Why We Picked It: It's a winter we have not had much. Plus, I became obsessed with drinking Winter Solstice on the winter solstice. Also, I still like the beer with antlers... although I hope this beer is better than the last.
What Anderson Valley Says About It: Winter Solstice® is our take on the classic style of “winter warmer.” Boasting a deep amber hue and rich mouthfeel, its creamy finish will lift your spirits. Hints of toffee, spice, and caramel tease the senses making this the perfect ale to share with friends and family during the cold days and long nights of winter.
IBU: 6
Food Pairings: Roasted almonds, candied yams, baked spiral ham, pumpkin pie
Fun Facts: Per Wikipedia, "This fictional Anderson Valley native is part bear, part deer and looks like a bear with antlers.(Bear+Deer = Beer)"
What, almost 8pm and no comment from Bill yet? Too busy drinking since our 3 hour early release, perhaps? Understandable. Anyway, I don't know why they ruined this ale with these "natural flavors." But I am happy to be reminded that today is the winter solstice...bring back longer days! Happy Winter break everyone!
ReplyDeleteWell, happy Solstice everyone! Well, this one was interesting. At first, it kind of tasted like cough syrup, but then it mellowed into something that tasted like I had a mouth full of Werthers while drinking a beer. Had the sweetness been more subtle, I may have enjoyed it more. But kind of a fun beer to have, and frankly I don't care because I'm off work for a week. I give it 2 vertices at the end of the semi-major axis of an ellipse.
ReplyDelete“Beer with the antlers” or “BEAR with the antlers?”
ReplyDeleteI was hoping it would be a little spicier, and not as sweet. 2.5 out of 5 chimerical bears.
Ugh just read the fun facts. NOT a typo in the blog post; just me being dumb in the comments.
DeleteSo I drank think I mentioned before that this beer is one of the reasons I've never been an Anderson Valley fan. But then I really liked the 2013 version supposedly according to the historical records. Which seems odd now. I cracked this open at the customary time yesterday (5:01 pm). Got hit by a mouthful of sweet, horrendous caramel. Maybe raisins? Gave Ro a sip and she hated it and said vanilla. Regardless, not good. At about this time, I realized that the fox beanbag cover I had ordered was actually a wolf so I grabbed the rest of my beer to head to my basement to negotiate with Pottery Barn. Not easy explaining that for a child who is obsessed with foxes, a wolf simply won't do (I mean, come on, wolves eat foxes). So before I knew it, I'd drained the rest of my beer. Actually did get better with time. And there was a lot of time. But I would not order this again. Although I would order from Pottery Barn again after my lovely customer service experience. Although the beanbag will not be here for Christmas morning. At least it's for the older one who hopefully has already given up on believing in Santa Claus. That's how the trajectory usually works. At 10 you stop believing in Santa Claus, at 11 you stop believing in the Tooth Fairy, and at 12 you stop believing in God. I give this 2.5 fictional characters.
ReplyDeleteMy cold destroyed my plans to drink this on the solstice, which I spent sleeping. Now that I am finally getting to this, I must admit being disappointed. It's rich with malt, but too sweet and not enough interesting holiday flavors. Overall, a bit lackluster. I give it 2.75 "beers with antlers" (trademark pending.
ReplyDeleteCaveat: head cold is strong enough to limit my taste buds severely.
DeleteHealth Benefits of Beer: 15 Interesting Facts About Beer. It is proven that there are a lot of health benefits of beer. Moderate drinking of beer prevents heart diseases, boosts mental health, detoxes the body, and more.
ReplyDelete