New beers for the winter

Winter beers are darker, fuller bodied, perhaps a bit sweeter and higher in alcohol than the beers we reach for on a hot summer’s day.

By DOUG GREENER
Like other smoky beers, this Whisky Beer pairs well with grilled food (photo credit: MIKE HORTON)
Like other smoky beers, this Whisky Beer pairs well with grilled food
(photo credit: MIKE HORTON)
With the colder weather closing in around us, it’s time to think about beers which bring a warm glow to our hearts and bodies.
Winter beers are darker, fuller bodied, perhaps a bit sweeter and higher in alcohol than the beers we reach for on a hot summer’s day.
Beer drinkers know that when the wind is howling and the temperatures falling, you might not want to reach for an ice-cold pale ale or a light lager that describes itself as “crisp and refreshing.”
Choose instead a hearty bock beer, Belgian Tripel or barley wine, a malty porter or stout, a spiced pumpkin, Oktoberfest or holiday ale, or even an alcohol-strong India pale ale (IPA).
Six new Israeli craft beers that are now available in liquor stores and beer specialty shops around the country are especially suited for the coming winter season. Take them out of the refrigerator 10 to 15 minutes before you drink them. You certainly don’t have to drink them ice cold, and their strong flavors will be enhanced as they warm up.
THE FIRST is Grizzly, a reissued double IPA from Hadubim (“The Bears”) Brewery, which I discussed at length in my October column.
Grizzly is a good name for this aggressive IPA. Alcohol by volume is a powerful 8.6%, and it is loaded with Simcoe, Summit and Chinook hops, which produce a whopping 100 IBUs (International Bitterness Units). Color is a hazy amber- orange with a very thin white head and very light carbonation. The fruit and spice hop aroma alone will knock your socks off. Flavors include citrus and tropical fruits, especially mango and caramel.
I liked the playing off of these sweet fruits with the extreme bitterness of the hops. The finish is very dry and bitter.
Although this is not a dark or “heavy” beer, the strong and full flavors and the plentiful alcohol will feel very welcome on such a winter’s day. It goes very well with most roasted or grilled dishes, sharp cheeses like cheddar and very sweet desserts. HAPPY HOUR in Sodom (what a name!) is a salty caramel porter from the Dancing Camel Brewery in Tel Aviv. This is the Israeli version of a collaborative beer that owner David Cohen made with the Schoppe Bräu brewery in Berlin. In both cases, salt from the Dead Sea is used to balance the chocolate and caramel sweetness of the malt.
Happy Hour is a very dark brown color with a mild chocolate aroma. Surprisingly, all of the flavors in this 6% alcohol beer are subdued. It’s not like eating a chocolate-covered pretzel that is very sweet and salty. Even though the flavors are much more subtle, the balance is maintained. In fact, I would have preferred to have the flavors more pronounced.
Nevertheless, this is a very enjoyable beer that manages to twist your tastes in different directions. Try pairing it with any barbecued food, cheeses or sweet puddings, or enjoying it as a dessert beer from a snifter.
ANOTHER BEER perfect for the winter is the Whisky Beer made with Laphroaig single malt Scotch whisky by The Dictator (which brews at the facilities of Mivshelet Ha’aretz in Kiryat Gat). I was at the launch of this “special edition” beer in Tel Aviv, where Yotam Baras, one of The Dictator partners, warned that we would “either love or hate” the smokiness which the whisky imparts to this beer. He refused to reveal how much whisky is added to the Irish Red Ale base, but the final alcohol percentage of the beer is 6.9% – strong but not extreme.
To tell the truth, I neither loved nor hated it. The Whisky Beer pours out a dark reddish-copper color with a thin head. The aroma is of peaty smoke with some malt. And of course, the smokiness is very distinct in the flavor, as you would find in a smoky single malt Scotch. Yet you don’t really taste the whisky, just the smoke. It’s a very balanced and creamy beer, actually quite pleasant. Like other smoky beers, this one pairs well with grilled food, including vegetables and mushrooms, and would be very interesting with caramel, chocolate or spicy desserts.
I suggest you buy this beer now, because I’m not sure how much longer it will be on the shelves. Be warned: Because of the added whisky, it costs around twice as much as regular craft beer, but it’s worth it just to try.
NELSON IS the name of a black IPA from the Basha-Flom Brewery in Beersheba.
This is a beer style that has been popular for a while, in spite of the oxymoronic name. (How can a beer be “black” and “pale” at the same time?) Several Israeli home-brewers have experimented with black IPAs, but the only other commercial version I know is Dark Matter from Hashachen Brewery in Netanya.
Omer Basha and Dvir Flom have been brewing a stronger version of Nelson for more than a year, but until now it has been available only at festivals and other events. It’s named after Nelson Mandela, and not only because of its color.
Basha and Flom have great admiration for the man and wanted to name a beer in his memory.
Nelson is a thick, dark brown beer with a creamy tan head. The aroma and the taste indicate the two characteristics of this beer: semisweet chocolate from the dark roasted de-bittered malts, and citrus and pine from the all-American hops. This balance is very well maintained in Nelson. The mouthfeel is very creamy, and the finish is hoppy, bitter and dry. Alcoholic content is a moderate 5.5%.
JUST APPEARING now on the market is the aptly named A Sort of Wheat from the Herzl Beer Workshop, the only commercial brewery in Jerusalem. This is actually a wheat beer made with the addition of rye, and is known in German as Roggen Weizen. The style itself is from the Middle Ages, and today it is very rarely brewed anywhere in the world.
A Sort of Wheat is dark copper colored, darker than a typical wheat beer, and a bit stronger – 5.6% alcohol. The aroma gives you some hops and sweet malt, but the flavors are very close to what you would expect from a wheat beer: banana-clove and some caramel.
Where’s the rye? I couldn’t detect it in the flavor, but perhaps it makes itself felt in the fuller body, the wee sourness, and the dry finish.
All in all, this is a good beer for those who want a wheat beer with a different twist. It is a proud addition to the craft beers of the Start-up Nation.
THE NEWEST winter beer is the 2017 version of Jack’s Winter Ale from Shapiro Brewery in Beit Shemesh. This beer gets its special taste and body by being aged with oak chips soaked in bourbon whisky. This is the sixth year that Shapiro is bringing out its annual Winter Ale, and fans of Israeli craft beers wait for its appearance at the start of every winter.
“Our recipe hasn’t changed,” says Itzik Shapiro, one of the brewery’s partner- brothers. “But every version has been a little different. This is a strong beer that can be aged in the bottle for a few months and it will only get mellower and more mature. At 8.5% alcohol, it’s definitely a sipping beer, not one for long, multiple-beer drinking sessions.”
The 2017 Jack’s Winter Ale pours out a beautiful red amber color with a thin tan head. The aroma had roasted malt and some caramel. The taste is very malty with spices; we detected cloves and pepper and a little bit of whisky.
The beer is full-bodied and the finish is nicely spiced.
This is a great beer for any winter meal, especially foods with intense or spicy tastes, as well as pizza, aged cheeses, and rich, semisweet desserts. After the meal, it’s a beautiful warming dessert by itself.
So as you hunker down for the winter, don’t forget to stock up on some of these fine beers, which will be welcome companions, at least until next spring.
The author writes a blog on Israeli craft beers at www.IsraelBrewsAndViews.blogspot.co.il, and is the owner of an agency for advertising and marketing.


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