For the Tenth beer of [winter]...

For the Tenth beer of [winter] the beer store gave to me,

Winter Hook by Red hook Brewery!

Generally speaking, Red Hook Brewery makes above average but otherwise unremarkable ales and in that sense their Winter Ale is right on par. It's tasty and I'd gladly toss back a few, but I won't be shedding any tears mid-January when the years supply runs dry.

The beer pours a deep chestnut color, and is topped by a toasted-marshmallow head. The smell is dominated by aromas of roasted malts and has a strong coffee/toffee component as well.

On the palate the beer is sweet but balanced, with a touch of bitterness. The toffee flavors are great and are accompanied by notes of chocolate and macadamia nuts. Actually, if I had to sum up this beer en an extremely primitive way, I'd say it tastes the way I would expect a half

IPA, half nut-brown Ale to taste. It has notes of chocolate, cream, and

roasted malt, but it also has a bitter hop component that you can expect from a good IPA.

The alcohol level is low for a winter seasonal

(just under 6% ABV) and this beer seems like it would be a very easy beer to pair with food.

If you see it on sale, definitely snatch some up, but otherwise-with so many great winter ales in the market-you

could pass on this one without fearing that you had missed anything Earth-shaking.

-Prost!

D. Lux