Dominion Winter Brew 2005
Fordham & Dominion Brewing Company

Dominion Winter Brew 2005Dominion Winter Brew 2005
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From:
Fordham & Dominion Brewing Company
 
Delaware, United States
Style:
American IPA
ABV:
6.8%
Score:
87
Avg:
3.86 | pDev: 10.62%
Reviews:
37
Ratings:
37
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Jan 01, 2008
Added:
Nov 20, 2005
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  1
No description / notes.
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Ratings by skynxnex:
Photo of skynxnex
Reviewed by skynxnex from Virginia

4.13/5  rDev +7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Bottled on 11-17-2005. Pours a nice copper red, with a pink tint. Minimal head and some lacing. Smell is hops, but not all Cascade, which is a nice surpise.

Taste is nicely complex hops. Nicely bitter, with undercurrents of citrusness. Bitterness stays on the tounge, hanging on after the sweetness of the malt.

Nice mouthfeel overall. First few sips left almost a sticky feeling, but it mostly goes away. The hops combine in ways I haven't had before, but it doesn't totally work. Still enjoyed it a lot.
Dec 04, 2005
More User Ratings:
Photo of beerking1
Reviewed by beerking1 from Virginia

3.92/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Part of a New Year's Eve vertical tasting that featured 3 years of Winter Brew. This is the best of the 3. Starts out with a BIG hoppy aroma, but with some good balancing malt, and perhaps hints of vanilla. Flavor is malty with a strong hop backbone. Really nice balance between the malt and the hops. Finishes very roasty, with some hop and raisin notes.
Jan 01, 2008
Photo of jhammerly
Reviewed by jhammerly from Nebraska

3.73/5  rDev -3.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
I picked this up while in Columbus, OH. It has a bottling date of 11/17/05, which I did not noticed until I got home. This would have made me put it back down if I had seen the date. I am glad I didn't.

A nice pour into an imperial pint glass. Body is a golden-copper color, almost like apple cider. Head is thick and held up for a few minutes and then slowly descended into a thin cap. A lovely hoppy aroma of citrus greeted the nose. After settling down, I noticed a faint butterscotch smell. The bitterness was subdued, but hops were present along with the slight taste of butterscotch. Everything was balanced. A very drinkable beer, despite the 6.8% alc. vol, with a medium body. This is one that I wish I could have tasted fresh.
Dec 16, 2006
Photo of gus
Reviewed by gus from Virginia

3.8/5  rDev -1.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
An intense hop aroma is evident. A moderately orange/rust tint, very clear with a off white head that is maintained while drinking. Good overall flavor, medium to high hop bitterness but does not remain with aftertaste. Medium carbonation gives this beer a slight dry sensation. Overall I would consider this beer a slightly strong American Pale Ale. A decent winter beer to enjoy for the holiday season.
May 24, 2006
Photo of bruachan
Reviewed by bruachan from Massachusetts

3.63/5  rDev -6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
yeah, so it's out of season already. sue me

nice dark amber. crystal clear with a creamy slightly-off-white head

slight yogurty aroma, floral hops
at first there's a slight metallic taste (only at first, was it really there?), but it doesn't persist. spicy bitterness with some fresh hop flavor

it's good, but i preferred the baltic porter
Apr 10, 2006
Photo of GCBrewingCo
Reviewed by GCBrewingCo from North Carolina

3.54/5  rDev -8.3%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
The beer poured into the glass lightly hazy pale golden amber with a very low off-white and persistent head that although did not rise tall, worked well to lace the glass.

The aroma was strong caramel and diacetyl. The diacetyl was actually very, very strong and overpowering and had the character of sniffing a butter churn.

The flavor was better than the aroma. Though still strong with diacetyl the hop bittering was nice at a moderate level with a piney and citrus hop character which was muted and melded with melted butter. The flavor contained some citrus qualities and caramel

The finish was dry with a lasting citrus, resinous and butter character into the aftertaste. The body was medium with a slickness on the palate from diacetyl.

