Define Winter Ale!

What is the definition of a Winter Ale?

Can an oatmeal stout be a winter ale?

I ask because there is a local contest coming up where a winter ale is the category.

i'd say a winter ale is more of a holiday ale

by bjcp guidelines:

21B. Christmas/Winter Specialty Spiced Beer

13C. Oatmeal Stout

Reverend JC said:

What is the definition of a Winter Ale?

Can an oatmeal stout be a winter ale?

I ask because there is a local contest coming up where a winter ale is the category.

Click to expand...

See here:

http://www.bjcp.org/stylebooklet.pdf

-and-

http://www.bjcp.org/stylecenter.html

And oatmeal stout (http://www.bjcp.org/styles04/Category13.html#style13C) is different from a Winter Ale (http://www.bjcp.org/styles04/Category21.html#style21B) under BJCP competition rules. You should check with the competition organizers to see how strictly they're adhering to the rules, or if they're using a different set.

Good luck!

Well, the guy that won the German Ale contest used what we called his "loop hole smoked porter"

It was god damn good, but not what we think of as a german ale. So the rules are not soo strict as to not allow say a Oatmeal Cherry Extra Stout.

what do you think?

Good question...I have the BYO 150 Classic Clone recipes, and the field seems pretty wide open to me.

ok, just read the style guide lines and it appears i need some form of spice, so how about a Oatmeal vanilla cherry extra stout?


that makes my tounge cringe thinking about it

Reverend JC said:

Well, the guy that won the German Ale contest used what we called his "loop hole smoked porter"

It was god damn good, but not what we think of as a german ale. So the rules are not soo strict as to not allow say a Oatmeal Cherry Extra Stout.

what do you think?

Click to expand...

One I am looking at uses 5 lbs of rasperries...

I can say for sure that something doesn't jive between those guidelines and the recipes that I am looking at. i.e.

10 lbs 2 row pale
2 lbs crystal 75
.63 flaked barley
.5 oz chocolate malt

and four basic hops additions

No spices there....but that's BYO, not BJCP