BetterBeerBlog

I really enjoy this time of year. I like this time of the year because of the impending holiday season. Some people find being around family to be really stressful but I, generally, like my families (immediate and in-laws). It’s a chance to gather everyone around and just be ourselves.

What I also like about this time of the year are the winter seasonal beers that breweries are releasing. Some beers are only available during the holidays, marking their rarity. Most of the time, winter beers tend to be maltier and higher in alcohol. Today I had the opportunity to visit Wine Affairs in San Jose where I was able to try two winter beers.

Deschutes, Jubelale 2008, 6.7% ABV

You’ll have to forgive my photos. Stopping by Wine Affairs happened to be a last minute, chance decision. As a result, the images I have were taken by camera phone. Anyone know of a compact, yet quality point and shoot digital camera for under $300?

Jubelale pours a dark brown with caramel highlights and a beige head. Sweet malt aromas, like toasty bread crusts, are supported by hints of chocolate, toffee, nuts, dark, dried fruit esters and a subtle spice character. The flavor of Jubelale is of sweet malt not unlike slightly toasted bread crusts with chocolate undertones and slightly nutty finish. Even though they told me on the label this beer was brewed with “bountiful hops”, I found the hop bitterness to be medium/medium-high in character that stays past the finish but is not harsh. The mouthfeel is creamy and smooth with a medium level of carbonation combined with medium/medium-high body. I get a very slight astringency in the finish but nothing harsh.

Overall, I found Deschutes’ Jubelale to be a decent winter warmer with good flavor and balance but somewhat lacking in depth. I let the beer warm up some and I was able to pick up some of the tertiary flavors but I had to work for them a little bit. Still, I would recommend this beer.

Scaldis, Noël, 12% ABV

This beer kept giving me the “sexy eye” from behind the glass refrigerator door like so many of the “working girls” in Amsterdam. Decked out in shiny, blue and red foil with a starry night and a picturesque, sleepy winter town, I heeded it’s call. I would’ve never known about this beer had I not seen it behind the glass; it wasn’t printed on the menu yet. I took a chance and ordered it.

Scaldis Noël is a seasonal winter beer from Brasserie Dubuisson Freres sprl… whatever that means. The descripion on the bottle calls this an amber ale but it’s more Belgian Dark Strong ale. This beer pours a mostly clear, caramel/amber color with a beige head. Sweet, toasted bread-like malt characteristics make up some of the aroma. I can smell what I think is Munich malt. These primary aromas are supported by slight floral and alcohol notes. The flavor of this beer is rich and complex. I am tasting bready malt flavors, dried dark fruit notes like dates, a hint of red apple, candi sugar and toffee. This beer has almost no hop flavor and very low hop bitterness. Noël is full-bodied with medium carbonation that lends to a smooth mouthfeel. Despite being a 12% ABV beer, the alcohol is subtle on the palette.

I am really loving this beer, which is good considering I paid a whopping $12 for an 8 ounce bottle. Yes, I am aware that I probably could’ve picked this up cheaper at a good bottle shop but this is a pretty difficult beer to come by. Imagine how disappointed I would’ve been if this beer sucked but I found this to be a spectacular winter beer. Diane, the owner of Wine Affairs, asked me what I thought about this beer as she bought it sight unseen and untasted. In fact, I think I may have been the very first person to have bought a bottle.

I still think that Wine Affairs is still the best spot in San Jose to grab a good, craft ale. I wish they’d put in some taps but I realize that the sign says, “Wine Affairs” and not “Beer Affairs”. Sammy and I managed to talk to Diane for quite a bit. In addition to being a sommelier, she has an excellent palette and picks some really great beers to carry on bottle. She has a great knowledge of wines, as one would suspect, but she’s also very knowledgeable about beers. I’m not going to say she’s all in-depth with brewing process and things of that nature but by her very trade, she has sharp palette and knows flavors.

Stop by Wine Affairs where the atmosphere is casual, the people friendly and the beers are good.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 19th, 2008 at 1:41 am and is filed under Beer Styles, Beer in Review, Craft Beer, Reviews, Wine. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.