Redhook Winterhook

Brewed by Redhook Brewery
Style: English Strong Ale
Woodinville, Washington USA

Serve in English pint, Trappist glass

Spicy aroma with a surprising tight, white head. Flavor has some decent ESB qualities. In fact, the first few sips are vanilla cake-ish..

12oz. Bottle: Sweet, herbal aroma. Smells of herbs, caramel, toasting, dough, and a little spice. Poured amber in color with a small tan head that diminished. Good lacing. Clear. Not sparkling. Flavor is sweet. Tastes of dough, caramel, malts, toasting, and nuts. Light to medium body. Thin, watery texture. Soft carbonation. Malty, salty finish. Overall, pretty bad.

Pours a crystal clear copper with a frothy, beige head that subsides, leaving behind patchy lace. The nose is tainted by a slightly phenolic (plastic bag) note over light caramel and faint, earthy hops. Light to medium-bodied, with soft carbonation, the palate concludes with a dry and slightly astringent finish. Fairly bland, the flavor is of faint caramel behind dull, earthy hops and metal. This one is pretty much like a sub-par amber ale with the hops tuned up just a notch. It just doesn’t work for me.

Pours a deep chocolaty opaque brown; tan head has fine bubbles and persists some. Aroma is rich and creamy and fairly malty with strong hints of spice and coffee. Flavor is mainly malty and has a roast coffee overtone and hints of spice and hops. Very smooth, perfect for the winter holidays.

Bottle. Medium copper, light leather color, sort of like an ’80s jacket. Malt-ish with some caramel flavors. A type of medium mouth feel, not really thin but not really substantiative. Tasted like one of the Glade plugin things my girlfriend has in the kitchen. Well, tastes like that smells I guess. Not bad for the price. Not great, but not a bad choice if looking for something different when you’re at the local Jewel picking up Lunchables and hot cocoa for your girlfriend’s seven year old niece.

Draft at Taco Mac. Pours a bright copper with off-white head. (the bar served it too cold and with virtually no foam...) The aroma is light with bready malts and a light note of spice. The flavor starts mostly sweet with subtle spice entering in the middle. The beer has a light, citrus hop finish. The mouthfeel is zippy (a little overcarbonated) and medium-full in body. Overall, drinkable but definitely not something special.

From a 12-ounce bottle, poured a very clear deep amber color with foamy tan head. Well carbonated, where hops dominated the aroma. Medium body with caramel malty flavor balance, subdued flavors complexity and slightly dry finish. Very drinkable.

On tap @ Coles Buffalo NY. Nothing real special here but nothing really bad either. Nice easy drinking winter warmer. Darker amber color, some light spiciness & roastiness. medium body. Rather smooth & unobtrusive beer. Nice winter session beer.