Robin Shepard
A tulip glass of wassail is in the festive Christmassy window at Vintage.
Vintage's wassail-ispried beer is perfect for the holiday season even if there's no snow.
‘Tis the season for special beers and Vintage Brewing Company has a holiday brew made with the spirit of a wassail. Traditionally, wassails are made with hot mulled cider, ales or wine, along with a variety of spices. As a winter beverage it has historical ties to the English custom of neighborhood caroling. “I have to imagine that in the act of going door-to-door and singing Christmas carols that those involved would have been hoping for something sweet, maybe a little wassail or strong beer like this,” says Vintage brewmaster Scott Manning.
His take on the drink features blood orange puree for a citrus background combined with cinnamon, clove and nutmeg. It is a nice sipping beer with plenty of holiday flair. This is not the typical Christmas ale that overwhelms with baking spices; rather its soft, sweet orange flavor dominates and keeps the spices in the background. Vintage Wassail finishes at 8.3% ABV. It is served cold in a 10-ounce tulip glass at all Vintage locations ($7.50/glass).
Also, on tap right now at all Vintage locations is a version of the brewpub’s Maximilian stout. Manning barrel-aged his boldest stout for two years before tapping it for the holidays. The oak barrel that Manning used has a story all its own. It started in the Wollersheim Winery where it was first used to age a tawny port for 12 years, followed by two more years filled with bourbon. The resulting beer, called Portmanteau 2021, has the character of red wine, sweet warm spirits, dark roasted malts and soft oakiness. It is big at 11.5% ABV and complex. It is one of the best barrel-aged beers I had in 2023, with tones of grape, plum, bourbon and oak that emerge as it warms. Unfortunately, it is limited. The one barrel of it was distributed across three Vintage locations, making this something to try sooner than later ($13/glass).
A few weeks ago, Alt Brew brewmaster and brewery owner Trevor Easton previewed the annual release of Velvet Midnight, a strong 10% ABV gluten-free ale. It is a highly sought after seasonal barrel-aged imperial brown that spends nearly six months in J. Henry & Sons bourbon barrels. Velvet Midnight is a bigger version of the brewery’s Ravenwood brown ale.
Recently Easton hosted a vertical tasting of the beer that included vintages from 2018 through 2022. Amazingly, all of the different versions matured extremely well, maintaining notes of chocolate and vanilla with the sweet warmth of bourbon and oak. My picks of the night were the 2018 and 2020 releases, in which the flavors had mellowed. This year’s release has some of the same depth of maltiness and strong but smooth bourbon character that’s reminiscent of the cellared 2018 batch. Pre-sales reservations of Velvet Midnight in bomber bottles ($25/each) were strong but the brewery does have some for purchase in the taproom, where it is also sold in 10-ounce glasses ($9/each).
Robin Shepard
A bottle and a small glass of dark beer is on a slate gray counter.
This beer is worth making the trip to the Hubbleton brewery or taproom in Watertown.
The small farmstead-based Hubbleton Brewery has two very nice barrel-aged beers that make heading to Waterloo well worth the drive. For one of them, brewer Dan Schey aged an imperial stout for nearly 11 months in a Limousin Rye whiskey barrel from Dancing Goat Distillery of Cambridge. It is full-bodied and rich in roasted chocolate malt character. The barrel imparts a spicy rye woodiness in both flavor and aroma. Overall, it is quite smooth; it finishes at 13% ABV.
More interesting is a barrel-aged schwarzbier. The dark lager behind it all has a wonderfully balanced backbone of deep toffee and chocolate maltiness yet is lighter in body than the barrel-aged stout. The schwarzbier is aged for nine months in an Elijah Craig bourbon barrel, imparting sweet, nutty, bready hints of bourbon. The result is a very inviting dark ale with the beer character remaining in the forefront and the bourbon an alluring warm accent. I really like this beer, so much so I have tucked away a bottle in the back of the fridge to enjoy by the fireplace during the first major snowfall. Both beers ($10/16-ounce bottle) are available at the brewery at W10445 Hubbleton Road, Waterloo, and at the brewery’s taproom at W7071 Main St., Watertown (near the intersection of State Highway 19 and County Road G).
Full Mile Beer Co. & Kitchen is celebrating its fifth anniversary this month with the annual release of Collusion, an imperial stout. Collusion was first brewed in 2018 for the brewpub’s grand opening. The beer has greatly improved over the years with recipe tweakings that have given it less of the harsh roasted notes that can distract in the most robust versions of the style. This year Collusion was aged in J. Henry & Sons bourbon barrels, while in years past it was cellared in Driftless Glen oak barrels (and this 2022 vintage is also on tap). Other variants of the imperial stout that Collusion is made from are also on tap at the bar now. They include Sailor’s Delight (aged in brandy barrels with orange peel, cardamom and cacao nibs), and Glam Squad (aged in port wine and rye whiskey barrels with raspberry and vanilla). A mixed four-pack of all are available at the brewpub ($39).
