Cisco Brewers' Winter Woods

In the summer of 2010, I worked for a tall ship company in Boston. I didn't actually work on the ship, just in the office, but I'd often have to go out when the ship was about to sail and throw the lines so the ship didn't take the dock with it (actually, the ship probably would have fallen apart instead, but that's another story). A couple of the crew (my now boyfriend included) thought for some crazy reason that I looked like an elf, and so I gained the nickname Alyssa of the Woods. It was odd and I didn't understand it, so I just went with it.

So, when I spied a beer from Cisco Brewing called "The Woods," I went "a-ha!" and bought it. The Woods is the name given to this particular series of beer, and the specific one I got is called Winter Woods. This was ale aged in french oak wine barrels and has an ABV of 9%, and yes, you could very much tell both of these things from how the beer tasted. This beer may not be for everyone as it has a very different taste. But if you're adventurous and love trying weird things, then you'll want to check this one out.

Color: A deep, dark, reddish brown. Think really dense wine, which is not something you'd probably picture very often. Pours lighter and clearer with a thin white head. Once the bubbles from the carbonation settle, the beer becomes denser. Could probably have this in a wine glass or some sort of open mouth glass, but once again went with regular old beer glasses (you can really tell I'm an expert on presentation here).

Aroma: Inescapable aroma right from when you open the bottle. The cork comes off and bam, you're hit with a bit of a sour smell with some of that typical wine, grape-like smell. Also seems just a tad oaky, like you're smelling the inside of a barrel. It's odd, because it does smell like a wine, but you also have some of that beer-y malt smell coming through.

First Sip: Definitely sour. The wine taste comes through a little bit too, and even though it smells like a wine, the taste is still unexpected. This is very, very different, and good. I think the sour taste comes through more as a beer-like flavor rather than a wine-like one. It's like I'm drinking a sour beer, but someone has splashed a little bit of red wine in.

Mouthfeel: Smooth, little to no carbonation. The sour taste hits the sides of my mouth--you know how you can kind of feel it when a beer is sour? It's like that. I can't really taste hops or malts, although I can smell hints of the malt (no hops though). The most prominent flavor is that sour taste, which has a bit of a fruitiness to it. It's not a typical sour fruit taste, like a lambic. The fruit part tastes more like a wine, like grapes or something similar. It also tastes a tad oaky, an there's a little bit of bitterness on the finish, but not much.

Aftertaste: Left with the sour / fruity / wine taste. Fades away slowly.

All in all, I like this beer. It's not something I would drink all the time, and I'd have to be in the mood for something unique. Like I said, this probably isn't for everyone, but I also say that you should try everything once. It's probably a good after dinner drink, and best shared with others.