Aviator FrostNipper Winter Warmer

Brewed by Aviator Brewing Company
Style: American Strong Ale
Fuquay Varina, North Carolina USA

Serve in Snifter, Trappist glass

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Bomber from the brewery. Pours a clear reddish brown color with a medium sized creamy tan head. Decent head retention. Aroma of caramel malts, smoke, bubblegum and spice. The taste is toasted malts, nuts, a smoky almost woody note, spruce, spices. Medium bodied. Didn’t expect this much smokiness, but its still a pretty nice beer.

22oz bottle from JCB, thanks Jason! Pours a deep brown colored body with a slight ruby hue. Finger-width, creamy, light brown head that dissipates slowly and leaves a nice lacing. Aroma has lots of smoke with a light sweetness. Not very meaty, but somewhat peaty with a touch of spice. A light caramel aiding the slight sweetness. Flavor is pretty solid. This still has lots of smoke up front, but there’s a nice, light earthy hopping throughout and a solid caramel malt to balance. There is a touch of fruity esters and a light spicing that picks up a tad towards the end with some chocolate notes. Finishes dry, smoky, peaty, earthy, and spiced with a balanced, light malt sweetness before leaving a light bitterness and a lengthy aftertaste. Medium-light body and a soft, moderate carbonation. Overall, I was a pretty big fan of this one. Pretty smoky, but well balanced with a nice spicing, earthy hopping, and light malt sweetness. Dry, but balanced and easy drinking throughout. Good beer.

The winter warmer has a nice smoky flavor I love. It is not too sweet, which I also appreciate.

Tap. A nice looking beer. To me, this beer had a liquid smoke flavor that just over powered it. It was all I could do to finish the pint.

This brew brings a lot of different flavors, it has malty raisin flavor, and it has this unique hop/spice flavor very addictive.

Growler from Whole Foods, Durham. Cap says 7.3%. Dark rust colored pour, with a fast-receding head that leaves minimal carb and basically no lacing. Nose is really interesting, with char, molasses, meat, and very mild hop spice. It’s only in the taste that you get a sense of those other spices, though they remain a bit indistinct. Thin body, but the flavors are generally pretty bold, kind of a combo of a smoked porter and a winter warmer.

Growler shared by wilkie. Pours clear tawny with a medium, creamy tan head, medium-long retention with good lacing. Aroma is spices (cinnamon, nutmeg), caramel and nutty malt, yeasty with dark fruity esters. Flavor is malt dominant, spices, dark fruits (dates), light sweetness and a dry finish. Medium body, warmth, and carbonation.

Growler, thanks wilkie. Clear copper body atop small off-white head. Aroma is moderately sweet, spice, some ginger, caramel, light cinnamon. Taste is moderately sweet, ginger, some spice, caramel, faint cinnamon. Medium body, alcohol well contained.

Pour from growler at tasting at Sam’s Quik Shop. Dark amber, small spicy aroma. Very spicy flavor with a lingering spice finish. A little to spicy to drink a lot of, but a nice winter beer. I have said spice a lot, but I can’t seem to narrow down what spices, they all kinda muddle together.

Pours a deep, muddy, orange-amber color with a thin, foamy head. The aroma is subtle, but there is a noticeable scent of some combination of spices and the smoked malts. These characteristics are even more pronounced in the flavor, but the smoke in the malts isn’t overly aggressive. The complex flavor profile makes this one quite interesting, but it is a bit much to be an everyday draft selection.