Brewery: New Belgium Brewing (USA)
Beer: Snow Day, 6.2% ABV, 55 IBU, 355ml bottle
Listed Ingredients: Pale, Caramel-80, and Midnight Wheat Malts; Styrian Goldings, Centennial, and Cascade Hops.
Style: Winter Ale
Rating: 4/5
Probably Vegan Friendly

New Belgium Brewing: Snow Day

Appearance
Nearly black, but not fully opaque, pours a fairly modest head, which doesn’t last for long.

Aroma
Belgian style malt, a hint of the roasted caramel malt, perhaps toffee?

Taste
Surprisingly light-bodied and hoppy given the aroma. I expected a Belgian-type dark ale, but the hops make this something else. Light at first, but with a strong aftertaste. A rather pleasant mixture of malt and hops in fact!

Overall
Well, there wasn’t a hint of snow here in North Carolina, when I reviewed this beer, although it was a rather chilly February night nevertheless, and I had a roaring fire going on. But, as it happens, we did get some snow the other day (even if it’s all gone now), so now I can relate to the ‘Snow Day’ theme! This is not a particularly warming beer though, despite the reasonable ABV. I think that they could’ve safely pushed the ABV even up to 9% or so without doing any harm to the characteristics of the beer. Sipping it further, the hops start to dominate a bit, so perhaps the malt could’ve been left a bit more room to breathe. Anyway, it’s an interesting enough take on a Winter Ale, with clear influences both from Belgium and the hop-friendly US brewing scene. This was my first encounter with New Belgium Brewing, but they do have a couple of interesting beers out there, and I’ll make sure to sample some more!