Kulshan Brewing out of Bellingham, WA makes some of the consistently great beers in my part of the world but somehow I hadn't tried their Kitten Mittens Winter Ale until this year, and between loving all their beers and the unconfirmed (but likely) reference to It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (one of my favorite shows), I was excited to give this one a try.

Visually it's a gorgeous, deep, rich brown-black with a hint of dark red and has a light brown head that sticks around after the pour. The aroma is a rich mix of dark chocolate, toasty malts, some fig and plum notes, and maybe just a bit of vanilla as well.

Based on the look and smell of this beer, I think I'm going to love it.

And sure enough, the flavor is amazing. This is a rich (I've used that word a lot to describe this beer!), creamy beer, with the dark chocolate malts front and center but not at all bitter, an underlying bready note, and the roastiness of a porter or stout in the finish. It's very low in bitterness so you don't really think about the hops while drinking this beer, but they've done a fantastic job of using just enough to counterbalance the malt sweetness.

This is a really amazing beer. And in their taproom they DO IT ON NITRO so I better make the trek over there before it's gone for the year.

Kitten Mittens has immediately become one of my favorite holiday beers. I appreciate that it's "wintery" without resorting to the blatant use of Christmas spices that often goes terribly wrong (at least for me). It's a creamy, hearty, absolutely delicious beer that's perfect for this time of year.