St Peters Winter Ale

This has got to be one of the big dogs of the winter ales. It sure seems like it could be. I know that the St. Peter's brewery has only been around since the mid 90's but everything from it's oddly shaped and embossed bottle to the hearty brew that comes in it, no to mention it's made in England just give off an aura of a very old world way of doing things.

Dark brown in the glass while when held up to the light it takes on a very dark and rich ruby red color. About a 1/4 inch head that fades pretty quickly. Sweet malt and chocolaty scent reminding me of something between malted milk balls and oatmeal cookies. In other words "YUM!" but a "YUM" in smell doesn't necessarily mean it's gonna be the same thing in the taste department. Luckily this does not let ya down.

A huge roasted malt warmness is right up front then followed by a tinge of fruitiness (I'm thinking berries or plums. It's either somewhere in between or I can't decide which) with a toffee smoothness in the middle. Nice medium body and light on carbonation. Though this is not as strong or heavy as I expected it's far from being thin. An alcohol pinch shows up in the throat but the balanced complexities of the malt and hops intermingle make this a nice glass of something to sip on such cold evenings such as tonight.

http://www.stpetersbrewery.co.uk/