Dan, Dan, He’s Our Man….

Well you know the rest….

Yet another amazing beer tasting, now just a memory…. Thank you to Dan Stein for hosting the Second Annual Beer Day at his delicious Stein’s Deli. It was a doozy. An awesome, hedonistic, sybaritic, decadant doozy….I am gonna go ahead and warn you folks, these notes are nowhere near as thorough as my last big tasting. But I shall transcribe them in all of their hazy glory…I ask your kindhearted lenience on this because:

A.  I was standing the whole time.

B.  The beers were being poured in a literal cyclone around me, and as the saying goes, “if ya snooze ya lose.” Or in this case, if you are too busy being a dork and taking notes, you are gonna miss something awesome…

C.  I attended a wine tasting thrown in my honor earlier in the day, where we went through 10, YES 10 bottles of crazy good wine.  Errr, needless to say my sensory functions were a WEE bit compromised.

Nonetheless, I tasted some of my favorite brews EVER on this misty evening….At the top?

Lost Abbey Duck Duck Gooze: ABV: 5.5% Oh my wow. This beer is absolutely delicious.  A perfectly balanced and structured gueze. Like a well-made wine, everything is exactly in the right place.  Aromatics of hay, apricot, peach, and citrus with some light wood notes. Nice and sour but with a clean, balanced finish. I want this beer every chance I get.

2008 Three Floyds Alpha Klaus: ABV: 6.5% Oh shit.  I reallllly like this one.  Rich nose of toffee, roasted nuts, and coffee.  The coffee follows through on the palate with notes of rich tobacco.  The hop influence nicely lightens the weight of the nose and palate. So well done.

Jolly Pumpkin Lambicus Dexterius: Oh my sour goodness.  You see how my top 3 beers begin with ‘Oh….’ It’s a pattern with me. Get used to it.  I can promise it only comes out with exceptional liquids, beer or wine. A spontaneously fermented beer that Jolly Pumpkin has been working on for 4 years. I would like to THANK the stranger who left this for me as a gift at Cork & Bottle. PLEASE make yourself known.  What an incredible present!! Wow, this guy is SOUR. And delicious. But NOT for the faint of heart.  If you don’t like sour beers, don’t touch this one with a 10-foot pole.  But really well done, with fantastic notes of lemon and citrus, mingled with a bit of leather, hay, and funk. Following through on the palate, this is a mouth-puckerer.

Ok, so those are my top three, here are the rest, which I also absolutely and thoroughly enjoyed!!!

Avery The Reverend: ABV: 10% Freshly baked bread, apricot. Sweet malty notes on the palate.

Stone Collaboration: Problem is I did NOT see the label, so I’m not sure which collaboration.(I am telling you people, there were bottles flying around everywhere.)Smells like tree bark, wet leaves, forest floor, and smoky tobacco.  And for those of you who know my wine palate, you know these are big yesses pour moi. This aroma profile strike anyone as familiar?

Ommegang Chocolate Indulgence: ABV: 7% Tootsie roll and Ghiradelli chocolate squares!  Not as much on palate as you might think.  But still, this is dessert on a cold night.

Bolita Double Nut Brown Ale: ABV: 9% I really liked how this beer was toasty and nutty, (of course!), with cocoa, but with some interesting sour notes to perk up a normal Nut Brown.

Gouden Carolus Easter Beer: ABV: 10% Well you guessed it.  An Easter basket of candy on the nose, and it tastes like a Peep.  No kidding.

Will Brown’s Belgian Strong Ale: ABV 9.5%: Nice! Glazed puff pastry with caramelized fruit. Great aromatics and flavors.

Avery Ale to the Chief: ABV: 8.75% Really nice fresh apricot and herbal nose and palate.  A nice refresher beer after some of the bigger, burlier beers.

Ninkasi Tricerahops: ABV: 8.8%: Still really liking this beer and its herbal nose. This time I got more citrus and orange peel than last time.

Stone 13th Anniversary: ABV: 9.5%: Clean and balanced aromas 0f pine and citrus.  Nice vibrant hop finish.

Russian River Redemption: ABV: 5% Lots of tree fruit, some bubblegum on the nose with both a tropical and raw grain note.

