Taste Test – Winter Seasonal Beers
I conducted a blind taste test with four friends to try some of the many winter seasonal beers. I knew which beer was served each round, but the other four tasters did not. Before the tasting began, I read the 2015 BJCP style guidelines for Winter Seasonal Beers (30C) out loud and I asked everyone to rate the beers based on that definition. None of us are big fans of this style of beer, but we all enjoy Anchor’s Christmas Ale so I did not include that beer.
| Tasting Order | Mike | Andrew | Jessie | John | Ellen | Avg Rating | Rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Berghoff Brewery - Winter Ale | B- | B- | B | C+ | B | B- | 3 |
| 2 | Alaskan Brewing Company - Winter Ale | C | C- | D | C | C+ | C- | 6 |
| 3 | Boston Beer Company - Samuel Adams Winter Lager | C+ | B- | B | B+ | B- | B- | 2 |
| 4 | Harpoon Brewery - Winter Warmer | C | C- | C | B- | C+ | C | 5 |
| 5 | Summit Brewing Company - Summit Winter Ale | B+ | B | C | C | C+ | C+ | 4 |
| 6 | Goose Island Beer Company - Goose Winter Ale | C+ | A- | C | B | B+ | B- | 1 |
Observations:
- Even the highest rated beer (Goose Island’s Winter Ale) only received a C+ average rating, and only one person gave any of the beers a rating in the A range.
- The names for these winter seasonal beers aren’t very creative. Four beers named Winter Ale? Winter Lager and Winter Warmer are not very exciting either.
