Brewers know a little sugar and a little spice makes everything nice.
Article By Randy Shore of The Vancouver Sun (The Green Man)
Long reflective of the passing of the seasons across the pond, Christmas and winter ales are a European tradition that has taken firm root in B.C. soil. Most every craft brewer and brew pub in B.C. has something brewing for the cold, dark winter months.
“A winter beer is something a little stronger and a little sweeter, something to sit down with on a wet night in Vancouver or a cold snowy night anywhere else,” said Granville Island brewmaster Vern Lambourne. “It needs to be a little stronger and have a little more alcohol; that’s what gives it that warming effect.”
Winter beers usually range from about 5.5 per cent alcohol to as much as 9.5 per cent, enough to make you warm all over.
While a lot of brewers add citrus rinds, cloves and other spices to their Christmas-themed concoctions, Lambourne is not one of them, relying on special yeasts and the character of his barley blends to bring out unique, spicy flavours. Hints of banana, vanilla and clove are not unusual in beers with higher alcohol content. Roasted grains will bring coffee and chocolate notes to the party.
When the weather turns wet, Granville Island releases Lions Winter Ale made with a blend of three different barley malts and aromatic Williamette and Spalt hops. Lambourne has a delicate touch with hops, which hint at their presence without overpowering.
New this year is the Imperial Chocolate Stout, brewed as a limited release for the 125th anniversary of Rogers’ Chocolates. Chocolate stout is named for the dark roasted malt used to give the brew its signature black pigmentation, but Lambourne ups the ante by employing real chocolate in the mix, Rogers’ chocolate, of course. The result is a dry, almost floral hint of chocolate without any added sweetness.
The higher alcohol content gives the impression of sweetness, Lambourne noted.
R&B brewing brings back a winter ale called Auld Nick in time for Christmas every year, a semi-stable recipe based on a “Scottish wee heavy,” a rich malty ale with toast-like tones. Auld Nick has been aging for more than two months, for a mid-November release.
“What I love about Auld Nick is it’s so warm and it has so many complex flavours,” said R&B brewmaster Rick Dellow. “It’s like a Christmas cake in a glass, although we don’t add any spices to it.”
Like their competitors up the road at Granville Island, R&B has found a flavour partner for a winter limited release, Salt Spring Coffee Porter. After six test batches, Dellow has settled on a recipe, according to partner Barry Benson.
In much of continental Europe, people expect their beers to change with the seasons, owing to a centuries-long tradition of brewing for refreshment in summer and sustenance in winter. The Brits will drink stout in summer lightened with fizzy lager or pale ale, while in Germany some beers are not available at all out of season.
While North Americans are used to getting whatever they want 365 days a year, Benson says beer drinkers are coming around to drinking by the calendar.
“When we first started up we used to have to take them by the hand, pour the beer in a glass, put it in their hand and help them drink it,” recalled Benson of the earliest days of B.C.’s craft beer revolution, now more than a decade distant. “But there has been a huge revolution in beer knowledge, just in the past four or five years.”
Red Truck Beer takes a decidedly more aggressive approach to infusing Christmas flavours into their Red Truck Ale by adding brandied fruit and spices.
Steamworks Brewing Company maintains a roster of changing seasonal beers, including Blitzen, a Belgian tripel. The knock-off of the famous Trappist Ale rings in at a cheek-warming nine per cent alcohol and is loaded with natural fruit and spice tones generated by special yeast cultures used in its fermentation.
No matter which one you try, make sure you have a ride home.
Here is my list of B.C.’s top winter ales, with tasting notes.
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