Welcome to winter! Well, kind of…. Since I live in Miami, winter is a little weird for me having just moved from Denver this summer. It should way colder than it is now! Regardless, winter seasonal beers are stocked to the brim in every store you go to. Today I went and bought a six pack of Accumulation, New Belgium’s winter seasonal, a White IPA.
First things first, the packaging. I really like what New Belgium does with packaging. It has really created an iconic image for the brewery and as they’ve been around since 1991 (aka the same year I was born), it has done the company well! (However, they’re unveiling new labels in 2014, check some out Here) The bottles at New Belgium are pretty unique. Although they are the normal run of the mill longnecks, they have a ring a bit of the ways down that says New Belgium Brewing CO. It’s always nice to see something different coming through!
Onwards to beer! And this is a good one. It was poured into my New Belgium/Road 34 Pint class. The appearance is a hazy golden straw color, nice little bit of head, but I’ve been pouring them a little rougher so expect to see better heads all around. It’s got a piney, citrusy smell to it; you can tell that this is a sort of fruity beer, but not in a girly way. It has got a bit of spice to it too. You’re still getting a lot of that typical IPA hoppy scent, but it’s not overbearing like some IPAs.
First taste of the beer is a fruity, but less than you’d expect from the smell. However, it’s very strong in floral and fruity tastes, with a good little punch of bitterness that you should expect from an IPA. The bitterness is definitely on the tail end of the beer, which is a very common experience in drinking an IPA. It’s quite a bit different to see an IPA as a winter seasonal, but it’s something I can really get into. As someone who is just recently getting into the Porters and stouts, I really enjoy seeing how someone interprets winter in what is generally thought of as a spring or summer style of beer. It has got a nice kick at 6.2% abv, which nobody can complain about!
Judgment
This is certainly a beer worth buying again. It isn’t in your face like you expect from a lot of IPA’s, and in fact is pretty mild, but it turns out to be an extremely drinkable beer and something I can comfortably put my stamp of approval on!
Not digging Accumulation? Want to get my take on a beer? Want to do a beer swap?? Leave a comment or shoot me an email!!
Na zdravie! (Slovak for cheers!)
Normal Guys' Guide to Beer 