Hot …hot…hot…but what do you expect here in sunny Florida. Today was a total do nothing day. It was the perfect day to lounge by the pool, soak up the rays, take a dip in said pool, slide uncontrollably down a totally dark water slide (cackling all the way), and read a good book. That book by the way, Stephen King’s Full Dark, No Stars had a reference in it to Pliny The Elder that I will have to investigate.
Beer #127 here in Florida does not come from the Sunshine state…but from North Carolina. It is Cold Mountain Winter Ale by Highland Brewing. Highland Brewing is based out of Asheville, North Carolina and brews this Winter Warmer with an ABV of 5.8%. Whats that you say, a Winter Warmer in the heat (88 degrees today) of Florida? Sure…why not…after all it is ice cold (from the air conditioning) back in the room where I will be enjoying this.
To the pour…a brown with some red tones when held up to the light was the color of this brew. It had a minimal tan head. To the nose…sweet caramel, molasses, bread…another words, very malty. To the mouth…not as sweet as it smelled. There were some nice flavors here…caramel, toasted bread, a bit of chocolate (think cocoa), brown sugar, a bit of vanilla, and roasted coffee near the end. There was a very slight hop bite near the end but overall this was delicious. To the feel…it was medium bodied, creamy, and had a small amount of carbonation. This was a really easy beer for me to drink.
I enjoyed this much more than I thought I was going to. It had a lot of really nice flavors, complex in the flavors you could say. This is an excellent beer and makes me want to try out some of Highlands other offerings. KingBob approved!
Rating: A
My favorite beer this year! Highland does some amazing beers!