12 (New) Beers of Christmas - Winter Warmer, Skinny Dog Brewing (Lexington)

Written By: Dion on 12/22/2015

Finding 12 New Beers for Christmas proved to be a bit of a task this year. Lucky for me, a couple of friends stepped up to fill in the gaps. Tonight's offering from Ben Hoh really meant a lot to me. Ben is an excellent brewer, having received plenty of accolades for some recent efforts, and I understand that the final product is important to him. So for him to offer up a winter warmer that he's had bottled for five years was a pretty gutsy move. A little bit of a gusher upon opening, the beer still has a good nose, with caramel, spice, and a touch of cola sitting atop a bit of dried fruits. The tongue doesn't hold up quite as well as the aroma would suggest, but it's still not bad, and better than the production level beer I tried last night. A little sweet, and slightly fruity with the faintest spruce-like spice coming through on the finish. Pretty impressive for a beer that most likely wasn't brewed with this type of longevity in mind.