Stop the bus, I'm getting off here.

What, exactly, is a "Winter Ale"? Is it a brew of specialty malts, low-to-moderate hop profiles, and a secret blend of herbs & spices, painstakingly crafted to ward off the chills on blustery winter nights? Or is it merely a beer brewed once a year, released in late fall, adhering to no particular style or ingredient list? Our panel tasted nine such winter brews, to explore the winter ale landscape, with a hope of solving this holiday mystery.

Actually, that goal was abandoned early on, and we just focused on trying as much great ale as possible.

Local favorites included Harpoon Winter Warmer, Smuttynose Winter Ale, and Magic Hat's Howl (technically a lager, but the administration ruled it acceptable). Blue Point's Winter Ale crossed the Sound, and Samuel Smith's Winter Welcome made it across the pond. Coming in from parts the west were Santa's Private Reserve (Rogue Brewing) and the powerhouse Flying Dog's K-9. Perennial favorites from California, Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale and Anchor Christmas, rounded out the competition.

It became clear early on that an exact definition of "Winter Ale" would elude us, as would a consensus of favorites. Some in the panel preferred the malty, complex brews that many would identify as Winter Ale, while others, hopheads to the core, were starry-eyed over Cascade and Millenium hops present in the winter IPAs. The latter were in the majority, as reflected by the results. Coming in at third place was Magic Hat's Howl, an excellent dark black lager that goes down smooth without overwhelming malt & spice.


Celtics & Lakers, Burr & Hamilton, Eddie Van Halen & David Lee Roth, and once again the burgeoning rivalry between Sierra Nevada and Flying Dog came to a head. Both are seasonally brewed ales, but that's about the only thing putting them in this category, as both are pretty clearly IPAs (Celebration is unabashedly IPA). Although K-9 made a good showing, barely edging out Howl for the number 2 spot (6.5 to 6.43, respectively), it was easily bested by Celebration Ale. The IPA from California had an average score of 7.88, and garnered five number one votes from the panel.

A couple of bon mots for the concentration-deprived:

1. Rachel was the most consistent, with a variance of 2.25.
2. The Pants remains the harshest critic, with an average score of 4.89.
3. Sierra Nevada's Celebration Ale, prompted Rona to provide the title of this tasting's post, "Stop the bus, I'm getting off here."

So no consensus on the "Winter Ale" definition was reached, but I think most in the panel will be reaching for some newly tasted winter brews next time they head into the package store.

Porters, anyone?