Ah, winter ales. Thank goodness for New Belgium to shake up the traditional idea of a winter seasonal ale with 2 Below.
2 Below is not your normal run-of-the-mill spiced winter ale. In fact, I don’t even know if they use any spices. What they do use is subtle hops and lightly roasted malts, for a pale ale-like flavor that is very balanced.
At first, you get a nice scent of earthy hops. The taste is slightly malty, with a clean hop profile as it hits the back of your tongue. According to the packaging, the brewery chills the beer to a near-freezing state, which makes the beer very clean and nice on the palate.
I enjoyed this beer quite a bit, and it is very close to being one of my favorites.
Have you had 2 Below? What was your impression? Did you like it as much as I did?
I love this beer… It starts out bright and hoppy, then as it finishes, you find a little caramel and spice in the malt. The aroma is a little bit sourdough/copper. It’s brilliant. Probably my favorite winter beer.
I agree 100%. This is a great beer – I like it so much I continue to buy cases of it!