Highland Cold Mountain Winter Ale

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

Serve in Lager glass, Shaker, Tumbler

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Deep reddish amber color with a thin beige head. Cinnimon spice nose, but I also get artificial vanilla and raspberry. Very malty caramel with buttered toast, cinnimon, artificial vanilla and other spices. The fake vanilla is interferring with my enjoyment, and I get a berry fruitiness that the description doesn’t indicate.

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!

Bottle: Garnet in color, fairly dark, moderate foamy beige head, falls quickly leaving spotty lacing.   Heavy carob aroma, that fake chocolate stuff from the 80s, as well as some butterscotch.   Some bready malts in there as well, but also a slight touch of vegetable.   Chocolate malt, as in the old fashion shakes, on the tongue, moderate sweetness.   Hints of molasses and Earl Gray tea as well.   Falls off somewhat quickly.   Little to no hop presense.   Definitely a malt oriented brew.   Moderate body and mouthfeel.   Take some golden grahams and cocoa pebbles, put them in a bowl with milk... let sit for 20 minutes and then remove the cereal... what you have left is what lingers, milky sludge smarmied with the dressings of breakfast cereal.   Certainly an interesting brew, and spiced in a way I would have never imagined.   Decent, interesting, but not sure I would entertain this one again.   However, it is unique.   Thanks Jim for this one!

Brick store on tap. Brown with a creamy head. Looks thicker than it tastes. Some elements of a nice brown ale, caramel and toffee flavors, but a different finish. A spicey finish.

Bottle at Papsø. Clear orange-red coloured with a small off-white head. Sweet and fruity aroma of caramel with notes of dried fruits. Sweet and fruity flavour of caramel and dried fruits. Sweet finish.

Thanks to hopdog. Pours a translucent orange amber with an average off white creamy head. Aroma of nutmeg, pie crust, vanilla and a lot of various spices. Flavors of the same with tons of nutmeg/vanilla that was covering up any malt/hop presence.

Thanks to JPDIPSO for sharing the bottle! Poured a clear medium toffee with a light beige ring for head. Medium caramel, wintry spices, toffee, cocoa powder, and baby powder provide an odd blend in the nose. Flavor was heavier, and full of caramel and toffee maltage... baby powder, powdered sugar, nutmeg, and brown sugar provided somewhat complimentary spicage. Somehow watery on the palate with sharp, sticky sweet malts and a hint of alcohol. Not-too-drinkable... but OK.

Relatively light for a winter for me. Balanced, some spice, faint hops, malty flavor with a hint of roasted bitterness. Nice body but not much complexity.

I’m sitting on several bombers from the winter of 2008-2009, and I thought I’d open one tonight to see how it’s coping with the ravages of time. The head is still quite substantial and, although it dissipates quickly, it leaves lacing on your glass. Unfortunately, the carbonation itself is rather coarse. The liquid is rosewood-colored with an aroma of rich, peaty malt. Something that tastes like white chocolate and a hint of caramel moderate the maltiness to make this suitable for a warmer evening like tonight.

Clear copper color. Spicy aroma and flavor. Very sweet and malty with a moderately spicy backbone.