Geary's Winter Ale - D.L. Geary Brewing Company

ngandhi

Illinois

4.18/5  rDev +19.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Geary's Winter Ale is the first IPA -- the first ANYTHING -- I can compare to a wheatwine. Though I doubt there's any wheat in the mash, the nose on this IPA is old toffee and mysterious (un-American) hops.

Very British (is that East Kent Goldings?).

The mid-palette is much of the same wheatwine/old ale stuff, but not as sweet and backed by a loud pineapple hop backbone. Maybe just a basic pale ale instead of an IPA, but dry enough to seem bitter. Evocative, complex, and true to its name -- no matter what the BAs call it -- of "Winter Ale."

Relax, relax.
ng

Serving type: bottle

04-03-2004 22:04:03 | More by ngandhi

feloniousmonk

Minnesota

3.2/5  rDev -8.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Clear golden color, brief, bubbly head, snow-white, til it's gone.
Aroma, softly citric, mildly hoppy, just a little bit fruity.
Taste: minimal...faintly soapy, odd fruit notes, a bit banana and grape...this is an odd beer, not at all what I'd imagine as a Winter Ale, or as an ale, or as a Winter anything...thin body, lackluster flavor, small showing from any ingredients...wham, bam, thank-you-ma'am finish...and what is up with the label? incoherent chalkboard scribblings signifying what exactly?
Didn't like this one...

...yet I thank BeerReasearcher for it!

And P.S., I never noticed it's designation as an I.P.A....didn't feel it, especially as I had a Bell's TwoHearted Ale before this...hops are so small, that this claim is a flat out lie...I've got to go get me some Masala Mama to appease my hop-thirsty tongue!

Serving type: bottle

03-29-2004 02:54:14 | More by feloniousmonk

BeerResearcher

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev +14.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

No Date.
It pours a nice clear amber with a fast fading soft white head and minimal lacing.
The aroma is an even mix of doughy malt and floral hops.
Sweet caramel and fresh bread comes through in the malt. A good herbal quality lasts throughout.
There are grapefruity, light tea-like and some lemony sour bitterness.
A faint taste of tart green apples is noticed.
I think Geary's may want to rename a few of their styles. This should be an IPA and Geary's Hampshire Special (though now a year-round brew) should be their Winter style...IMHO.

Serving type: bottle

02-16-2004 03:08:15 | More by BeerResearcher

WesWes

New York

3.88/5  rDev +11.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

The beer pours a golden color with a thin white head that fades to lacing. The aroma is decent. It has a malty scent with a small hint of floral hops; nothing special. The taste is pretty damn good. It has a great balance of malts and hops. There seems to be some light crystal malts here along with a generous portion of floral type hops. This is really tastey. The mouthfeel is fine. It is a low/medium bodied beer with good carbonation. I think this is a good drinking beer. I would buy this again for sure.

Serving type: bottle

02-03-2004 02:26:27 | More by WesWes

Hhawk06

Massachusetts

3.73/5  rDev +6.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured pure amber with a quarter inch head. Sort of a pale malty aroma. Certainly a robust taste, I feel a grainy spiciness. I like the finish most, as it transforms from a sweet malty flavor into a dry leafy ending. It's not bad, but not incredibly original and not something I would search out to buy.

Serving type: bottle

01-20-2004 23:58:52 | More by Hhawk06

Gavage

New Jersey

3.85/5  rDev +10.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

This one poured a clear amber color with a medium sized head. Lacing developed through the drink. The aroma was pleasant, as hops and malt were strongest, some faint spiciness was also detectable.

The flavor was mostly malt and hop bitterness, but not overly aggressive on either front. The mouthfeel was dry, and the malt seemed to ride the tongue the longest into the aftertaste. Medium bodied and had good carbonation levels. The IPA style definition is questionable here.

Serving type: bottle

01-01-2004 19:58:11 | More by Gavage

jtw5877

Ohio

4.33/5  rDev +24.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pours an orangish brown hue with a white head. A balanced quasi-IPA, with a hint of ringwood. A very enjoyable beer. Not quite what I would have expected to replace HSA, but a superb beer none the less. I'd recommend this to anybody who enjoys quality beer.

Serving type: bottle

01-01-2004 05:20:21 | More by jtw5877

scottum

Vermont

3.25/5  rDev -6.9%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a clear copper amber with a nice off-white head. Got that ringwood yeast thing going for it. Malts are round and balanced by a mild crisp hop. I am not understanding of why this is listed as an IPA. 'd rate this beer higher if it were another style, but for an IPA the numbers should be lower. Mouthfeel is nice, quite drinkable beer, but not as hoppy as I was expecting.

Serving type: bottle

12-24-2003 01:19:54 | More by scottum

proc

Michigan

3.03/5  rDev -13.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

This is an IPA that is all over the map for me. It has the nuttiness of an ESB, the bitterness level that is more of a pale than an IPA and a nicely bitter finish that stays with you. This pours out to a very nice copper color in the glass with lively carbonation and a moderate head. The aroma is light and the taste shows forth essences of pine and nuts with an interesting hop bitterness.

Serving type: bottle

12-21-2003 03:22:39 | More by proc

yankeeheel

Maine

3.13/5  rDev -10.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Pours a clear copper with a nice white head. Smells very hoppy with some scant malt sneaking through.

