Redhook Winterhook

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

Serve in English pint, Trappist glass

Bottled. Pours a coppery amber with a lacy off-white head. The aroma has some toffee and nuts, along with some bread and yeast, and a minor herbal contribution from the hops. The body is medium-light with fine but fizzy carbonation. The taste is sweet with toffee and nuts followed by a dry and lightly earthy/spicy hop finish.

Medium brown pour under a thin light tan head with very little lacing. Herbal aroma with a nutty character, roasted malt and some spice. Flavor is primarily roasted malt but with enough hopsfor balance along with hints of licorice, toffee and nutneg. Mouthfeel is thin for the flavors and the finish is less interesting and much shorter than anticipated. Overall, this brew could have been much better and reminded me of a thin but spiced porter.

Pours dark reddish brown. Aroma is sweet, nutty, hints of citrus, maybe hints of coffee. Aroma is not that strong though. Flavor is very watery, but after that there is some nut, coffee, pine, citrus. Palate is watery and very thin. If it weren’t so watery it seems like it would be a solid brew, but in this form it doesn’t do much for me.

18-Jun-06 (12 oz bottle: BevMo in La Jolla, CA) Bottled on 05-Oct-04. This is still the same 6-pack I bought 18 months ago, so I thought I’d see how well this beer ages, just for shits and giggles. The bitter roastiness has definitely intensified. Lightly sweet chocolate is still there, but has diminished quite a bit and has been replaced by a strong earthiness. Slight nuttiness toward the finish, plus I’m still tasting hops in the background. The nose is very earthy and pungent, which might not appeal to a lot of people, but it appeals to me. There was hardly a hiss when I unscrewed the cap from the bottle, but at least on the palate, the carbonation has held up wonderfully. Medium-bodied with a dry mouthfeel. Ruddy brown color is fairly hazy, with some chunky sediment falling to the bottom of the glass. The light-tan head pours to maybe half an inch, but retains a thin layer for the duration of the session. However, the crisp, ringed lacing is very impressive. So, it took 18 months to finish, but my 6-pack is finally gone. Overall, I have to say the beer has improved with age, at least as far as my tastes go, but I like this earthiness in my beers.

11-Apr-05 (12 oz bottle: BevMo in La Jolla, CA) This is a reasonably flavorful and easy drinking winter beer with a moderately chocolaty and mildly sweet maltiness leading the way. The somewhat balanced finish shows the emergence of some mild roast and lightly bitter hops. It has a tangy side-of-the-tongue sensation similar to Pete’s Wicked Ale. The medium body is acceptable for the style, but could definitely stand a more substantial mouthfeel. Sweet, chocolaty malt aroma is a solo act in the nose. Reddish-brown in color. Tan head has average size when poured and pretty quickly is reduced to a simple rim around the glass. Lacing is fine and very delicate, like a spiderweb. Not bad for what it is, a fairly simple, easy on the palate, dark malty beer. It’s always nice to have a few beers like this in the fridge. (7, 3, 7, 3, 14 = 3.4)

Nutty, malty aroma. Nice, brown, appropriately winterish color. Surprisingly thin, but a nice malt flavor, well balanced by hop. Piny, citrusy flavor does not conceal the malt. Arguably dry. Perhaps a light coffee touch in the finish; very light. Nice, and not just for winter.

bottle - Clear, copper/amber with quickly diminishing head, decent lace. Grainy aroma with fruit, spice and slight hops. Thin to medium bodied, slick feel with flavors of slight roast, nasty fruit flavors, slight spice, metallic hops, light malt that is not bad but this puppy doesn’t do it.

Bottle. Pours amber with a decent sized off-white head.Aroma of roasted malts, piney hops, and citrus. The flavor is carbonated, roast, citrus, slight bitterness from hops, weak for an english strong ale, dry finish. Good body, drinkable, but forgetable and average.

It had an amber color with a spare and diminishing head. The flavor was very smooth with a taste of coffee.