12 ounce bottle. Bottled on 11105.
Apr 08, 2006
Photo of orbitalr0x
Reviewed by orbitalr0x from Illinois

2.71/5  rDev -29.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 2.5
The Dominion Winter Brew 2005, bottled on 111705, pours from the 12oz bottle a deep red with orange and caramel hues. A small off white head of tiny bubbles appears atop the brew. Aromas of a mellow caramel maltiness overlayed by a buttery diacetyl. Some citrusy and piney hops make an appearance as well, however it doesn't make up for the buttery scent that quite puts me off.

First sip brings a sweet caramel maltiness upfront along with a slight buttery flavor as well. A mix of earthy, citric, piney hops flows in midway through each sip. Finishes with a touch of bitterness. Overall, this one really falls apart and the diacetyl drags it down.

Mouthfeel is smooth and medium bodied carbonation. I can't fault it. Overall, this IPA didn't do anything for me and I can't say I'd look for it again. I'll be looking forward to some of Old Dominion's other offerings instead. Thanks to kmpitz2 for letting me try this one.

Music: Panic! At The Disco - Nails For Breakfast, Tacks For Snacks
Apr 06, 2006
Photo of BuckeyeNation
Reviewed by BuckeyeNation from Iowa

4.3/5  rDev +11.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Burnt orange with luminous tangerine trim. Multiple streams of bubbles can be seen sprinting up to a light caramel cap that looks both creamyfirm and sticky. The foam is slightly rocky as it slowly departs and leaves an acceptable amount of lace in its wake. Winter Brew looks like what it is, a winter warmer version of an IPA.

Never in a million years would I have guessed the hop bill (Liberty, Cascade and Centennial). The aroma is sweetly malty, butter brickle-like and only secondarily fruity hoppy. Where's the Cascade and Centennial citric magnificence, the juicy orange and grapefruit? To be fair, this is a winter beer and the brewers can't be faulted too much for not wanting it to smell ultra-bright and hop zesty. But, man, I love ultra-bright and hop zesty.

Winter Brew 2005 is definitely not the beer that I was expecting when I found out the style. That said, it's still delicious as hell and is very well constructed; not a surprise when I remind myself who brewed it. Because of the considerable, sweet, caramel-like malt presence, it's much more akin to a big, fairly well-hopped amber/red ale.

When IPA is taken out of the equation, I realize just how good this beer really is. It's sweet and butterscotchy and impressively fruity; cherries, oranges and apricots swimming in sugar syrup. That sweetness won't be everyone's cup of tea, but it is mine. Now this is my kind of winter beer.

Hops have not been forsaken; far from it. The hop load is considerable, it's just that in order to make it a winter seasonal, the brewers have chosen to build the flavor profile around the malt. When the beer is this good, who am I to complain? The tail end is where the citric hops get to shine the brightest. A pleasing hoppy bitterness is noticeably accelerated on the finish, even if it never quite reaches escape velocity.

The mouthfeel is well within the borders of the IPA style (even though the beer is in no way an IPA). It's a few clicks more full than medium with a supple smoothness that falls just short of lightly chewy. The carbonation... what carbonation? The bubbles are working effectively behind the scenes, but aren't noticed unless one chooses to notice them. Well done.

From the outstanding Spring Brew 2005 (Double Pils), to the amazing New River Pale Ale, all the way through Oak Barrel Stout, Dominion Pale Ale and Dominion Lager, I have never been anything less than thrilled with one of this brewery's offerings. Winter Brew 2005 is yet another in a long line of outstanding Old Dominion beers.
Mar 24, 2006
Photo of WesWes
Reviewed by WesWes from New York

4.25/5  rDev +10.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
The beer pours an amber color with a thick frothy offwhite head that slowly fades to lacing. The aroma is great. It has a wonderful malt aroma that boasts of pale and crystal malts along with a complex hop aroma that is bitter and complimentary. It's sweet with some toasted notes . The taste is good. It has an extremely smooth taste that is heavy on both malts and hops. It goes down easy with some residual sweetness and warmth. The hops explode in the finish and add a bitter aftertaste when the malts have faded. The mouthfeel is good. It is a medium/full bodied beer with adequate/good carbonation. This is a damn good IPA. It's full flavored with a complex malt bill as well as being bitter with a nice selection of hops. This is a good drinker. It should be available year round.
Mar 24, 2006
Photo of tgbljb
Reviewed by tgbljb from Pennsylvania

