Middle Ages Brewing Company's 'Wizard's Winter Ale'

Since I liked the last one of theirs I tried so much, I decided to try a couple more. I had a red beer by them, fairly good but nothing worth writing up really. Like the Retro Red I reviewed a while back, it was good but a bit bland. Now, on this cold night, I'm trying their winter ale.

Immediately when I opened the bottle, the scent of it hit me. It smelled more like the darker beers that I've been drinking lately, not like the lighter ales that I'm used to. Which is good, because a winter brew should have the oomph of a darker beer. Although I have to admit, it was a bit surprising. :)

The taste follows suit. It has a hint of bitterness, but not too strong. Dark flavor, almost more like a stout than an ale. If you were expecting something light and crisp, this is not it. If you were expecting something with a bit more heft to it for the cold winter months, this IS it.

I think this would go well with a meaty meal, like their Dragonslayer did. Wouldn't go so well with anything sweet though, anything sweet would bring out the bitterness in this too much.

Middle Ages Brewing Company's Dragonslayer Imperial Stout

Ho
ly
carp.

First off, this came in a fairly big bottle. 1 pint 6 ounces. Just a little bit smaller than a wine bottle. In addition, it has a 9.5% alcohol content. Fairly strong. Originally I bought it to share with people around christmastime. Due to the hustle and bustle of everything happening then, plus the fact that I was so sick I could barely think straight (although I could still play a mean game of Halo), it never ended up getting shared. So I opened it tonight.

I decided to treat myself, since I hadn't done so in a long time, I actually had a nice beer with dinner.

First off, I tried the beer while dinner was cooking. It had a light brown head, and a dark color. As far as taste goes, it seemed neither sweet nor bitter at first. But as I drank more, I discovered that it is both sweet and bitter, just perfectly balanced between the two. If you drink it by itself for a bit, one side or the other will come out more depending on your palate. If you drink it after eating something sweet, it will taste bitter. If you drink it after eating something not sweet, it will taste sweet.

As far as the scent goes, it actually had a faintly fruity smell. Not sure why, as there seems to be no fruit whatsoever in it.

The dinner I had it with was a dinner somewhat of my own invention. I had some leftover vegetables and sauce from some mongolian lamb last week that never got finished off. The lamb was gone, but the veggies and sauce remained. So with the lamb burgers I cooked tonight, I added the veggies and sauce on top. It turned out delicious. And it went well with the beer, since it was neither sweet nor bitter.

At the moment, I am more than just a bit full. I finished the bottle myself, as well as all three lamb burgers that I had ready to cook. I think my alcohol tolerance has dropped a bit since college the first time around, because I do feel the effects of the alcohol somewhat. And since there was a time when a full bottle of port would barely get me past tipsy, that's saying something. :)

But at the moment, I would say that both the beer and the mongolian lamb burgers were a success. And together they were even greater. This was a triumph. I'm making a note here: huge success.