Beer review: Snow Cat a great winter switcheroo
As we wrap up the holiday party season and move into playoff football season, it’s time to break out a better baconwrapped appetizer. ● Wisconsin chef, Dan Fisher, shares a recipe made with his It Sauce that will have guests pushing past bacon-wrapped stuffed jalapenos for these bacon-wrapped dates stuffed with sausage. ● First the recipe, then we’ll get into what puts the “it” in Fisher’s sauce he launched earlier this year.
Snow Cat Winter White Ale; Rhinegeist Brewery, Cincinnati
Details: This seasonal witbier is available at Giant Eagle and local carryouts; $9.99 for a six-pack of 12-ounce cans; 5.0% alcohol by volume.
Notes: Pours a slightly hazy, very pale yellow with a light white head. Has a very low International Bitterness Units rating of 6.
Thoughts: Now that the holidays are in the rearview and the Christmas/holiday brews are getting down to the remnants at most beer stops, we start to wonder “Is it spring yet?”
Sadly, no. As we see by consulting the unofficial yet exceedingly accurate “12 seasons of Ohio” calendar, we are squarely in the “Winter” time period. “Winter,” of course, is followed by “Fool’s Spring,” then “Second Winter,” “Spring of Deception” and “Third Winter.”
(For those looking farther down the road toward warmer times, temperatures rise during “The Pollening,” “Actual Spring,” “Summer,” “Hell’s Front Porch,” “False Fall” and “Second Summer.” “Actual Fall” precedes “Winter” as Ohio’s 12-season cycle begins anew.)
In the meantime, as we are cooped up in our living rooms amid the cold and 5 p.m. darkness, why not sample some beer to pass the time?
Despite the lack of snow so far this “Winter,” Snow Cat proves to be a pleasant diversion, and it most certainly is a departure from the darker-hued, nutmeg-and-cinnamon holiday stock from which we’ve been indulging in for the past month-plus.
Billed as crisp with grapefruit and ginger, Snow Cat delivers on all fronts. A light-bodied, sparkly mouth-feel is backed with fruity, Lemondrop hops and a definite spicy, ginger-y kick at the end. Its 5.0% ABV also is in line with its light, crisp theme and a nice alternative to the heavier, high-abv winter beers in abundance this time of year.
So if you’re in the mood for something different post-holidays, Snow Cat is a nice seasonal switcheroo (wheat beer in January? Yes!) to brighten up a dark winter evening.
— Patrick Holbrook, Dispatch beer reviewer
pholbrook@gannett.com