Berkshire Cabin Fever Ale

Berkshire Cabin Fever Ale (2011)

Brewed and Bottled by Berkshire Brewing Co., in South Deerfield, MA. USA.

Winter Seasonal (Yearly Release)

22 fl. oz. / 3.99 USD / 6.3% ABV

About: "Cabin Fever is a well-balanced, medium bodied ale brewed to sustain you over the long New England winter. Its rich malt profile is reminiscent of an English Pale Ale, while the spicy and fruity hop finish, from German Tettnang hops, gives it a warming and welcoming feeling to bring you back in from the cold. Available from the first week of November through March."

Thoughts: Poured a semi-dark cinnamon amber with a fluffy and frothy eggshell tan head. There are little darkish colorful specks in parts of the head once it settles down which I will assume are the live yeast they leave in their unfiltered and unpasteurized brews.

Smells like a mild chocolate malt at first. Little bit of hops coming through. I let it warm a bit and the scent is still a little hard to get here.

Heavy chocolate malt, little bit of alcoholic coffee and some fruity spicy hops. Dark fruits, Toffee, mild Citrus burn on the finish. This is a strange one! It's not strong at all, yet not horribly bland, but it seems masked. And yet, after warming there is an abundance of flavor and scents. While good tasting and smooth, there's nothing really setting me off about it. Everything is settled down. This is a sweet and syrupy brew with a very good balance of malts and hops.

Light medium, pretty frothy once you get it in your mouth. It's a bit drying. Sticky. Aftertaste is hoppy.

It's a lot better than some of the other Winter Warmers that I've tried, but I'm just going to have to come to terms with the fact that I'm not really a Winter Warmer fan. For the most part they aren't distinct enough for me yet. I of course can determine the quality, which this one has tons of, but maybe I just don't get the concept. They all seem to be lacking some special ingredient to me.