Winter beers are a great tradition. I was first introduced to them by Samuel Adams Winter Lager, which was (to me) a long time ago. That's because I'm getting old.Anyway, holiday ales tend to be spiced with traditional winter spices like cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, allspice, nutmeg, ginger, and others.
Fireside Chat is 21st Amendment's take on a winter beer. (I previously reviewed their Hop Crisis.) And it's jammed with winter spices. Pour it and the aroma is like gingerbread cookies and those thick holiday breads you can never eat much of and dark candy malts.
But the big feature here are those spices. Major spices. So many spices that they just wash through your mouth and cleanse them of all other tastes. There is nutmeg and probably cinnamon and other “wintry” tastes. Honestly, it borders on being a little over the top.
This was an interesting beer, but I hesitate to recommend it unless you enjoy something really offbeat. To me it tasted like a Christmas cake washed down in root beer. Glad I tried it, but probably wouldn't get it again.
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