Descheutes Brewery's Jubelale Winter Ale

This is another one I had out of the bottle.

Nice slightly peppery zip in addition to a fair amount of bitterness in the smell. The way a warmer should be. It has a bit of an alcohol smell, but it's minor.

Tastes about the same. Not as much alcohol, but it's still there. Right on type for a warmer, but nothing terribly spectacular.

Rogue Brewing Company's XS Imperial Red

I seriously hate the little bottle.

Pours a fairly deep, loosely filtered reddish brown with a nice tan head. Big, bready smell.

Pretty good punch to it, about like an imperial pale should be, although it has a pretty harsh bitter aftertaste. I don't know, seems kind of meh overall, although that may be because it's a pretty bland style to take imperial. It should be closer to an IPA, but it just, isn't.

Descheutes Brewery's The Abyss 2010 Reserve

Alright--brewer's licorice (is there such a thing?), black strap molasses, cherry bark and vanilla beans aged in oak barrels has all the hallmarks of trying too hard. But I've liked everything this brewery has ever done, so I'm keeping an open mind.

Pours an inky brownish black with a solid dark tan head. Smells deep and grainy, with oak.

Good body, although I expected bigger. Maybe it's all the hype. Very good beer though. The oak is there, but I like that only a third of it is aged in oak because it keeps it in check. The licorice is there, and the molasses in the aftertaste. 11% ABV? Not a hint of that. Very well hidden, which is something a lot more beers need to do. Says best after 11/15/11, so I'll have to go get some more and hold it for a while.

Rogue Brewing Company's Juniper Pale Ale

If you can't tell, I'm dumping a ton of beers I've kept notes on into the blog, so I can track what I've had better. Most Rogue beers would deserve a more detailed post, but unfortunately this one doesn't so I don't feel too bad including it in the dump.

Pours a cloudy yellow, with a fizzy almost white head.

It has a slightly malty sweet smell, with indistinct hops. Tastes about the same, and unfortunately there's not a whole lot to say about a middle of the road pale. Light body, just a tad too sweet.

Widmer Brothers Brewing Company's Brrr Seasonal Ale

Never been impressed with Widmer. Bought this as a single a while back and have been avoiding it in favor of others, but I figure, what the hell.

Pours a slightly hazy amber with a quickly dissipating tan head. Throws off a nice smell though, slightly peppery with some alcohol. So far, better than expected and seemingly on type.

Seems like a repurposed amber. Pretty big hops bite for a winter warmer, and although there seem to be some spices they don't really come out as much as they should until well into the aftertaste.

I like it, but it's a better amber than a winter warmer.