When drinking beer, it is always a treat to find some brews that are consistently rich and full-bodied, not lacking in flavor and meant to be savored. Step into the world of amber ales and lagers. These brews strike the perfect balance between diverse flavors and drinkability. Remember, these are all available at Famous Liquors in Decatur. Head there, search for these or make discoveries of your own. Sláinte!

The Censored Rich Copper Ale
Lagunitas Brewing Company
Petaluma, Calif.
6.75% ABV

Pouring a rich, lovely auburn color, this full-bodied copper is sweet and smooth. It’s got a hoppy taste but a caramel smoothness that keeps it from making you cringe. This is the kind beer that you can drink without refrigeration. It’s the balance between sweet toasted flavors and bright hops that makes this so overwhelmingly drinkable. Being as thick as it is, there is almost a grain or bread flavor that comes through as well, but instead of making this Censored ale too much to drink, it brings you to that point where you’re full but not stuffed—that glorious moment before you eat that last plate of irresistible mashed potatoes and turkey at Thanksgiving. And the subtle carbonation adds to this amber brew’s drinkability. Censored is a great way to treat yourself on a rather quiet evening when you need something that’s going to bring you down from a long, busy day.

Old Fezziwig Ale
Samuel Adams (The Boston Brewing Company)
Boston
5.9% ABV

Old Fezziwig is a classic Samuel Adams beer. I remember my dad waiting for winter so Old Fezziwig would make its triumphant return to America’s beer menus. This deep red winter warmer tastes like the Christmas season in a bottle. Brewed with cinnamon, ginger and orange, it has a spiced-kick to the flavor, but the caramel and chocolate malts make it smooth as freshly fallen snow. If these powerful spiced flavors were in any other style of beer, it would potentially be the worst combination ever thrown in a bottle. However, paired with the inherent malty thickness of amber ales, it creates an intensely flavorful, rich and surprisingly drinkable beer. And with the recent fickleness of Mother Nature and the forecast blizzard, this is the perfect brew to greet a late winter frost.

Vienna-Style Amber Lager
Tommyknocker Brewery
Idaho Springs, Colo.
5.5% ABV

This was an irresistible choice. Having tried and loved their nut brown ale, I’m willing to taste everything this brewery has to offer. Pouring much lighter in color than a typical amber (probably because it’s an amber lager rather than ale), this brew has a cloudy orange hue. The taste is much brighter than the previous two, not as rich and malty, which allows more of the carbonation to come through. There is more of a wheat presence in Tommyknocker’s Amber, though it is still smooth. It’s more of a refreshing and invigorating brew than a curl up and chill out kind of brew. If you taste closely, there’s a subtle fruity aftertaste that gives this a nice balance of fresh and rich. This is not a beer that will knock you off your feet with a multitude of flavors or fill you up with its thick grain presence. Instead, Tommyknocker’s Amber lager will brighten your evening with an energy boost of well-balanced flavor and carbonation.

Saluki Dunkeldog Dark Amber
Big Muddy Brewing
Murphysboro, Ill.
5.4% ABV

Brewed in our lovely home state, I had to forgive the fact that the beer is named after the SIU mascot (which I won’t hold against it). Claiming to be a dark amber beer, I was expecting this to have more of a garnet color. Instead, it’s a clear ginger. But don’t let its brighter color deceive you when it comes to flavor. This is a thick, bready ale with a hint of rye taste. With more carbonation than some other ambers, this keeps the brew from becoming overwhelmingly rich in mouth feel. Thus, Saluki is rich but drinkable, flavorful but can act as a complement to other flavors as well. With more sips, its caramel sweetness comes through on the aftertaste. This could easily be a session beer (meaning, you can drink more than one of it in one sitting), paired with a long dinner and conversation with friends.

Z Smoked Amber Lager
Fort Collins Brewery
Fort Collins, Colo.
5.4% ABV

Orange like the flames of a fire, this smoked amber has some history to it. Fort Collins explains that this style dates back to the 1500s when “malt was often dried over the flames of a beechwood fire” creating lingering smoky flavors when brewed for beer. Z is pungent in aroma and intense in flavor. There is a strong smoked quality, but it’s balanced out with smooth caramel undertones. The most flavorful brew thus far, Z is definitely an undertaking. It’s best paired with barbecue, and lots of it. Its burst of flavors and rich mouthfeel make it more of a sipping beer than a session. This is not a beer to be chugged, but rather, savored by licking your lips at the end.

Koko Brown
Kona Brewing Co.
Kailua Kona, Hawaii
5.5% ABV

If you’d like to completely escape to a land of sun-kissed beaches and surf-perfect waves, this brown ale is for you. The darkest of the brews on today’s menu, Koko Brown is a rich mahogany color. I was originally nervous about this beer as soon as I read that it’s brewed with toasted coconut. However, this is a pleasant surprise. Koko Brown provides more of the toasted flavor in drinking, then the traditional coconut flavor in the aftertaste. It’s absolutely smooth, but you have to like sweetness to drink more than one of them. The brew will definitely send your daydreams drifting to hibiscus flowers and warm sand – the perfect escape from Illinois’ unexpected frosts and frigid winds.

So sink into these rich, flavorful brews and savor every drop!