The best craft beers to try this winter
Warm up your winter with these seasonal stouts, ales and porter
Words: Jonathan Wells
We’re almost a month into 2017 now, but our days are just as cold and nights just as dark as they have been all winter. So comfort yourself with some of the newest and nicest craft beers out there, from stouts to ales to porters. Cheers!
A dark ale, ShinDigger – a company founded by two students who began brewing in their university house – present their Black IPA. With surprisingly refreshing citrus and fruit flavours, and an overwhelming finish of roasted coffee beans and dark chocolate, this is a the heartiest an ale can get without tipping over into being a stout or porter.
IPA by attitude, porter by appearance, Tempest’s In The Dark We Live complements rich malts with complex hops. Expect toasty roasted malts, and a bright and sharp ripe fruit flavour. And, of course, with a slightly higher ABV of 7.2%, Tempest will deliver that warmth you need this winter.
A rich, creamy oatmeal stout infused with the indulgent charms of Mojo Coffee La Jacoba beans, Wellington Chocolate Factory Dominican Republic cacao nibs and Heilala Bourbon vanilla, this is Tuatara’s replacement for their famous Black Stout. Bold, warming and moreish, this is velvet on the palate and warming for the soul.
A traditional Porter that boasts caramel tones as opposed to typically roasty stout flavours. Ruby red in colour and full-bodied with a moderate bitterness, expect roasted coffee and chocolate flavours in this dark, indulgent winter porter.
A smoked beer may sound off-putting, but this taste sensation really works. Adding beechwood smoked malt to their best porter recipe, 8 Wired have created a beer which mixes smoke with the rich, dark roasted chocolate flavours of the porter without being overpowering. A wild and interesting flavour, have no doubt, but one definitely worth a try.
Brewed like a traditional Belgian white beer, but hailing from Japan, Hitachino’s White Ale has flavours of coriander, nutmeg, orange peel and citrus juice. Refreshing, mildly hopped and with a complex flavour, this is the other end of the winter spectrum. Forget the open fires and dark nights of stouts and porters, this is a crisp, bracing and snowy beer – something its light colour won’t let you forget.
A malt-driven dark red ale balanced with a decent amount of hop bitterness and aroma, Archie’s Red is a twist on the winter beer – bringing a typically autumnal brew into the colder months with a malty toffee character and rich colour. Centennial and Cascade hops offer a lovely citrus character looking forward to spring, so it doesn’t matter if you still have a couple of bottles in the cupboard when March rolls around.
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