Fuller's Old Winter Ale

 

          I’m not a big fan of winter. The colder it gets, the more I want to not leave the house. One thing I look forward to however, is having something strong, malty, and delicious. Those strong, malty beers often take the form of barleywines, Baltic porters, or Russian imperial stouts. Sometimes though, the harder to define winter ale will find its way into my glass. Despite its history, winter ale can be hard to define because it’s not really a beer style like an IPA or a pilsner.

Winter ales have a history dating back to the 1600s, a time when people didn’t enjoy the comforts of central heating. In addition to a roaring fire, a winter ale was designed to help take the edge off of winter’s chill. Up until the 19^th century, many of these beers were served warm and seasoned with ginger, nutmeg, and other spices. The tradition of serving these beers warmed faded away when more highly hopped beers entered the market. Apparently, those hop flavors don’t take kindly to being served warm.

Today, winter ales are maltier beers with alcohol content falling somewhere between 6 and 8% abv. While everyone has their own unique take on the style, most have a flavor profile designed to evoke the yuletide spirit. Fuller’s Old Winter Ale is crystal clear and deep copper colored, with reddish highlights. Thin streams of CO2 support a packed, cream colored head with decent retention.

          My first impression of this beer’s aroma is that it’s very malt forward with a notable brown sugar sweetness. It’s a much richer aroma than I was expecting. Malty sweetness moves quickly into a center I find leather, earth, and a sort of rum and raisins quality, only without the raisins. Overall, Old Winter Ale’s aroma reminds me of something that might have spent time in a barrel, though I can find no evidence of this actually being the case. Somehow, it the malt, sweetness, and rum notes all combine to remind me of Christmas without smelling of the usual Christmas spices or aromas.

          Taking a sip, Fuller’s Old Winter Ale is smooth, with very restrained carbonation. It’s malty up front leading into a center that is offers flavors of both nuts and leather. In that sense it reminds me of an English brown ale. Brown sugar sweetness is there, but more subdued, taking a supporting role next to the other flavors. All of this leads to a crisp bitterness that is very English in nature. Which is to say, earthiness and peppercorns rather than citrus and pine. Definitely the right choice for a traditional English beer.

          Overall, I’m giving Fuller’s Old Winter Ale an 8 out of 10. The flavor and aroma on this beer are very much what you’d expect in a winter ale. Specifically, it smells and tastes like Christmas. But at the same time, it smells and tastes like a well crafted English ale. That balance makes this a very good beer to have during the Christmas season or at any time during the winter season.