7pm Winter Is Here

I purchased the Two Beers The Hearth, a winter warmer because I recently made a winter warmer and as I was bottling it, I became dismayed. The molasses had taken over the beer, giving it a metallic finish; the harsh note that can end a drop of molasses had not faded at all. What did this mean for the beer? Could it improve?

As an aside, I really like Two Beers’s motto. Let’s move on.

I chose this style to give me a basis for comparison when I open my own beer up in a few weeks.  The Hearth’s molasses is still overwhelmingly noteworthy scent wise but the beer doesn’t finish too harshly. Carbonation helps mellow it out quite a bit.

I feel a little relieved. There’s still plenty of time for my beer to turn out drinkable, even if I don’t want more than a glass a night. Perfect way to stretch the next few beers out and maybe give the lager I’ll be taking a stab at soon plenty of time to sit there and do whatever lagers do.

Because it is finally cold in Portland, so it’s time to take my shot at lagers again.

The chill has steeped into the city: I can tell because the pub is a bit slower than usual. Why go out? Home is warm and you can wear comfy pants.

This winter warmer needs an accompaniment, though. The caramel at the end suggests tiny nibbles of something vanilla-y. Crunchy, maybe? Cake, for certain. I am not fond of German chocolate cake but I can see this being a good drink to wash some down with.

There is a school of thought that says this means the beer is flawed. Ales should be able to stand on their own.

I don’t subscribe to this. Some flavors are just ones that beg for a complement and who are we to deny complements?

However, I am drinking without complements. Dinner is long past and dessert nowhere in sight. Another ale? Yes. This beer has given me the message: my homebrew may still turn out well. I can move on to another.