Winter in Syracuse: it’s cold, dark and everyone wants more chocolate and coffee. This is especially true in the magical alcohol residence hall “Brewland,” where everyone drinks the full-bodied, robust winter seasonals that make planning your Valentine’s Day date easier.

A great first brew to get your hops wet is the Sam Adams Winter Lager. New England’s finest have created a pleasant combination of spicy and sweet accents that are paired nicely. The malts blend together for a full taste that isn’t very heavy. Highlights of the flavor palette include orange peels, the light and bitter undertone, and medium carbonation.The Winter Lager is only 5.6 percent alcohol by volume, so you can knock back a couple of these while making a snowman and be ready to color in his yellow shirt by the time you’re done.

Magic Hat’s winter seasonal is a stout called Heart of Darkness. The beautiful dark color in the bottle comes from the variety of roasted malts that range from pale to chocolate. This is a great choice for beer drinkers that are not into overly hopped beers. The rich flavor’s identity comes from the paired chocolate and coffee flavors that run wild through the palette. Heart of Darkness is 5.7 percent alcohol by volume. This brew is distinctive among the Magic Hat family because, unlike all of their other varieties that bear a passing resemblance to No. 9, Heart of Darkness is nothing like it. Get your hands on some of this black gold before Daniel Day-Lewis decides to revisit “There Will Be Blood.”

Southern Tier brews the crankily named Old Man Winter Ale. This crotchety seasonal is made in the style of an Old Ale, historically a counterpoint to milder ales like Pale Ales, and are often on the dark side and more than 5 percent alcohol by volume. This is not a beer for drinking quickly. It has a ponderous flavor palette that requires some contemplation in between sips, sort of like listening to a grandparent finish telling you what is wrong with their new-fangled cable box while you wait to tell them to unplug the box, count to 10 and try again. Old Man Winter is more bitter than the other two, and has a smoky accent in the aroma that manifests in the roasted malt flavor. The brew also benefits from the light carbonation that produces a thin yet viscous head that is fun to watch run down your glass.

If you thought I was going to go a whole column about dark beers without mentioning my favorite Imperial Stout – Yeti from Great Divide – you were wrong.