Three Floyds Behemoth 2008 and 2009: ABV: 10.5% I like the ‘09 much better.  Much more hop presence, with good bitterness on the finish to cleanse the palate.  The ‘08 is great, but so different, with a concentration of dried fruit and raisins.

Surly Furious: ABV: 6.2% A nice IPA, but not terribly complex.  All the call signs are here, (lots of hoppy citrus and floral notes) just would have liked to see a little more. Maybe I should give it another go sometime.

The Bye-Week Double IPA: ABV: 8%: A mixture of both tropical and tree fruit.  Think apricot, peach, pear, and citrus mingled with notes of mango and guava. Palate smooth and balanced. Well done.

The Bruery Black Tuesday: AHEM! ABV: 19.5%! Holy Moley. Think crazy intensity of molasses, bourbon,soy, and dark chocolate.  The Dark Lord’s cousin.

Midnight Sun: I’m not sure the name. Or the ABV. It was dark. Someone poured it into my glass and said “Here, this is from Midnight Sun.” It was late. It was a nice, hoppy stout that smelled like meat.  As one who does not eat meat, it is from these types of beers and also wines from the Northern Rhone of France, where I derive my animalistic sensory pleasure.  Enough said.

Bells & Van Twee Collaboration Dark Belgian Ale: My last remotely readable note. I’m sorry, this is all I wrote: “Yum! Cherries & Sour. Yes!!” That’s pathetic, I realize, but it was late and I was SURE I’d remember.  Yeah.

There were more. Many, many more, but I couldn’t tell you a bloody thing about them. Good times.  Thanks, Dan!!!

AND THIS….. is how I felt the next day after a unabridged 12 hour euphoric sensory assault….

CHEERS!

Not today Hunger!!

I want to give an enormous THANK YOU!!!!! to all of the people who so graciously donated to Second Harvest Food Bank in support of my beer quests over the past few months.  We raised a whopping $1300 and over 200 cans of food!!!! AWESOME!!

A very special thanks to my mother, Cheryl, who collected over 100 cans in her school in Wilmington, North Carolina to support her daughter.  I love you Mom!

I am so honored to know each and every one of you who opened your wallets and hearts in such a difficult economic period to help put food in the mouths of hungry children and families all over the New Orleans area.

with Natalie Jayroe, President and CEO. PS. The bucket looks empty because we already took the money out!

And I tell you, when I went to Second Harvest to make the donation, they were absolutely THRILLED with the size of the donation, and I stood there wishing they could see the faces of each one of you.  And I thank you for coming out to my beer challenges and tastings at Cork & Bottle, Avenue Pub, and d.b.a. They were all great, memorable times.

From the bottom of my beer-soaked heart…..THANK YOU EVERYONE!!!!!

CHEERS!!

A Tasting for the Ages…

First of all, I would like to extend a HUGE thank you to Dylan Lintern of NOLA brewing for inviting me to one of the BEST tastings, beer or wine, that I have been to in a long time.  It was truly an educational and downright fun as hell time. And thank you to Derek who allowed me to try his homebrew, and all of the people who came to the tasting.  I love to talk to people who know ALOT more about something than I do.

Shall we begin?

Lost Abbey Avant Garde: ABV: 7%

The first beer of the evening. Nice notes of bread, light caramel, and lots of honey, both dark and light.  Brewed in the Biere de Garde Style. For those of you new to the term, it refers to a type of beer traditionally brewed in France. Similar in ways to a Saison, Biere de Garde brews are bottle-conditioned, typically matured for a period of time after bottling, and are often intended for cellaring.

This offering from Lost Abbey was a great and welcoming opener to the delicious onslaught that lay ahead….

Port Brewing Brother Levonian: ABV: 6.5%

Nice. Mmmm, I love Saisons. Apricot, bread dough, and a little funk. Lots of carbonation, too much for some in the group. Refreshing, as a Saison always is for me. Like at the end of a wine-tasting day (20-30 wines folks) at the shop, there is nothing like a Saison for my tired palate. This is a RARE beer.  Not released to the public, this beer was made to honor the memory of Dave Levonian, homebrewer and friend of Port Brewing.

