Getting Crafty: Six Malty Beers to Drink When It’s Cold

Nights are long. Temps are low. Your retired aunt has made her annual migration to Florida. As much as we try to deny the truth, the Stark family has been proven correct yet again: winter came. Luckily, Nippertown is here with everything you need to make it through the colder months, from mid-2010 television references to beer recommendations. Mostly beer recommendations.

The Capital region is home to a rich and awesome craft beverage scene, with plenty of excellent beers to match any palette and every occasion. For this article, I’ve compiled a list of six of my favorite malt-forward brews to enjoy while the weather’s cold. With such a great regional selection, it’s been difficult to narrow the list down, but I’m confident there’s a beer here for any wintery occasion you might find yourself in. 

The beer to drink when your friends who aren’t nearly as into beer as you invite you on a winter hike:

Hank Hudson Brewing Company – Schwarztastic Dark Lager

Style: Dark Lager

ABV: 4.9%

Dark lagers aren’t super common here in the US, which is a real shame. They’ve just never caught on quite as much as their malty European cousins like porters and stouts. Luckily, the Schwarztastic from Hank Hudson Brewing Co. is here to change that, one beer nerd at a time. 

With a pleasantly mild toasty-sweet flavor balanced by a touch of chocolatey bitterness, this is a beer for everyone from the long-time craft beer obsessives to the most adamant of beer skeptics. On top of that, it has a refreshingly crisp bite that makes it an excellent drink to enjoy after a day of intense physical activity like shoveling, hiking, snowshoeing, snowmobiling, staying inside and laying underneath a blanket, or skiing. The Schwarztastic is a great gateway into the world of roasty, malt-forward beers for anyone coming from more classic American craft beer styles like IPAs and pale ales.

The beer to drink when you get snowed in but it’s before 10am and you’re trying to be responsible:  

Wayward Lane Brewing – Habitude

Style: Dark English Mild 

ABV: 3.8%

Speaking of uncommon beer styles, dark English mild ales are another beer you rarely see on this side of the Atlantic. Habitude strikes a great balance between the toasty, nutty flavors from the malts and the fruity, bready flavors produced by the yeast. English ale yeasts are famous for their depth of flavor, and Habitude doesn’t disappoint on that front. Like the Schwarztastic, basically everyone will find a reason to enjoy Habitude. It has lots of subtle, delicate flavor for seasoned beer drinkers to explore, while the overall balance is pleasant and mild enough to appeal to anyone new to malt-forward beers or even craft beer in general. Plus, it’s only 3.8%, which means you can basically drink it with breakfast without feeling guilty. (I did that yesterday. No regrets.)

The beer to drink when your neighbor who leaves their holiday decorations up until February makes a surprise visit: 

Brown’s Brewing Company – Dunder & Blixem

Style: English Strong Ale w/ Holiday Spices

ABV: 7.8%

I have a confession to make: I love holiday spice flavors all year round. I’ve been known to make spiced molasses cookies for my birthday in June and would happily eat pumpkin pie on a hot August afternoon. So I’m clearly a little biased, but if I had it my way, we would all be drinking Dunder & Blixem well into March. It’s a strong English ale with a whole host of the classic holiday spices thrown in, and hot damn is it yummy. It’s fairly sweet, which balances the spice and the English yeast flavor really well. I find it a little too rich to drink pint after pint, but on a cold night while it’s snowing out, I can pretty much guarantee that nothing will make you feel more warm and cozy. 

I should also note that this is a special holiday release, and it likely won’t stay in the taprooms much past New Year’s. If you don’t manage to snag a pint or two before it’s gone, you should check out Brown’s Oatmeal Stout. It’s pretty different from Dunder & Blixem in many ways, but it’s similarly great for drinking while sitting next to a crackling fireplace on a snowy day. Vibes, y’know?

The beer to drink when your winter boots get a hole in them but you still have to shovel the driveway before it ices overnight:

Artisanal Brew Works – Whole Lotta Trouble

Style: Belgian Quadrupel

ABV: 10.5%

Whole Lotta Trouble absolutely smashes, in every sense of the word. Its aroma smashes your nose with awesome notes of vanilla, clove, and bread crust. Its flavor smashes your tongue with delicious tones of raisins, prunes, caramelly spice, and an overall great balance—not too sweet, not too bitter, just absolutely yummy. And lest we forget, its 10.5% ABV smashes your sense of temperature alongside your inhibition. Drink a 16oz can of this stuff and you’ll be shoveling your driveway barefoot while singing ‘Danger Zone’ at the top of your lungs without a care in the world. On second thought, you might want to find someone to split that can with. 

This would be an excellent beer for anyone looking to expand their palette into the world of Belgian beers. It’s a great example of a delicious Belgian Quad, but it’s also a bit milder than some other classics of the style. If you like the idea of caramel, dried fruit, toast, and a touch of pleasant bitterness all doing a dance in the same pint glass, definitely give this one a try.

The beer to drink when you get snowed in but it’s between 10am and noon and you’re still trying to be responsible: 

Bound By Fate Brewing – Anna McGuinness

Style: Dry Irish Nitro Stout

ABV: 3%

Three percent! Three percent, and the amount of flavor Bound By Fate packs into a pint of Anna McGuiness… it’s just crazy. As far as style goes, this beer is an excellent example of a classic dry Irish stout. Expect lots of dark roasty backbone with a few notes of toasted marshmallow and chocolate (minus the sweetness) to keep things interesting. It’s simple enough to work really well with other flavors, but strong and complex enough to enjoy on its own. On top of that, it’s a nitro beer, which gives it a delicious creamy texture. 

In addition to making absolutely bomb beer, Bound By Fate shares its taproom with Haan Lao, a laotian kitchen that serves up some really great fare. I highly recommend making the stop. A few weeks ago, I never would have thought I would be eating southeast Asian curry noodles and green papaya salad alongside a dry Irish stout. As it turns out, that’s a really unique and delicious pairing!

The beer to drink when you can’t find your favorite blanket and the thermostat isn’t working right and your cat refuses to sit on your lap no matter how many Temptations cat treats you feed them:

Rare Form Brewing Company – Karass Porter

Style: Robust Porter

ABV: 6.6%

If the above description sounds oddly specific, it might be because it was motivated by personal experience—more specifically, what I experienced while sitting down to write this article. Cats… so lovable, and yet so thankless. All take and no give. Totally unlike the Karass Porter, which gives easily as much as it takes. This beer is classic, timeless, and unfortunately, no longer in my fridge. If you’re wondering what the difference between a ‘porter’ and a ‘robust porter’ is, it’s probably exactly what you think. Imagine a porter, but just a bit more—more flavor, more aroma, more color, more all-around porter-y-ness. On that front, the Karass Porter does not disappoint. I get a few notes of chocolate and coffee, but for the most part, this beer leans into the clean simplicity of good dark malts. It has a pleasant bitterness and acidity that balance each other really well. If you like dark beers, this is one to come back to again and again. 

Did I miss your malty Capital region beer of choice? Let me know in the comments!