4.3/5  rDev +11.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Poured a deep apricot color with impressive tannish head. Very slowly fell to a thick ring with nice surface caoting. Excellent lacing on the side of the glass. Smell is piney, cirtrus, with a bit of caramel notes. Taste is excellent with a nice toasted maltiness combined with a moderate hop bitter dryness mixed with caramel textures. Finish is the same mixture of malt and hops and is very enjoyable. Nice creamy mouthfeel. Excellent drinkability with the alcohol content extremely well hidden. This is a really great beer.
Mar 09, 2006
Photo of warriorsoul
Reviewed by warriorsoul from Pennsylvania

2.94/5  rDev -23.8%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Many thanks to kmpitz2 for this hand delivery.
Bottles 11/05.
Amber in color with a full finger and a half of light tan head...goes nowhere and produces very thick, web-like lacing.
Some butterscotch in the nose with unfortunately not much else can work its way through.
Taste is still buttery, but has enough hops to distract me and a sweetness to go down quite easily. Mildly spiced and finishes with some creamy bitterness.
Typically real impressed with Dominion, but this one is not getting it done...would like to try it on tap for comparison.
Easy enough to consume a pint, but I'll search out something else after this one.
Mar 04, 2006
Photo of brentk56
Reviewed by brentk56 from North Carolina

4.18/5  rDev +8.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Appearance: Arrives at the table with a hazy medium amber body and a nice head that leaves sheets of lacing

Smell: Grapefuity hops dominate the aroma

Taste: Bitterness attacks the tongue from the start although there is a nice malt backbone that sticks around to provide some sweetness on the finish

Mouthfeel: Medium to thick bodied with good carbonation

Drinkability: Full flavored and hoppy but well-balanced; nice
Feb 23, 2006
Photo of Dithyramb
Reviewed by Dithyramb from Maryland

4.16/5  rDev +7.8%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Served on tap (free) at the brewery during a tour.
Poured a very dark amber--almost brown--with a hefty tan foam. Retention lasted throughout the glass and left big wafts of lacing. Beautiful looking brew
Smelled like an American version of an oktoberfest. It had the hefty malt bacbone, but with a crap load of aromatic hops
Flavor came up with the same characteristics. It had a steady malt backbone, with loads of bready and caramel goodness, but with hops all over the place. Definite noble hop flavor that was really enjoyable. Was creamy, smooth, and worth several (think we had three or four freebies on the tour)
Feb 19, 2006
Photo of Fish113d
Reviewed by Fish113d from Pennsylvania

3.36/5  rDev -13%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4
From a tap, it pours a very chilly copper color with absolutely no head; slight white edge layer and the body is quite hazy; almost a dark cider.

Aroma is of crisp apples with some spice maybe. However, for an IPA, it is not very good.

Sipping, tart apple peel comes out at me leading to a crispy leaves flavor reminding me more of an Oktoberfest. Its rounded out at the swallow with more apples- pleasant taste, but not very complex.

Crisp feel with some sharp tingly carbonation. Very "bitey"! Maybe a slight bit of alcohol warming on the finish, but the carbonation is a bit much for me.

Overall, it isn't bad. I had this in a beer bar, and some aroma may have been hurt by bar odors (food, cigarette smoke, etc.). Give 'er a try.
Feb 10, 2006
Photo of gosurfobx
Reviewed by gosurfobx from North Carolina

3.77/5  rDev -2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Pours a dark amber with slight head that goes to a film in a few minutes. Smell of hops and some spices. Taste has good hop complexity but not overly bitter with some slight malt flavor. Mouthfeel is good and the beer is drinkable, but I'll try something else next time.
Jan 27, 2006
Photo of sponberg
Reviewed by sponberg from New York

3.71/5  rDev -3.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Thanks to FBG 3C's for the bottle!!

Appearance: Pours a medium dark amber, with a big foamy white head that lasts a loong time. There's still lace on the glass.