Avery Brewing Sui Generis Barrel Aged Sour Ale: ABV: 10.65%

Wow. This was one of the beers of the night.  Aged in 39% Cabernet Sauvignon barrels, 35% Chardonnay barrels, 13% Port barrels and 13% Bourbon barrels. Notes of black currant (from the Cabernet barrels), light Provencal herb, bread yeast aromas (from the Chardonnay barrels), brett. Nice, balanced sourness on the palate.  Not cheek burning.  Also an extremely RARE beer.  Less than 130 cases were produced with it only being sold in the Avery Tap Room on September 23, 2009. What an honor to have this beer.

Otter Creek Imperial IPA: ABV: 11 %, 135 IBU!!!!!!!!

Whoa. Talk about a palate wrecker.  I honestly sat there for a few minutes, afraid to drink it.  But the temptation was too strong, and I figured, when am I gonna get the chance again? I timidly took a baby sip…..a literal assault. So hoppy there aren’t words, rich deep herbal and citrus nose and the palate was….well 1 guess folks. I have never tasted something so hoppy bitter in my life. Seriously.  I liked it though, and I know some folks out in So-Cal that would LOVE this beer. It took SEVERAL swigs of water to be ready for the next beer. What a great experience.

For those of you saying, “What in the hell does 135 IBU mean?!?!” IBU stands for International Bittering Units. Think of your average American lager (Budweiser, Miller) and you are looking at 10-15 IBU. Your average British bitter? 35-50. People ask me, “Have you had that Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA? Wow, it’s hoppy!” That’s at 65 IBU folks.  You get the gist.  So IMAGINE 135 IBU’s.Think about that….

Trappist Achel: 9.5%

Lots and lots of caramel and light brown sugar with a touch of dried date on the nose.  Follows through on the palate.  Did not strike me as overly Belgian, but more reminded me of several of the British porters I drank in my 100 stouts and porters in 30 days.  A nice, warming beer for the cold, excuse me, FREEZING nights we have all been experiencing!

Konigshoeven La Trappe Isid’or Trappist: ABV: 7.5%

Everyone in the group, except me I think, like the Achel better.  I, always the odd bird, preferred this one.  Nice, lighter honey notes on the nose, with light yeast and herb on the palate.  For me, a more drinkable beer.  Maybe I’m still recovering from the porter/stout onslaught.

Alesmith Yulesmith: ABV: 8.5%

I really enjoyed this beer. Comforting, yet vibrant hoppy nose.  Subtle aromas and flavors of cardamon, vanilla, and toasted nuts.  Loved the balance of the nose with the palate.  Well done Alesmith.  Yummy, and would definitely drink again.

Alesmith Decadence English-Style Barleywine: ABV: 11%

There was some discussion whether this beer should be classified as an English-Style because of its high ABV. Your little grasshopper here learned that generally English Barleywines have a lower ABV of 7-9%.  At any rate, this beer was in my words “a brown sugar and caramel blanket.” Mmmm, so comforting.  Lots of dried fig and prune on the nose with sour funk, which then inspired me to break into singing “Bring us some figgy pudding”.  Ahhh, good times.

Russian River Brewing Pliny the Elder: ABV: 8%

Folks, I have been waiting to try this one for a long time.  So those of you who know me, know I gave a woo-hoo with arms raised in true cheerleader style when this one came out.  In fact my first written note on this was “Oh God.” I LOVE THIS BEER.  Beautiful nose of fresh herbs and freshly sliced tree fruit (think peach, pear) One of the most balanced beers ever.  Seriously folks, put this at the tippy TOP of your list of beers to try. Delicious is an understatement.

Lost Abbey Cuvee de Tomme:  ABV:11%

Double whoa. This beer is NOT kidding around.  One of the best quotes of the night? “It’s like a warhead in your mouth.” -Dylan.

This American Wild Ale is brewed with raisins and cherries and is aged in Bourbon barrels for one year with cherries and Brettanomyces.  Extracted dark, dried fruit. Tart cherries and oak.  Tons of raisins on the nose, but not as much on palate.  Super sour cherries on palate. When you put your nose in even the empty glass, explosions of fig and raisin greet your curious schnoz. This beer is a humdinger folks. Prepare yourself.

