I’m so ready to break free of winter — from both the brutal cold weather and the heavy dark brews. But Old Man Winter has got a death grip on me and just won’t let go. Thankfully the brewers are cooperating — I’m sampling spring brews while there’s six inches of fresh snowfall on the ground.

It’s March 3 and it’s a snow day, my fourth of the winter! And tonight’s temperatures will be among the coldest on record in the month of March. To hell with it – I’m getting in the spring spirit with a line-up of spring beer:

• Spring Hornin’, Anderson Valley Brewing Company, Boonville, CA (6.8%)
  An easy-drinking India Pale Ale with a dry, refreshing finish.
  
• Durty, Smuttynose Brewing Company, Portsmouth, NH (8.4%)
  I love the description of this Brown IPA from Smuttynose: Big, Brown and Hoppy. You never know what Mud Season is going to throw at you, so we brewed a beer that covers all the bases. We took the malty notes of a brown ale and balanced them with the hop aroma and flavor of a double IPA. Now we’re talking Durty.
• Sprung, Evolution Craft Brewing Company, Salisbury, MD (4.9%)
  A refreshing, easy-drinking Golden Ale brewed with honey, hibiscus and chamomile.
• Citra Mantra, Otter Creek Brewing, Middlebury, VT (5.75%)
  This self described India-Style Pils Lager is from Otter Creek’s Brewmaster Mike series. Brewed with Citra hops and 100% positive vibrations.
• Ramble, Long Trail Brewing Company, Bridgewater Corners, VT (5.5%)
  Brewed in traditional Kölschbier style, this beer has a clean, refreshing flavor profile, with flavor notes from the use of lemon rind and ground peppercorns in the brewing process. Wandering but not lost.
• Smitten Golden Rye Ale, Bell’s Brewery, Kalamazoo, MI (6.0%)
  This rye beer is an interesting take on an American Pale Ale.

Falling between winter, with its heavy winter warmers, and summer, with its light wheat beers, spring is a flexible beer drinking season. Spring beers span the styles – each of the six beers I sampled represented a different style.

I built this custom six-pack at Total Wine hoping that drinking spring brew will be pleasing to the weather gods, Old Man Winter and Mother Nature.

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