Smell: A bit of diacetyl/butterscotch in the nose, with a dryish spicy hoppiness in the background.

Taste: FIRM bitterness grabs and sucks on the tongue like a freshman college woman who hasn't yet learned to kiss. One of the more complex bitternesses I've had - loaded with spicy, piney, earthy aromatics that head north to the back of the nose, along with a dry leaves kind of earthiness (that'd be the Liberty hop, an all time favorite) that sits happily on the tongue, like a freshman college woman who hasn't yet learned to, umm, never mind. A dry, somewhat apple-fruity maltiness arrives in the middle, rounding out the flavors more, along with a bit of diacetyl. Whiffs of alcohol arrive towards the end, along with the citric hops I was expecting from the blurb on the bottle from the get go.

Mouthfeel: RRoooound and smooth, like the chick on the Killian's red commercial used to say. She was hot. Knew more about beer than most college freshman as well.

Drinkability: This brew is a bit different than a lot of winter ales in its balance - much more tilted towards the bitter end than the hoppy American style or malty English style ales. You'd need to like it's particular bitterness to really drink a lot of them. I happen to like it - Liberty's a vastly underused college fresh, err, hop.
Jan 26, 2006
Photo of wingnutter
Reviewed by wingnutter from Florida

3.75/5  rDev -2.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Nice amber color, minimal head. Smell has some hops and some sweet fruitiness. Looks tasty

Taste: Hops up front, nice bitterness. I think I taste a winter spice of some sort but cant put my finger on it. Almost has a feint wine-like flavor in the middle somewhere. Malty sweetness gives it some balance. Very unique. BA lists this as an IPA, but Im not sure if it isnt closer to an ESB. The hops are there, but are not overpowering...Its almost like theres TOO many flavors competing for attention. Lots of flavors but nothing jumping out at me and taking center stage....As it warms, it gets a bit of charm and the taste changes a bit - A nice citrusy thing happening behind the hops..


Meduim mouthfeel. I like the finish of this beer. Kinda dry, kinda sweet, kinda bitter, with the wine thing going on again in the background. Makes me want to take another drink right away. The wine-like flavor seems out of place for ths style, but its a decent beer nonetheless.
Jan 24, 2006
Photo of meathookjones
Reviewed by meathookjones from Virginia

4.1/5  rDev +6.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Dark amber with a good sized head and decent lacing. Nice amount of bitter hops in that aroma with a toasty malt sweetness backing it up. Some caramel and a light fruitiness to it. Sweet caramel and toasted malts start off the flavor with a nice bitter edge. Plenty of earthy hops and light fruit notes. Ends on a bitter sweet note. Solid body with a creamy smooth feel. Very drinkable stuff, solid flavor and a good all around beer. Its seems more of a hoppy winter warmer than an IPA.
Jan 20, 2006
Photo of MaltyGoodness
Reviewed by MaltyGoodness from Pennsylvania

3.8/5  rDev -1.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
12oz. bottle provided by AKSmokedPorter via BS-BIF

Pours a copper color with a white head that recedes to the inside of the glass. Mild lacing on the glass.

Has a fruity/citrusy hoppy aroma with some caramel underones. Has a slight sweetness to the smell.

Nice citrusy hops upfront followed by a nice caramel malt flavor. Finishes fairly clean with a nice smooth bitterness.

A quite drinkable IPA. I'd certainly go for another.
Jan 14, 2006
Photo of chOAKbarrell
Reviewed by chOAKbarrell from Maryland

3.37/5  rDev -12.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
The label on the bottle says that this is a winter warmer. Beer Advocate says its an American IPA. I dont know which is more accurate.

This beer doesnt seem to have the intense hop characteristics of an IPA, but then it also doesnt really seem to have the spices of a winter warmer. The 3 types of hops are definitely front & center, but they seem to die down fairly quickly. There is also a faint metallic undertone thing going on. Kind of limp & watery mouthfeel.

A rather confusing & lackluster beer overall.
Jan 14, 2006
Dominion Winter Brew 2005 from Fordham & Dominion Brewing Company
Beer rating: 87 out of 100 with 37 ratings