 2013 bottling. Pours lightly hazy deep ruby brown color with a 1-2 finger dense khaki head with good retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Light spotty lacing clings on the glass, with a good amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of raisin, plum, prune, fig, caramel, toast, molasses, biscuit, brown bread, herbal, light chocolate, and toasted earthiness. Nice and pleasant aromas with good balance and complexity of dark malt and fruity yeast ester notes; with solid strength. Taste of raisin, plum, prune, apple, caramel, toast, biscuit, brown bread, molasses, light nuttiness, light chocolate, herbal, and toasted earthiness. No bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of raisin, plum, prune, apple, caramel, molasses, toast, biscuit, brown bread, herbal, and toasted earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Nice balance and complexity of dark/bready malt and fruity yeast ester flavors; with great robustness and no cloying flavors after the finish. Medium carbonation and body; with a creamy and lightly slick mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is very well hidden with minimal warming present after the finish. Overall this is a nice english brown ale. Good balance, complexity, and robustness of dark/bready malt and fruity yeast ester flavors; and very smooth to drink. A nicely enjoyable offering.
Mahogany color with a ring of beige foam around the edge of the glass. Nose of toasted grains with some chocolate as it warms. Pretty typical brown ale with malty sweetness, some dark toast, some oddly tart fruit and a bit of bitterness in the finish. Okay beer.
bottled, muddy brown pour, roasted nut aroma, flavor of cocoa some nutshells, soft brown ale
12 oz. bottle poured into tulip. Hazy reddish brown color with several fingers of pinkish-tan frothy head that disappears entirely after a few minutes. Faint malty aroma. Slightly tart malty brown ale flavor. Palate is quite thin, especially considering the appearance. Like others have mentioned, I wouldn’t guess this was a Winter beer at all. I’m usually a big fan of Weyerbacher, but this one’s a dud.
Dark ruddy brown body, medium to thin light tan head, minimal lacing. Caramel, light roast, some coffee, a touch of dark fruits. Medium bodied, gentle carbonation, moderate sweetness, muted finish.
Draft at Brandywine Prime on NYE 2013. Dark brown with off white head. Taste is malty with some spiciness in the finish. Decent beer overall.
Location/Date:Bottle on 12/26/2013.
Appearance: Pours a reddish brown.
Aroma: Aroma of light roast.
Taste: Light faint hopiness, lots of light roast, caramel.
Palate:Light medium body.
Summary: Nice balanced ale, nothing memorable but enjoyable and lower in abv compared to other craft.
12oz bottle into a pint glass.
Pours a clear dark brown with a one finger white head that fades fairly quickly into a thin cap. No lacing at all.
Aroma is toasty and a bit nutty There is a sharp and fairly prominent metallic note that distracts quite a bit from the aromas that are supposed to be there. Maybe a tiny bit of grass underneath.
More metal immediately in the flavor. Once again this is a big drawback. Dark caramel and toast along with some light milk chocolate. A hint of grass from the hops underneath but it is quite faint. Bitterness is on the light to moderate side and the mouthfeel is quite watery.
Overall, a very lackluster beer. Way too much metal and watery. Underwhelming all around.
Pours a dark brown. Has a sweet malt and spice aroma. Taste is a sweet malt, dark fruit, spices, and light coffee taste with a carbonated texture.