Winter Beers

My favorite is an offering of Shipyard (of Portland, Maine), their Longfellow Winter Ale. Though cursed with a lavender label bearing the homely mug of Portland's favorite son, it's a delicious, rich black Winter ale. I haven't seen it on offer for a while, so maybe it's been replaced by their strong Prelude Winter Ale, also a cold-weather fave.Catamount, the recently defunct Vermont brewery, used to brew a fantastic Christmas Ale. I used to buy a case of it every winter. On one leaf-peeping tour through White River Junction years ago, I stopped at the brewery and the only person there was the guy who was transferring their just-fermented Xmas brew to the conditioning tanks. He gave me a preview taste of the unfiltered, uncarbonated product.Portland, Maine's other great brewery, D.L. Geary's, makes a rich Hampshire Special Ale which used to be "only available while the weather sucks." Now it's available year-round. No guarantees on the weather.regards,
Esteban Hambre

Loudmouth,If it's any consolation, I miss getting that Pyramid winter brew you mentioned. Nowadays the Widmer Hefeweizen is common here in Massachusetts, but we no longer get the Pyramid stuff we used to love. Anchor's Xmas Ale is always a spicy treat, though I'm not always in the mood for such a fragrant beer. Boston's Harpoon brewery always makes a spiced Winter Warmer that can sometimes taste like a pint of perfume.Vermont's Long Trail brewery has a winter offering aptly named Hibernator, brewed with six malts and spiked with honey. It's one of the stronger winter brews in the area. Otter Creek's Winter's Ale is a rich brown ale that's brewed in the same state, but won't put you in the same state, as the Hibernator.regards,
Esteban Hambre