Winter Brew, Sprecher Brewing Co., Glendale

Sprecher is a brewery I know of only because I've seen their sodas for sale a few times. John Ratzenberger told me a few years ago (OK, I was watching his Made in America roadtrip show...) that Sprecher also makes beer. I'd more or less forgotten about Sprecher's craft beers until I got three bottles in the mail a few weeks back. The bottles are labeled "Winter Brew" and aside from that you'd never know they were a seasonal. The packaging is quite low budget, so much so that it actually kinda looks like an authentic German beer... from one of those 600 year old breweries that hasn't updated their labels since the the first time Germany invaded France.

I'm told this is a Christmas seasonal, a beer that should warm you up in the cold winter months and help you get through the holidays. What I wasn't told is that this is a Bock. Not a bad choice for a wintertime beer, Bocks are nice and smooth but have a higher alcohol content. Sprecher's Winter Brew is pretty much what I was expecting. It's nice and warming, has a hint of smokey roasted malts and is just sweet enough to make it all go down the hatch effortlessly. There's even a little hoppy bite near the finish that jolts your tastebuds out of the seductively warm and sweet lull they've been put in by this beer.

I ended up enjoying Sprecher's Winter Brew quite a bit more than I'd expected. It's a warm and roasted Bock that matches the demands of the season nicely. If you've had your fill of Sprecher's speciality sodas, give their Winter Brew a try.