Elysian Brewing Company's Bifrost Winter Ale

    
     Got a chance to visit these guys in Seattle this past weekend.  Had one of their signature stouts, which I have to say was quite impressive.  Anyway, the Bifrost pours a nice dark honey color, definitely not what I was expecting from a winter ale.  Pretty hazy; light yellow color around the edges. Almost no head produced; seems to not be carbonated too strongly. Nose is full of very sweet, candy-like malt.  Some rich caramel. Definitely some strong esters; getting some banana and maybe a bit of cherry.   Hop presence is definitely noticeable; mostly earthy, little wood and citrus. 
     Malt character upfront is very subtle.  What does shine through are some nice toffee and caramel notes.  This quickly evolves into an ester presence that seems to dominate a lot of the taste.  It would best be described by me as some general fruitiness, but it does seem quite plum-like if I did have to narrow it down to something.  Finishes off some some nice hop spice without being noticeable bitter.   No noticeable alcohol taste even at 7.6%.  Some candy sweetness lingers.  Medium body
     This is definitely something much different that what I think of as a winter ale.  Typically, a winter ale is a dark, full-bodied, malt/ester bomb.  The ester notes and candy-like malt definitely make this a very seasonal, holiday sort of brew, though.  Good stuff. 
     

Silver Moon Brewing's Hound's Tooth Amber Ale

     I remember having this at GABF 2010 and thought it was pretty impressive.  Excited to give it another try. It pours a very hazy dark orange color with about a finger of head.  Seems to be draining rather quickly and retaining a nice skin of foam.  Some much lighter orange coloring shines through on the edges.  Huge hops in the aroma.  Very sharp notes of citrus, pine, and earthiness.  Also has a very strong, candy-like sweetness. Some more subtle malt flavors can be detected, too.  Little bit of biscuit.  Little bit of cherry-like esters.
     First impression upon tasting is that it is pretty hop heavy; spice and herbal notes tend to dominate the entire mouth.  Malt flavor is a pretty strong blend of rich caramel sweetness. Very well-carbonated; makes the spice flavors really sting a bit. Hop flavor kind of reminds me chewing a cone right off the vine.  Some caramel and herbal flavor lingers.  Pretty oily. Thin body.
     I'm kinda torn on this one.  It really feels like there is a fantastic beer hiding somewhere in here, but it just needs some minor tweaks in every category.