Texas? Winter Beer? Wha? That's right. Our next beer comes from the Spoetzl Brewery in Shiner, Texas. Most of us are familiar with the well-distributed Shiner Bock Beer. This is the first time I've come across Shiner's winter, so I am excited to give it a try - I have a special fondness for Shiner, which I will elaborate on later when I blog their bock beer sometime. For now, Holiday Cheer - it sounds interesting - the bottle mentions it being brewed with Texas peaches adn roasted pecans along with malted barley. Interesting for sure! As my friend Adam is fond of saying "Don't fruit the beer!", which I think is a good rule of thumb, but let's go in with an open mind....
It pours dark brown with a thin head.
The aroma is sweet and peachy. I get a little scared. There is malt, but the peach is most noticeable.
The taste is initially peachy and I'm afraid my fears may be confirmed. However, it isn't too sweet and the initial peach is rounded off by an earthy malt and nuttiness that is evident in the body. The roasty nuttiness makes me think this would be a good warm weather winter warmer - I'm thinking about bbq while I drink it. I think it would go well with some glazed salmon or some other bbq items.
The aftertaste reveals the peach again, it is a little sweet. It leaves a desert aftertaste or something akin to the marshmallow sweet potato dish occasionally prevalent in Holiday meals.
It isn't a bad beer! I kind of like it for it's bold distinction and the reminiscence of bbq/warm weather in these cold days. Definitely not for those of us not interested in fruit in the beer or those who don't like the flavor of peach. But if you are looking for something truly unique this season or for a conversation starter at a holiday party, this'll do the trick for y'all. Like the sweet potato dish, I can't imagine over-indulging. I think the sweetness would be too much after a few of these beers, but worth the try. Plus it has some amazing packaging - so it makes for a nice stocking stuffer for the experimental beer lover in your life.
From their website: 5.4% with 22 IBU's.
Cheers!
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