Southern Tier Old Man Winter Ale

So, what is a 'winter ale'? Searching about I see it's a variety of an old ale. So, what is an 'old ale'?

Who knows. But this is a reasonably heavy, thick, hard going sort of a beer, probably well suited to its job as winter warmer. It's dark in the glass, malty, with lashings of caramel and a bit of a peppery spicy finish. Perhaps my bottle had aged slightly but I didn't get too much hops going on.

All of which is fair enough, but it's just a bit unremarkable to me. I'm prepared to admit that if sampled in a wood cottage in the snow, this would likely score higher. But for now I'm fine with other alternatives. 6.5