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The festive fun of December has come and gone and we’re now into the dreariest days of winter.
Without the holiday cheer to keep you warm during these subzero days, you’ll need to rely on other things to keep spice up your life over the coming weeks.
Sure, a fire works. An extra blanket can do the trick too. But maybe the perfect solution is just a great BC-made craft beer.
Nothing warms the soul quite like a well-made winter ale and that’s exactly what this week’s beer column will focus on.
And I’m heading to the Kootenays for this one, with a pair of popular cold-weather creations from the minds at Torchlight Brewing in Nelson and Fernie Brewing in, you guessed it, Fernie.
This tasty winter sipper, which comes in at 8% ABV (alcohol by volume), was first released by Fernie in 2013 to celebrate the brewery’s 10th anniversary, and has become a staple since.
The full-bodied, full-of-character winter ale has rich notes of chocolate, orange and oak, and is a seasonal that BC beer drinkers look forward to every year during these dark months.
A four-hour drive west of Fernie is Nelson, home of Torchlight Brewing and their version of a warming winter ale.
This bad boy isn’t quite as strong as Fernie’s, coming in at 6.5% ABV, but it’s rich and dark, spiced with coriander, cardamom, cocoa and vanilla.
And just in case you missed it in early November, I did a full beer column on another winter ale born in the Kootenays that you may want to try.
While the Faceplant Winter Ale from Nelson Brewing I featured in November can be found in BC Liquor Stores, you’ll have to look for these Torchlight and Fernie creations in private liquor stores.
Josh Duncan is the NowMedia news director and a craft beer lover. Reach him at [email protected]. His beer column appears every Saturday afternoon in this space.