TELEGRAPH BREWING’S MEXICAN SANTA BARBARA CHRISTMAS

Nothing like getting a box of beer in the mail, especially when said box has a TELEGRAPH BREWING return address. You might remember that we discovered this tiny Santa Barbara, CA’s beers on a summer trip down thataway last year, and subsequently pronounced them our “small brewer of the year”, for what that was worth. Further, we procured an interview with head brewer BRIAN THOMPSON as well, which you can read here. Brian was kind enough to drop a couple of bombers of their limited-edition WINTER ALE in the mail, and after a three-month wait, I decided to give one of them a go.

TELEGRAPH WINTER ALE is notable for its very distinct use of dark malts, cinnamon, and chocolaty overtones to create a beer that’s just as close to what you’d imagine “Mexican carameled chocolate beer” to taste like as it is to a classic winter beer. It’s deeper and darker in color than most of them, approaching the brownish blackness of a Belgian dubbel, and much of the high-ABV mouthfeel as well. While there are a number of beers that have similar tastes, none has every had this unique of a combination of flavors. Testimonial once again to the brewers at TELEGRAPH, who need to go “major league” in a big way this year, and will just as soon as more folks start tasting their wonderful beers. 7.5/10.