Red Hook - Winterhook
Red Hook always seemed like a solid brewery to me, though I don’t see it around very often. Mostly all I know is their Long Hammer IPA and ESB, but I thought both were solid offerings. I was torn between a few options, but this seemed a pretty good selection. The ski-jumper on the label is matched by one under the cap, which was a humorous touch.
It’s a nice copper color to it, pretty light for a winter seasonal. Reviews talk about cloves and piney hops in the aroma, I mostly got a light, clean grain scent with a hint of that wintery edge that takes the air when it gets snowy. The taste was very clean and crisp with an extremely light body and a good amount of hoppy bite, not as much of the warming alcohol taste you might expect from a typical strong-ale winter warmer. It’s also at the low end of the spectrum on alcohol content; under 6% by volume. Very much worth a try, but certainly not your typical winter seasonal.
