Last week, I reviewed a mediocre barrel aged stout from the normally reliable Founders Brewing Company. That stout set me back about 17 dollars. It was proof that spending more on beer does not guarantee you will get your money's worth. Since it is the holiday season, I for one need to spend a little more money on Christmas presents than I do on beer. Of course I tell myself that now but I most likely will find myself chasing down the next exciting limited release heading this way. For now though, I am here to review something less expensive and easy to find. I mentioned earlier that it is the Christmas season and I realize I have barely touched upon the holiday themed beers out right now. So that is all going to change this week when I take a look at 21st Amendment Brewery's Fireside Chat Winter Spiced Ale.
Sadly, 21St Amendment's Fireside Chat is not a good beer. I really did not want to give away my overall assessment right away but in this case it felt right. Once in awhile I come across a beer where the first sip seems pretty good but by the time the last sip comes around, I find it completely unbearable. Every time I took a sip of Fireside Chat, I liked it less and less. I thought giving it time to warm would open it up, but that just made it worse. No matter what temperature the beer was, the finish of Fireside Chat completely ruined the beer. I found the finish bitter, boozy and astringent. It felt completely out of place with the rest of the beer. That was disappointing because not everything here is terrible. The aroma was pleasant and delivered mostly what you would expect from the style. Toasted caramel, toasted nuts, molasses, dark fruits and a hint of spices. These notes all come through nicely initially in the flavor. There's also a candied sugar note that is nicely complemented by cinnamon and nutmeg. What's even better is the cinnamon and nutmeg are nicely subdued here. Some holiday themed beers are drowned with spices. There is just enough of those spices here to make their presence known but not so much as to detract from anything else going on here. There is also a nice cherry note to the beer which makes it seem even more festive. Then the finish hits and ruins any potential this beer had. In the case of Fireside Chat, a little bitterness to the finish could have been a nice compliment to the malt sweetness. Instead this beer goes overboard on the bitterness, which seems even more intense because of heat from the booze. At 7.9%, the alcohol should have been hidden better. Instead the alcohol is there front and center delivering a final blow to any potential this beer had.
Fireside Chat is a disappointing beer and definitely not the best representation of winter beer on the shelves right now. Due to the fact that I am just now touching upon the winter and holiday styles of beer this late into the season I feel like I can't just leave you with my usual “this beer particular beer is terrible, try something else.” So, I will leave you with two really nice recommendations. Sierra Nevada's Celebration Ale and Genesee's Winter Warmer Ale are two wonderful Winter beers on shelves right now. I highly recommend them both for your holiday festivities.
Overall I would rate Fireside Chat a 1.5/5. This is bad beer, plain and simple. However, if you are looking for a nice beer from 21st Amendment to compliment this time of year, try Monk's Blood.
Rating Scale:
1 - Repugnant and undrinkable
2 - Acceptable but forgettable
3 - Good, worth a purchase
4 - Excellent, a step above the norm
5 - Truly exceptional
To discuss this blog or all things beer follow me on Twitter, Instagram & Untappd at @ACraftyLook
For more beer reviews go to: http://www.acraftylook.com
For my most recent appearance of 13 WHAM's Good Day Rochester: Click Here!
Thanks for reading. Sláinte!
No comments:
Post a Comment