Russian River Brewing Temptation: ABV:7.2 %

Barrel aged for 9-15 months. Brett. Brett. Brett. Hay. Barnyard. But for those wine readers out there, you have to think differently from the way Brett expresses itself in wine.  It’s not the same.  Which spurred a thoughtful, insightful conversation at the tasting.  To be continued….

Nice citrus notes. Bread. Yeast.  Reminds me of a funky Champagne.  Sure enough, this beer is aged in French oak Chardonnay barrels for 12 months. A truly interesting and fantastic beer.

Russian River Supplication: ABV: 7%

This was DEFINITELY one of the beers of the night.  Thank you, Dan. X 1 million. And what’s more? This was from batch 001 folks.  Yes, that’s right the very first one.  “How do you know its the 1st batch?…..(pause)Because it says batch #1.”- A conversation between Dan and Vasu. I got a giggle.

This badass is aged 12 months in Pinot Noir barrels, with cherries and 3 strains of Brettanomyces, Lactobacillus, and Pediococcus added.  Friends, it is like a tawny port, with raisin, fig and the best dark honey you have ever had.  Add to that light brown sugar and cherry.  Seriously complex and amazing.  So balanced and incredible it’s hard to maintain composure.  At least for a dork like me.

“Best beer on the planet, signed Dylan.”

Dogfish Head Theobroma: ABV: 9%

This beer is brewed with cocoa nibs, Aztec cocoa powder, chilies, honey and annatto.  Unusually, there is no cocoa aromas on the nose, but arrive on the palate.  Instead the nose could best be described as musky. And confused.  As Vasu noted, “it’s troubled.” I concur.  With a very light entry, it’s not what you might expect.

1998 Oubreitje Strawberry Lambic: ABV ?

Wowza. From the very first beer cracked, this brew from 1998 was under discussion.  A Lambic from 1998. You heard me. Oh God. HORSE BLANKET. FARM. BARNYARD. With a touch of strawberry hiding in the stable. A truly wine-like beer drinking experience.

2006 Cantillon Gueze: ABV: ?

Waxy aromas.  Lots of sour notes here guys.  Cidery and musty. As expected, from entry to finish.  Intensifies as it warms.  Yep, it’s a Gueze alright.

over Derek's right shoulder is the Rum Pum Pum tap.

Derek’s Rum Pum Pum: ABV: 11%

From the homebrewing prowess of Derek comes this Imperial Sour Stout.  What a great nose.  Chocolate covered cherries.  No kidding.  With dark caro syrup. The sourness is gentle compared to the two previous beers, but is still there and nicely balanced.  Well done.  A very enjoyable brew.

Alesmith Speedway Stout: ABV: 12%

Tamari almonds straight from the Whole Foods, soy, espresso, dark dried fruit.  I want this for breakfast.  Brewed with espresso, this beer packs a punch in caffeine and alcohol.  What a great way to wake up!

2008 Special Oerbier Reserva: ABV: 13%

This funky doppelbock was both a sweet and sour nose with lots of maltiness.

Kevin and Taylor’s Coffee Oatmeal Stout, or the “12-0 Stout” (Go Saints!)

Brewed with Community Coffee with Chicory. Of course great coffee aromas and that spicy bark quality of the chicory.  Think not quite licorice.  Charred wood.  Followed by….

Kevin and Taylor’s Simcoe IPA, or the “13-0 IPA”: ABV: 5%

Bright herbal and wild green flower notes. Follows through nicely on the palate. And then…..

WE MIXED THEM!!! Great vibrancy! The herbal mixed with the coffee was a refreshing mix.  I like it!  Great job guys.

Unibroue Seigneruale: ABV: 7.5%

My palate is starting to fatigue.  And I’m obviously feeling the alcohol by now.  Lots of toffee and malt on the nose.  The only Unibroue I haven’t tried.  Would definitely like to give it another go sometime.

