So this is strange. Last year (last year being fall of 2014) I bought a bottle of Victory Winter Cheers, a new holiday seasonal by the Victory Brewing Company of Downingtown Pennsylvania. It got stashed in my beer supply somewhere, and I’m embarrassed to say that I lost it. No worries, I thought, I’ll just pop it for my annual Christmas in July celebration. Except, unfortunately, July rolled around, and I couldn’t find it then either.

Coincidentally enough, I had the same problem the first time I ever visited Victory, way back in the early 90s and well before the days of easily accessible GPS directions. It was very difficult to find the brewery, but find it I eventually did, and find my Winter Cheers I did in the late fall of 2015. To be fair to it, its still unopened, and I’ll now get to try it with some age on it. For today’s assessment I picked up a fresh supply from Total Wine and wasted no time in popping a bottle before I lost this one, too.

A winter hefeweizen? That’s what Victory Winter Cheers appears to be. Victory calls it “a celebratory wheat ale”. That’s the wonderful thing about winter seasonal beers, though. They’re pretty much free-style, and you can make them however you like.  

From the label:

Winter weather may drive us indoors but cannot dampen our spirits, when hearth, home and hops meet in jubilation. Hoisted high in its golden glory, Winter Cheers lives up to its name, fueling festive times and chasing winter’s chill. Glowing ad glimmering, frothy and shimmering, our celebratory winter wheat ale features luscious fruity and spicy notes, making it a perfect brew to brighten spirits even on the deepest of winter nights. Cheers!

Ingredients from the website:

Malt: German wheat and barley malts, and oat 

Hops: Whole flower Tettnang and Citra hops

Victory Winter Cheers has an alcohol content of 6.7% by volume and runs $9.99 a six-pack here in Georgia. My bottle says it is best before February 23^rd of 2016. I drank it on November 29^th. It should not be confused with Spanish Peaks Winter Cheer, which to be honest I am not sure is even made anymore.

Victory Winter Cheers pours to a pale yellow color with a spicy clove nose and a thick rocky head formation. Taking a sip, the beer has a crisp tart wheat character up front followed by light plum fruit, dry clove spice, and soft banana. The beer finishes tart wheat and spicy dry.

This is an interesting beer in that the fruitiness is lightly reminiscent of a weizenbock, and the higher alcohol content leans towards that style, too. Still, the overwhelming character here is that of a fine Bavarian hefeweizen. It’s spicy and refreshing and a fine counterpoint to the many darker beers that dominate the holiday beer menu. I enjoyed it very much, and I’ll definitely be back for more Winter Cheers.

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