Bison Brewing Winter Warmer (2006 Brewer's Reserve)

Well, I have to say that this impressed me far more than I expected. How come? Only in that I was far from impressed from the several visits I made to their (now defunct) brewpub in Berkeley. And their bottled beers -whether brewed at the tiny Berkeley location, or in conjunction with their co-op with Butte Creek up in Chico, have been rather hit-or-miss with me.

But this 9%ABV 22'ozer caught my eye anyway, especially for the rather paltry $4.99. All told, a heck of a deal IMO.

This beer, which is called a Winter Warmer but more of a Belgian Dubbel, was brewed in 2006, and released in the Fall of `07. Not many breweries can pull this off, since "beer aging in bottles at the brewery" = "beer taking up space and not being sold and not making any money".

But I think this strategy paid off well for this beer. Quite a tasty Dubbel, with the all of the right pieces in play. Plum/raisny in character, that accentuates the malt vice clashing with it. Chewy in the fruity malt profile, but at no time arduous or cloying to the palate. No stickiness whatsoever.

And while this doesn't look like anything special (head retention was basically nil), I was at least pleased to find that no alcoholic vapors showed up as this beer warmed up some in my DeKoninck glass. In fact, this beer opened up and hit it's stride as I leisurely progressed my way through the beer.

Like I said before, some of the Bison beers have really been all-over-the-map for me. But this one? Big thumbs up. Recommended.
//TB