Tastes like a mild IPA. Slight caramel malt up front followed by a carbonated middle which leads to a slightly bitter hoppy end. Not my idea of a traditional winter brew but it's not bad.

Serving type: bottle

12-18-2003 20:30:03 | More by yankeeheel

Weissenheimer

New Jersey

4.45/5  rDev +27.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

This pint is beautiful. It's a light, crystalline, coppery amber that shows plenty of effervescence. The big, foamy, soapy head dimples in a way that reminds me of a feather mattress. I take a sniff and wonder what I'm getting into; the hoppy, bitter scent is not unpleasant by any means, but it is slightly foreboding. It's one of those beers that smells astringent enough to make vague images of green plants spring to mind.

I take one swallow, think "Oh my! Lovely!" and am irrevocably hooked. The taste is not only bloody huge, but marvelously drawn out. The first stage is big, heavy, carbonated, a little creamy, and above all malty. The middle is bitter and slightly fizzy. As the incredibly extended finish comes on, this bitterness becomes more austere, dry, and focused. The eruptions of lacing are an added bonus.

I think this beer is poorly named; it's light years away from what I think of as winter ale. I don't care, though, because it's wonderful stuff. I love its maltiness, its muscle, and its incredible staying power. If it's this fantastic and full-bodied in the bottle, I can't imagine what it's like on draft.

Serving type: bottle

12-13-2003 01:24:49 | More by Weissenheimer

goz

Massachusetts

3.13/5  rDev -10.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Pour is a clear dark copper, with a smallish white head that mostly last, good lacing. Aroma is fruity, buttery, with some earthy hints in the back. Flavor is mostly butterscotch, toffee, with some sweet fruitiness as well. Medium body. Very typical ringwood stuff present here, nothing new or special, IMO.

Serving type: bottle

12-08-2003 01:11:17 | More by goz

PatandDavid

Massachusetts

3.53/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Had on tap at the Great Lost Bear...Pour was a dark reddish copper, the head was very light in texture. Aroma was reminiscent of fresh green hops. I thought the mouthfeel was very clean. There's some astringency from the hops. I also picked up more of a grassy hop taste (as opposed to citrus/pine). Pleasant and enjoyable, but I think I liked the Autumn better...the winter is lacking some flavor in comparison imo. pat

Serving type: on-tap

12-05-2003 13:46:21 | More by PatandDavid

jdhilt

New Hampshire

3.48/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

The label is a mystery. The color is pure amber and it pours with a three fingered, white head that leaves a good lace. No nose, well maybe faint hops. Very smooth. Starts with a good malty/hoppy mix and finishes with just a hint of hoppy aftertaste. This is no IPA - hops that would be ripping your face off are not there.

Serving type: bottle

12-01-2003 23:13:05 | More by jdhilt

sponberg

New York

3.93/5  rDev +12.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

What the HELL is that on the label? We discussed this at Mahar's, and people were trying to decide between an OMD or Ultravox album cover, a wagon, some sort of film noir still (Nosferatu?) or what the inside of Three Dollar Dewey's looks like at 3 AM in a snowstorm. Through a window.

Luckily, the beer's easier to figure out. The color of an old copper penny, with a whitish head that lasts. The aroma's not bad, it's just nondescript.

The flavor is, well, interesting. There's a lot going on here. A bitter apricot malt sweetness slides into a almond-hazelnut nuttiness, with hints of cocoa or bitter coffee as it slides down. Sweetish, with very distant butterscotch notes (if it's Ringwood, it's well controlled). I give the taste a 4.5 just because it's fun to figure out. I give the mouthfeel a 4 because I could tell that it had some after a pint of cask conditioned Imperial stout. Drinkable, but I don't know that I'd need more than 3 in an evening.

(looks up at style) This is an IPA??? Norfolk and Waypal. Too malty, too much fruitiness, not nearly enough bitterness or hop presence. Accept it for what it is (a fruity winter brown) and enjoy.

Serving type: bottle

11-27-2003 03:55:59 | More by sponberg

Jason

Massachusetts

3.13/5  rDev -10.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

12 oz brown bottle with now freshness date.

Appearance: Dim copper colour, good lacing with minimal stickage. The clarity is fine too.

Smell: Big buttery fruity mess in the aroma. Hops and malt get thrown to the side but some alcohol comes forth, fresh aroma but quite sweet.

Taste & Mouthfeel: Faded yet rough hop, sweet malt is everywhere. Bitterness struggles to wade of the waves of buttery and fruity flavours.

Notes: I don’t buy it at all that this is an IPA, a good ale to be had but nothing really that special for a winter seasonal … especially replacing H.S.A. as their winter seasonal I expected a bit more.

Serving type: bottle

11-26-2003 23:19:26 | More by Jason

ViveLaChouffe

Georgia

3.2/5  rDev -8.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a bright golden orange with a very small head. Smells of sweet malt with hoppy aromas but all aromas are very light.

Taste is spicy with syrupy malty flavors. Somewhat hoppy but not nearly as bold as I was expecting. Not much finish, just kind of fizzles out. Mouthfeel is sticky with very little aftertaste.

Not enough malt for a winter and certainly not enough hops or spice to make up for it. It's smooth and drinkable but that's about it. This is the replacement for Geary's HSA?

Serving type: bottle

11-26-2003 00:10:01 | More by ViveLaChouffe