The power of marketing is quite impressive. How many among us say “klenex” instead of “tissue.” Or “pop tart” instead of... what would that thing even be called? A “toaster pastry?” Adept marketers can make you think you need something you really don’t, are under a time limit you’re really not, are fed up with something you’ve actually never experienced, etc. Today’s beer is an example of a style that seems to be made up. The winter warmer.
What is a winter warmer? Well it’s dark, usually strong, malt side balance but not always, and spiced, sometimes. I’ve seen people describe beers labeled as winter warmers in terms of brown ales, amber ales, even a pale ale! For the most part, it seems like the style is open for interpretation and gets thoroughly interpreted. On top of that, the name itself is misleading. The “warmer” in winter warmer refers to the way the usually higher alcohol content produces a sense of warmth, but that warm feeling is actually quite the opposite. Alcohol increases the size of your blood vessels, most notably in your capillaries. This increases the amount of blood right underneath the skin, where the nerves that tell you if you’re hot or cold happen to live. The 98.6 degree blood warms those nerves but the whole process actually cools your body. It’s like putting a lamp right next to your thermostat. The lamp warms the thermostat, turning off the heat to the rest of the house. Luckily, there’s no lamp next to my thermostat, so I should be toasty warm while tasting Pyramid Breweries’ Snow Cap.
As you can see, the “snow cap” of this beer is not the pure white of a fresh fall, but that’s alright. If it had a pure white head on top of that deep brownish red color, it would have a lot of esplainin’ to do.
The color comes a little from chocolate malts, but more from caramel malts at 80 degrees lovibond. I’ll have to explain the lovibond scale for you non-brewers at some point, but basically, 80L is a pretty dark caramel. Their sweetness is matched by the bitters of the hops, but they still make a good showing in the mouthfeel. Kind of how you would imagine sweet feels like. The big winner in this beer however, is the previously mentioned hops. If winter warmers are often spiced, then Pyramid Breweries defines Nugget hops as a spice. The alpha acids on that variety are 12-14% and impart a certain dryness along with their bite. Some reviewers take issue with the hoppiness, saying it doesn’t fit the style. But like I said, the “winter warmer” style has a pretty weak brand anyway. Snow Cap does impart the faux warming sensation, but doesn’t feel like a beer with 7% ABV. Maybe this defeats the purpose. Maybe you should drink two.
Suck it up, bro!
Or maybe it’s fine just how it is.
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