December 20 - Elysian Bifrost Winter Ale


When I think of the days preceding Christmas, I think of hot chocolate, days off from school, relaxing on the couch at the farm, dad nagging to my mom, my mom making nuts'n'bolts, my sister being cranky as always and me enjoying snow-chilled beer. Unfortunately working in retail, I work a LOT in xmas season, and a lot of days are just frankly depressing and nearly making me jump off a bridge. But it's still a time of year one should celebrate with friends and family.

Today's beer is BiFrost Winter Ale by the WA brewery Elysian Brewing Co. BiFrost Winter Ale describes itself as their lively winter brew, a bold ale with citrus and earthy hop character balanced by a smooth malt backbone. 7.5% ABV.

Let's go!

Appearance: A nice bright cloudy orange beer, reminiscent of a Belgian style saison/witbier. Little bit of beige head that's lightly frothy and sticking to the side of the glass.

Aroma: A bit of a note of toffee, grassy hops, quite decently citrusy sweet with some lemon and orange in there. A bit of a candy cane sweetness.

Taste: Medium amount of floral hops that appears first, followed by a sweet Christmas Orange and caramel, slight breadiness and a good bitterness coming from the toffee. Mildly bittered, not overwhelmingly sweet, but nice notes that are reminding me of Xmas time oddly enough!

Overall Thoughts: A nice citrusy and caramelly ale with decent hop presence, great treat for a winter evening in December. I'm exhausted and this is pretty damned decent. Oranges, lemon, floral hops, what's not to love?

Santé et Joyeux Noël!

www.elysianbrewing.com/elysian-beers/bifrost-winter-ale/

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