Winter

Generally speaking, a winter beer is anywhere from a light copper to a dark brown color. Some are spiced with clove, nutmeg or cinnamon. Some use hop varieties that give the beer pine impression.  Chocolate is popular in winter seasonals with the flavor coming from the roasted malts, actual chocolate or cocoa. Stouts lend themselves especially well to the chocolate flavor. Alcohol content can run anywhere from 4.5 to10%.  Barley wine falls into this category, as they are usually released in January.