Tasting Cranberry Ginger Bitter

Halfway home from Chicago this week I paid my first visit to the Theil family for a visit with their new boy, their first boy, the "hop farm", and a little beer swap. I left behind a Bell's Expedition Stout and Bell's Cherry Stout, and took home a Great Divide Titan IPA, Green Flash IPA, and two bottles of the illustrious Cranberry Ginger Bitter our resident brewmaster had imagined up a couple months back. Tonight, I relaxed at home with one of the bottles:

The Pour
I selected my Jameson wide-mouthed stem glass for this operation. Cracked the swing-top bottle and poured it out. Deep mahogany, a little cloudy, about an inch of foamy, tan head that soon left only a small line behind.

The Nose
The first hit is brown sugar, chased quickly by those cranberries. Diving in a little deeper I pull sweet ginger, reminiscent of ginger ale moreso than pure spice. It's the brown sugar coming through strong, though, and it's a very appetizing aroma that gets me excited for phase 3.

The Taste
This is one complex brew! Everything promised in the name is quick to arrive, notably those cranberries and a good dose of hops. Not as sweet as I anticipated base on the aroma with the hops and cranberries double-dosing the taste buds on IBUs. Not to say it's overwhelming - sweet malts and brown sugar are evident as well, but definitely take a back seat to what becomes a ruby red grapefruit flavour. Looking for ginger? It's there, and treated well as a subtle note, as it should be. I'm told it's 8% and it's not hard to believe, this one will keep you warm whether you want it to or not. ;)

As It Warms
The alcohol actually calms while the sugars move forward, leaving a very well balanced brew behind. Smooth sipping and well rounded. Excellent job!