Winter Warmers: What Have You Got?

[Pappers_]

Sunday afternoon was the first time this year that it felt 'wintry' to me, so I opened a bottle of Wee Heavy. Malty, rich, caramelly, clean, very good clarity with a nice alcohol warmth. Hugh and I brewed this a year ago and have been bottle aging it. Definitely a sipping beer.

 

[bonecitybrewco]

How many did you have before posting?

 

[worlddivides]

Whiskey is my main "winter warmer" (Scotch, bourbon, rye, Irish, Japanese, but not Canadian).

For beer, I like stouts, porters, and brown ales. The brown ale I just brewed is pretty good for that. Just a touch of smoked barley (among the large amount of specialty grains) and just the right amount of toastiness with a very mild bacon flavor. My vanilla chocolate stout also is pretty good for winter. Or my bourbon barrel vanilla stout.

Generally dark beers.

 

[bbohanon]

I so wish I had some winter warmers lined up..
I just won my first homebrew contest this past weekend with my chocolate milk stout that was the last 3 bottles I had so all I have is about 2 gallons of an IPA and 2 gallons of a cream ale that I absolutely hate, but everyone else loves.

The remainder of my beer pipeline after my neighborhood pig picking 2 weeks was decimated (we blew 4 kegs) so I need to BREW!

 

[JonM]

When I'm in the mood for a winter warmer, my faves are:

Bell's Third Coast Old Ale
North Coast Old Stock Ale
Skull Splitter

My North Coast inspired barleywine which is nothing but Maris Otter boiled for 3.5 hours. That batch has a few bottles left and they're almost four years old and smooth as hell.

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1479765090.024128.jpg

 

[Quaker]

My North Coast inspired barleywine which is nothing but Maris Otter boiled for 3.5 hours.
View attachment 377846

I've been getting in the habit of squirreling away North Coast's the past couple of years. Any more specifics on your recipe or is it posted in the database already? Hopping, OG, yeast of choice, etc. I could definitely brew up a batch to slowly work through. I also like Founders Curmudgeon after the bitterness has dropped a bit with age.

My annual Black Friday brew is an RIS. My second keg from last years' 10gallon batch hasn't been tapped yet. That's my usual winter warmer.

 

[myndflyte]

I have a 10.5% barleywine that I brewed back in May of 2011. It took over 2 years to finally taste good so I think it should be in it's prime by now.

 

[eSePeludo]

I have a 10.5 ris that i plan to tap on the 21st of next month. It will only have been aging 4 months by then. Im hoping its tasting good by then, i didnt plan accordingly and its taking up my only keg. Im sure it will still warm me up a good bit tho

 

[foam_top]

I don't have any homebrew lined up but tomorrow I'm hoping to find Lagunitas Brown Shugga (fingers crossed) and whatever else I may find.

 

[JonM]

I've been getting in the habit of squirreling away North Coast's the past couple of years. Any more specifics on your recipe or is it posted in the database already? Hopping, OG, yeast of choice, etc. I could definitely brew up a batch to slowly work through. I also like Founders Curmudgeon after the bitterness has dropped a bit with age.

My annual Black Friday brew is an RIS. My second keg from last years' 10gallon batch hasn't been tapped yet. That's my usual winter warmer.

I don't remember the recipe exactly, but it was a ton of Maris Otter (I think 1.100 was my target for post-boil OG) and then the long, long boil. I mashed as low as I could and left the mash for something like 2 hours, all to make as fermentable a wort as possible. I only used a bittering charge, then I put it on the yeast cake of a just-kegged ESB that used 1968.

 

[zachattack]

I did a SMaSH barleywine about 2 years ago, tapped it this summer for a party and I still have a bit in the keg. Just Marris Otter and EKG. I don't have my notes in front of me but I did something like 30 lbs of MO with no sparge, a 2 hour boil and fermented cool with Nottingham.

13.1% ABV, tastes like toffee and magic.

 

[JohnSand]

I just had the last bottle of a two year old Dubbel that was lovely.
I have 8 bottles of Rare Vos Clone left that is three years old, but 6 of them are going to Thanksgiving at my niece's house. The other two I'm saving for Christmas. After that I'm out of big beer.
I'd better brew some for next year.

 

[Homercidal]

Have 10 gallons of Wee Heavy (one of them isn't so heavy, really, due to overestimating the efficiency that day.) that will go into the barrel my homebrew club currently has a KBS clone in. I think we are targeting December if a few more members can brew a few more batches.

Until then I really only have a dozen bottles of two different barleywines from many years ago, a few bottles of KBS, and a RIS called Kill 'Em All, and a Barleywine called With Kindness from Perrin Brewing.

I could use a Winter Warmer after the lunchtime walk I just took! I severley underestimated how cold the wind and ice would be!

 

[Pappers_]

Have 10 gallons of Wee Heavy (one of them isn't so heavy, really, due to overestimating the efficiency that day.) that will go into the barrel my homebrew club currently has a KBS clone in. I think we are targeting December if a few more members can brew a few more batches.

Same here, we've got 15 gallons of a RIS aging in a bourbon barrel, because its a smaller barrel, we're thinking we're going to check on it at the six month mark and see how its developing.

We've still got a case or so of our last barrel-aged RIS, which is now about 2 years old. I'll post a pic and description when I open a bottle of that next.

 

[filthyastronaut]

Got a nice malty sweet Brown Ale that's nearing the three week mark in the bottle, tastes good so far. Planning for a sessionable winter warmer type beer. Also bottling a ~7 percent coffee Stout that I'll probably start drinking around Christmas.

As for commercial beers, Hibernation Ale is a good'n.

 

[brewbama]

I have a chocolate milk stout almost ready.