Charlottesville-based brewery Starr Hill has released some fall/winter brews for us craft beer lovers and the RVA Mag staff did the dirty work for you ahead of time
Charlottesville-based brewery Starr Hill has released some fall/winter brews for us craft beer lovers and the RVA Mag staff did the dirty work for you ahead of time and tried these bad boys out to give you the lowdown.
First up, “Shakedown”, a full-bodied imperial chocolate cherry stout. Its malty and considering other seasonal stouts it’s not overpowering. We all agreed on that. As Web Editor Brad Kutner put it, “It’s not Christmas exploding in your mouth.”
Its smooth, and doesn’t have a strong after taste that lingers. We were really expecting it to be a little more overbearing, but its subtle. Considering its only avaialble certain months of the year, (October-December) its a mild alternative to more pronounced seasonal stouts.
Shakedown doesn’t taste boozy or too tart. The aroma and hints of the cherries and chocolate work nicely together and make it for an easy drinking winter beer eventhough it clocks in at 9%. So dont go crazy with a lot of these!
Next up is Snow Blind, a doppelbock winter beer with a caramel aroma and toasted malt flavor. Coming in at 7%, this seasonal beer has hints of apple and the smells creep up before you even take your first sip. Its clean and crisp, but still flavorful. Still not overpowering. You could have a couple of these while kicking it by a fire.
With so many other breweries dropping heavily spiced seasonal brews with apple, cinnamon, pumpkin, gingerbread and other sugary ingredients this time of year, its nice to have a refreshing and milder beer to be your go to beer.
Now go try them out for yourself and tell us what you think!
