Rating: 4.5/5

Bone Warmer by Grand Teton Brewing is an 8.2% ABV Imperial Amber/Red Ale

Sleeve Description: 
2013 marks the 25th anniversary of Grand Teton Brewing. In celebration, we’re bringing back three of our favorite styles for this year’s Cellar Reserves. Bonewarmer Imperial Amber was first brewed in 2006 and sold out faster than any other beer we’ve made. Bone Warmer, brewed in the “strong ale” tradition, is a beer of great character, with exceptional malt flavor and warming alcohol content.

Historically, brewers often drew three different runs from the same barley mash. The first, used for strong ale or “best beer,” had the most flavor, color and fermentable sugars, and produced beer with the most alcohol. The second was used for a less strong “table beer,” and the third, a lighter and cheaper “small beer.”

Our Bone Warmer is brewed the same way, using only the first runnings from an extraordinarily thick, strong mash of Idaho 2-Row Metcalfe and Harrington barley malt, along with dark German Munich and caramel malts. We subtly spiced it with Idaho Chinook hops, fermented it at cool temperatures and cold-conditioned it for smoothness and drinkability.

The resulting ale is the color of roasting chestnuts. It is voluptuously malty and only slightly sweet- with a hint of toffee and a warming dry finish. It’s an ideal accompaniment to rich meaty stews, wild game, roasted fowl or root vegetables, and aged cheddars.
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This beer peeked my interest a couple of times at the store but I never got around to grabbing it until I saw it a second time. I love winter warmers and holiday beers so I figured, what the hell, why not. I haven’t tried Grand Teton stuff in a long time so I figure I was over due to come back and try some of this brewery’s great beers. I have yet to have a bad experience from any of the beers I have tried form them so far. Hell, they are the ones to made Black Cauldron Stout, one of my favorites. 

Aromas:
Lots of toffee, caramel, nuts, plums, raisins, subtle earthy hops, fruit cake, apple notes, apricot nints, cantaloupe, biscuit bread, maple syrup, toasted rye bread notes, brown sugar, honey and mild berry notes 

Flavors:
Caramel, toffee, fruit cake, dark fruits like raisins and plums, hazelnut, apples, walnuts, earthy notes, toasted rye bread with blackberry preserve notes, biscuit bread, ginger bread, pecan pie notes, nutmeg, oak notes, maple, marshmallows and spices

Aftertaste:
Finishing off with rich caramel notes, fruit cake, ginger bread, dark fruit and spices, this beer is quite in the holiday spirit. 

Overall:
A very good amber that generally is peeking into the Winter warmer direction. The fact that there is a lot of holiday spices is definitely what makes I closer to the winter warmer category. While it may not be the end all be all of winter warmers or amber ales for that matter, it is definitely a very delicious brew and one that should be obtained for the holidays if you are still able to find it.

Anime Corner:
Samus Aran and Krystal from Nintendo are used in this pairing along with Coco from Crash Bandicoot. While it is not obvious as to why I chose them, I will explain. For the label aspect, the color of the dog and the blue rug and chimney compliment Krystal, Samus and Coco’s suit. While Samus is not a dog, she has some colors that fit the blond color of the dog as so does Coco. The winter warmer or bone warmer aspect might be an innuendo really. With a warm and sunset evening, if Samus and Krystal had a kid, could it look like Coco? Well, in a weird way, that is essentially what I was going for. You can also say that when love is in the air or when the winter comes, one wants to keep warm and stay close.