Highland Cold Mountain Winter Ale

Brewed by Highland Brewing Company
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
Asheville, North Carolina USA

Date: November 05, 1999
Mode: Draft
Source: Brewfest, Durham, NC, Winter
Appearance: dark amber
Aroma: strong vanilla aroma
Flavor: sweet flavor with lots of vanilla, liquid qraham crackers

Date: November 25, 2005
Mode: draft
Source: brick store
Appearance: clear very dark amber, thin beige head, nice lace
Aroma: candy sweet malt aroma with nice vanilla
Body: big body
Flavor: rich sweet malt flavor, lots of vanilla, brown sugar, stays strong sweet vanilla to the end but stays just this side of going too sweet

Date: December 21, 2006
Mode: draft
Source: barley’s
all the candy sweetness and caramel plus vanilla of years past

Date: January 27, 2007
Mode: draft
Source: brick store
picking up cinamon and other spices to go with all of the vanilla sweetness

Date: April 29, 2007
Mode: bottle
Source: tasting
can it be getting sweeter?

Date: August 18, 2007
Mode: bottle
Source: tasting
christmas cookie

Date: December 03, 2009
Mode: bottle
Source: Ale Atlanta
Vintage: 2007
holds up pretty well, caramel and vanilla strong as ever, spices receeding,

Date: December 22, 2009
Mode: draft
Source: taco mac prado
Vintage: 2009
Appearance: clear dark amber, fine beige head, scattered lace
Aroma: faint aroma from a chilled glass
Flavor: sweet candy caramel and vanilla flavor, touch of cinnamon, light chocolate
Overall: the Christmas candy of beers

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 8/10; Overall: 15/20
Rating: 3.7/5.0
Drinkability: 6/10
Score: *** /4

Brown-amber. Earthy, lightly hoppy aroma. Cookie, earth and light melony hop. Soft and drinkable winter brew. I like it.

(PPSG09, 1L bottle, thanks wilkie) Medium off-white head atop clear copper body. Aroma is medium sweet, caramel, orange/plum. Taste is moderately sweet, caramel, raisin, light orange, faint smoke. Medium body, easy drinking.

1 liter bottle acquired in trade with merlin48 (thanks!). 2005 vintage. Poured a deep orange color with an averaged sized off white head. Aromas of spices (I was getting mint, wintergreen, and peppermint), pine, vanilla, and orange peel. The spices were present in the tastes too but on the lighter side with caramel, vanilla, and citrus.

@Pilsner Petes East Coast Gathering-1L bottle-pours an off white head and amber color. Aroma is sweet medium malt-caramel, secondary spice hops. Taste is sweet medium malt-caramel, secondary herbal hops. Thanks argo0 for sharing.

Bottle... Murky, deep, caramel-colored ale with a small, creamy, white head. Malty, earthy nose with a boatload of toffee and a trace of Marciano cherry. Aged or stale hop flavor with subtle vanilla and cinnamon. No intensity, but nice. Medium-bodied with lively carbonation. Finishes minerally and slightly Flemish. Kudos to boboski for bringing this one down from Orlando!

Pours a transparent dark copper brown with a dense covering of off-white head. Aroma of heavily sweet chocolate candy and caramel malt with some floral attributes. Body starts with a lot of pure milk chocolate hovering on top of sweet caramel malt and black licorice with some mild holiday spice. Finishes clean with a sublte bitterness attempting to balance the sweet chocolate. Overall an interesting and drinkable brew with an unexpected amount of chocolate within.

My Bottom Line:
Caramel and vanilla cookies cherish the cherries, delicate roastiness and dessert spiciness which garnish them. This is a valiant spicy ale for sweet teeth.

Further Personal Perceptions:
-A ring of foam surrounds the clear burgundy.
-Spicy, herbal hoppiness finishes alongside clovey amusement.
-The chosen spices are well integrated.
-Even though it’s on the sweet side of things, it remains a fine winter warmer to accompany a meal.

Bottle.