The winter season brings early nights and snow and cold, but it also brings in some delicious malty beers. For this #Beersaturday I'll be reviewing two winter beers. Let check them out, shall we!
Greene King Abbot
Brewery: Green King Brewery
Origin: Somewhere in the UK.
Style: English Ale
Abv: 5.0%
IBU: Unknown
SRM: Unknown
Marketing: The can is a cream and religious purple color with red accents. It has a florished lettering style and a Bishop design image. It definitely has a religious vibe to it and reads old world English pub, which is obviously the idea.
Color: The beer pours a coppery brown with a flimsy, almost non-existent head. The liquid is very clear - clearly filtered... 🥁
Nose: A mild sweet malty aroma overtop a noticeable staleness.
Taste: Mildly sweet at first but also sort of dry in a way, which is a little contradictory, I know. A mild bitter finish but one that lingered for some time. A malty taste with floral undertones and some spice. A bit stale in the aftertaste and an odd (I don't know exactly) metalic or chemical quality about it. I think that it's been sitting on the shelf for a little too long.
Texture: Small sharp and prickly carbonation, overtop a thick silky mouthfeel.
Impression: Not a great beer overall in my opinion. I chalk that up to it being an import. It has a stale taste that made me think it's a hangover waiting to happen. It probably took a while to get to Canada from the UK and then sat in the warehouse and on the shelf just a little too long. The staleness wasn't so bad that I couldn't finish it but enough that I wouldn't bother with this one again. If you want to take my advice, I'd pass on it if you're buying it in Canada.
That night I made ribs for dinner with roasted carrots and roasted radishes. It was a wintery type of meal for a wintery type of night.
Winter Ale
Brewery: Great Lakes Brewery
Origin: Etobicoke, ON Canada
Style: Winter Spiced Ale
Abv: 6.2%
IBU: Unknown
SRM: Unknown
Marketing: White and sky blue colored can with purple stylized lettering. Christmas tree and falling snowflakes imagery. Night Before Christmas Style rhyme on the back.
Simple design but effective. It certainly stands out as a seasonal brew and I like the design overall.
Color: The beer poured a dark coppery brown color with a very weak head. The foam disappeared rapidly leaving no remnants of its existence behind.
Nose: the aroma was fruity with some floral notes. The smell of plums was predominant for me with some undefined spices in the background.
Taste: A very sweet malty taste with a bitter finish that lingered in the back of the mouth. Candied plum flavors coming through and maybe some mild vanilla as the beer warmed. Not balanced at all, airing more on the sweet side.
Texture: Sharp carbonation with a weighty mouthfeel.
Impression: I was excited to try this beer but overall it was too sweet for me. I am liking sweet beers less and less these days it seems. It also left a lingering taste in the back of my mouth and throat that I wasn't a fan of.
For supper this night I made a roast beef. I added a little too much liquid so it took a little while for me to reduce it down and thicken it up but all in all it turned out pretty good.
Conclusion
