Light, Lively Brews Are Winter Winners

With holiday beers, as with Christmas presents, bigger is not always better.

Many winter beers are big, bold ales that challenge even experienced palates. But there’s also an assortment of lighter-bodied brews for celebrating the season.

Curiously, while the holiday heavyweights started showing up early this fall, most of their skinnier cousins arrived in our area more recently - too late to make last month’s column. So we’ve got some catching up to do.

If you really want to play it safe, stick with Coors Winterfest. The thin, sweetish beer is soft and smooth, with just a hint of spiciness, perfect for the less adventurous drinker.

Samuel Adams Winter Lager, which leaned to the robust side a couple of years ago, has lightened up considerably since then. A bock (strong lager) brewed with wheat, it’s moderately malty but displays little of the “winter spices” advertised on the label.

In my ideal calendar, the Winter Lager would become Adams’ spring seasonal, with its rich, powerful Double Bock - available only in springtime - moving to the colder months. (If you happen to find any of the Double Bock still hanging around in stores, snap it up; it ages nicely.)

For something heartier these days, diligent Adams fans should be able to find the Long Shot Bock, brewed from one of the winning recipes in Adams’ latest home brew contest. A bit darker than the Double Bock and not as sweet, it’s thick and roasty with smoky, burnt toffee notes.

For those seeking something spicy, the mellow Michelob WinterBrew Spiced Ale is one of the more successful of Budweiser’s specialty beers. The clove-heavy aroma, accents and aftertaste are pleasant but not overpowering.

Pete’s Wicked Winter Brew, a holiday fruit beer, boasts nutmeg as an ingredient, but the spice seems to be lost among the pronounced raspberry flavor.

The Portland-brewed Henry Weinhard’s Hazelnut Stout, an approachable dark beer, is relatively dry and roasty with a distinctive aroma and finish from the natural essence of Oregon-grown nuts.

Among the latest Northwest microbrewery offerings, Thomas Kemper’s deep ruby Winterbrau lager again starts on the sweet side, but finishes fairly roasty and hoppy.

I expected something similar from Widmer’s Winternacht, available in bottles for the first time this year. When I last tried it on tap two years ago, I described it as a “smooth, chocolatey, lighter-bodied black beer.”

Instead, when I poured the new incarnation into a glass, I discovered an amber beer that’s heavy on the hops - sort of a milder, rounder rendition of Sierra Nevada’s Celebration (my all-time favorite yuletide brew).

I’ve since learned that the original Winternacht became Widmer’s bottled Blackbier. The new Winternacht is a German-style alt beer (brewed like an ale, but cold-conditioned like a lager for extra smoothness), finished with the highly bitter, aromatic, American-bred Columbus hops.

And when opening holiday beers, as with Christmas presents, it’s nice to find a surprise in the package once in a while.

Hopping around

Speaking of Sierra’s Celebration, a limited supply finally arrived in Spokane late last week; look for it in bottles at Jim’s Home Brew and The Viking, and on tap at The Viking and Wine Stein’Z. The perennially piney, bitter beer is a holiday favorite among hopheads (including yours truly) …

Another seasonal cult classic, Alaskan Smoked Porter - which showed up here on draft for the first time last Christmas - is available in pint bottles this year at Jim’s and The Viking. Made with alderroasted malt from a Juneau salmon smokery, the perennial gold-medal winner is wonderfully eccentric, but expensive (around $3.50 at Jim’s, $5 at The Viking) …

If you’d like to sample several winter brews, there’s a tasting Friday from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the Huckleberry’s Fresh Market at 926 S. Monroe. Four-ounce samples will be poured for 50 cents, with full bottles available for purchase.

, DataTimes MEMO: On Tap is a monthly feature of IN Food. Write to: On Tap, Features Department, The Spokesman-Review, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210. Call 459-5446, fax 459-5098 or e-mail to rickb@spokesman.com

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Rick Bonino The Spokesman-Review