Valley winter songs

The sun may be shining, but winter has arrived in the Spokane Valley – well, beer-wise, anyway.

Both Hopped Up and Twelve String introduced their winter seasonals this week. And while both are variations on the classic “winter warmer” style, there are distinct differences.

Hopped Up’s Destroy My Sweater (8.5 percent alcohol by volume, 49 International Bitterness Units) is essentially the same beer that debuted last winter, based on one of brewer/owner Steve Ewan’s old homebrew recipes.

The name, from a line in Weezer's “Undone – The Sweater Song,” is a nod to the, um, colorful Christmas sweaters that soon will be dotting the landscape. (Hopped Up celebrated the tradition with an Ugly Christmas Sweater contest last December.)

Despite the brewery’s name, Hopped Up does some of its best work with maltier beers, and Destroy My Sweater is a good example. Made with caramel, Munich, aromatic and special roast malts, it’s a bit sweet upfront before the darker, deeper, toastier malt character takes over.

The distinctively floral finishing touch comes from spruce tips, specifically old-growth blue spruce tips from Steve and Sue Ewan’s Valley property, a former Christmas tree farm. You might be familiar with those from the lighter-bodied Alaskan Winter Ale, where they contribute to a cloying sweetness; here, they integrate much better into the heartier beer.

At Twelve String, brewer/owner/guitarist Terry Hackler is always riffing, and this year’s 12 Strings of Winter (8.1, 81) is no exception.

It’s a significantly revamped version of last year’s release, starting with the ABV, almost a full percentage point higher. There’s a light sweetness from honey malt, raisiny notes from extra special malt, some richness from Caramunich 60 and a mild roastiness from Midnight Wheat.

But the big difference is in the hopping. While the IBU number only increased slightly, there’s a more pronounced, citrusy hop character from a combination of Nugget, Centennial, Ahtanum and Amarillo (with the latter also used for dry-hopping).

Hackler also added a touch of vanilla, like last year, but skipped the cinnamon this time around. “Last year, I liked it, but it wasn’t what I was going for,” he said.

It does have one thing in common with Destroy My Sweater – both are deceptively easy-drinking for their strength. So don’t say you weren’t warned.