feste_sylvain

The three beers that we served at Thanksgiving included Wachusett Winter Ale. This is a locally brewed variant of Scotch ale (others include Paper City brewery's "Winter Palace Wee Heavy").

This is less hopped than most beers and ales, and the malts were caramelized before the wort. This means that the ale is actually a bit sweeter than you'd expect from something which contains alcohol. It also means that it goes great with poultry in general, and turkey in particular.

Without the major bittering agents, you can serve this at cellar temperature (around 50F) for maximum nose. We used tall pilsner glasses at Thanksgiving, but a good old pint glass or even stein will do just fine to transmit the aromas.

I've been pleasantly impressed with Wachusett; their Country Ale and Nut Brown Ale are both excellent table beers, complementing food. The same is true of the Winter Ale. The rich red-brown color is a pleasure to see, and its full body almost qualifies it as comfort food.

Today, December 5^th, is the 74^th anniversary of the Repeal of Prohibition. Wachusett will only be shipping the Winter Ale thru the middle of January, so seek this one out.