Dan: The past week has been crazy cold. I can attest to this based on two consecutive nights walking home in shorts (thank you IRS and the day before IRS). I could have taken a cab home like that pansy Neil but I really, really had to have a burrito. I thank that magical Mexican snack for a hangover-free Sunday, contrasting Neil’s two days in a bath robe. Getting back to the point though, we are currently in the middle of a rather chilly interval and at these times, we beer lovers reach for a Winter Warmer. Today’s example of the style is part of a current LCBO brewery feature on Denmark’s Nørrebro Bryghus. Julebryg is one of five such (not so reasonably-priced, but reportedly delicious) beers currently available.
Neil: Yes, I learned a valuable lesson that fateful IRS night about how similar Corona and tequila look in clear beer bottles… Nonetheless, I survived and can still share some brewery wisdom with all of you. The story of Nørrebro Bryghus is centered around the passion of brew master Anders Kissmeyer. Originally a graduate from chemical engineering (Denmark), Kissmeyer was quickly scooped up by Carlsberg and put in charge of supervision and quality control in beer production (jealous!). Shortly thereafter, Kissmeyer took a business trip to America to observe and learn about the emerging craft beers and breweries, specifically New York-based Brooklyn Brewery. Astounded by the quality and number of the brews being produced, the inspired Kissmeyer reported back to Carlsberg about all he had discovered. However, it was determined that there would be only a small market for craft beer in the Danish community, and furthermore, thinking otherwise was a naive dream. Fast-forward one year to 2003, and Kissmeyer leaves the company with the goal of starting his own microbrewery, dedicated to spreading the appreciation of great beer to the fine Dames (kidding, Danes). The resulting Nørrebro Bryghus was, and still is, a success, creating many award-winning brews that our local LCBO will only have for a short time.
Dan: The Winter Warmer, in the traditional sense, is simply an English strong ale. These dark, sweet, relatively high-alcohol beers were brewed in the autumn for the upcoming festival season, ensuring drinkers would keep warm and jolly. Plenty of crystal malts, a light hopping, and an English ale yeast resulted in strong caramel flavours with some light fruity esters and minimal bitterness. Eventually, some brewers took inspiration from the classic winter drink of wassail and decided to spice the sh*t out of their beer to make it extra festive-y. This is the more common modern interpretation of the style and can include ingredients such as ginger, cloves, orange rind, nutmeg, anise, cardamom, allspice-the list goes on.
Strength-wise, Winter Warmers typically lie between 6% and 8% ABV, with Nørrebros Julebryg coming in at a mean 7% (get it!?). Translating the Danish on the side of the bottle, the beer claims to contain secret spices (and I think there’s some cooking tips or something), but the LCBO-applied sticker reveals that it’s just ginger and cloves. The translation also taught me that the beer’s name (Julebryg) means ‘Christmas beer’ in Danish… sounded cooler before I knew what it meant.
Neil: To be honest I love a garnet/ruby coloured beer; there’s something mystical about it… Kinda like if Dan grew a horn out of his forehead, or perhaps two from each side of his skull when he’s having a crappy day. Nonetheless, I was already biased when this one came out of the bottle. The first whiff immediately brought some allspice or cloves to my attention, the latter of which was actually an ingredient. Apparently there’s also ginger, but for some reason I couldn’t quite detect it past the malty-clove profile. My first taste revealed a very sweet and bready malt profile, with a full-bodied mouthfeel. It almost borderlines the same sweetness as if there were lactose added, for those of you who are beer savvy. The cloves and ginger back up the malt nicely, but remain balanced and never overpowering. Finally, the gentle warming from the 7% ABV soothes the soul on its way down. How can I describe this brew further? Balanced. This beer has really captured an obscure style and found the middle-ground where anyone can enjoy it. Bravo, this is often tough to do, and shows the professionalism of brew master Anders Kissmeyer [4/5].
Dan: This beer’s aroma is pretty intense. Literally, I could smell ginger before the beer even left the bottle. Couple that with some clove and light fruit, and you’ve got the quintessential aroma for the style. Given such an intense spicy smell, the taste is much smoother than you’d expect; sweet bready caramel malts provide a very solid backbone to the spice, and even let a hint of chocolate cherry come through. All this sits on top of a smooth, full body with fine bubbles of carbonation, perfect for a strong ale of English origin. The alcohol is virtually undetectable yet still provides plenty of comfort after a long pants-less walk in the snow. In summary, dude… this is actually the best Winter Warmer I’ve had. There’s a limited supply of this so please seek it out while you can (at the Uptown or Northfield LCBOs). [4.5/5]
Recommended for consumption if you enjoy: Great Lakes Winter Ale, Samuel Smith’s Winter Welcome, gingerbread.
Special Announcement! Dan and Neil are graduating this spring and Iron Warrior is looking for a new beer lover (or group of lovers) to start up a new beer column. If you love craft brews and can sound even half as pretentious as us, please send an email to Iron Warrior to express your drunken interest. Let us know what term you’re in, and feel free to name-drop your favourites or tell us why our reviews sucked and why yours would be better.
Props to hops // Dan and Neil
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