Hair of the Dog Michael: ABV: 6%

I’m gonna need “hair of the dog” after this night.  This beer is a Flanders Red and aged in American Oak and Sherry barrels. And boy you get that American oak on the nose, just like in a California Cabernet. Tons of barrel mingled with herbs. This beer is named in memory of Michael Jackson.  Not the singer people.  The beer guy. Look him up.

By now it’s difficult for me to discern subtleties in aromatics and the palate.  Don’t get me wrong, I am a seasoned taster, but there is so much incredible complexity in so many of these beers, my brain, nose and mouth are joyously suffering from sensory overload at this point.

Ninkasi Tricerahops DIPA: ABV: 8.8%

The last beer available to my palate.  And it was deeeelicious. Nice herbal, fresh floral aromas with a subtle honey note. Perfectly balanced and drinkable.  I could sit down with this beer for the evening. And oh my God, they have a holiday ale titled Sleighr, in the font of Slayer.  And for those of you who know me and what a fan I am, you know my eyes lit up when I saw that. I HAVE to get this beer. Anyone can help me on that?

Victory Hop Wallop: ABV: 8.5%

I have no idea folks. My palate was wrecked. I’m gonna guess hoppy. Sorry Victory. Next time I promise.

Alaskan Baltic Porter: ABV: 9.9%

Ditto.  I do remember nice rich notes of molasses and dark brown sugar, without the cloying aspect of other Baltic porters I have tried.  And I liked it very much. But concise, thoughtful notes? Next time. Did not get a fair shake, so will have to try again someday.

Arcadia Ales Cereal Killer: ABV: 9%

Ditto.

AND THAT my friends, concludes one of the best and most interesting tastings I have been to in a long time, beer OR wine…..

CHEERS!

On the Twelfth Day of Christmas, My True Love Gave to Me….

Gift of the Magi!!!! (the beer guys.)

Time to take down the beer tree everyone

OK FOLKS, WE ARE AT THE END OF THE TWELVE BEERS OF CHRISTMAS!!!! So the song sings in its FINAL verse (SING ALONG!): On the Twelfth Day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: Gift of the Magi, 11 beers a leaping, Lots of fruits and spices, Santa and his reindeer, 8 Corsendonks, 6 herbs and spices, 6 pints of beer (hahahaha repeat!), FREEEE BEEER TASTINGGGGG, 12 Champagnes (with a Shiner Cheer!), 3 YUMMY beers, 2 Christmas beers, and Rogue’s Santa’s Private Reserve!!!!

GOOOOOO BEER!

2009 Lost Abbey Gift of the Magi: ABV: 10%

Well I cannot think of a MORE appropriate beer to end my 12 (or so) Beers of Christmas than with Lost Abbey’s Gift of the Magi.  After all January 5 is when the Wise Men came to bring gifts and a great bottle-conditioned, Brettanomyces beer is one fantastic gift for me. Thank you Joe and Lost Abbey!

This one is a beer for the aging.  You can tell it the moment you open it up.  Fresh and all full of potential, this guy is going to really show itself in a few years.  This is when I read beer like wine, where you can simply sense the future of a liquid that has yet to spread its wings, stretch out its shoulders, etc.

Lost Abbey's motto...

It pours out a wonderful cloudy amber orange color, a hue you would have to put up to a Pantone book to name it exactly. There is a fair amount of sediment already in the bottom of Gift, but give it a few years, and you are gonna have a good bit of sludgy, yeasty goodness.  I am ordering another immediately to put down.

Not alot of nose at first but after some warming up and aeration, aromas of orange peel, coriander, apricot, hay, and faint herbs welcome the nose.  Then the yeast comes on, more present in the palate than the nose.  There is a bit of alcohol burn here folks, as it is a 10% ABV beer.  But there is no strong presence of Brett, at least not yet.  No horsey, barnyard aromas or flavors YET. But I can wager, as it works in wine, it’s coming with time. And I look forward to it.

As I said folks, this was a grand treat for me as my final beer of the Christmas holiday, but I look forward to trying it again NEXT year.  And the year after. Give this guy some age, and great things will happen.

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season, and the happiest of New Years to everyone.

CHEERS!

On the Eleventh Day of Christmas, My True Love Gave to Me…

11 lords a leaping. What does that even mean?

Lets go with 11 beers a leaping, shall we?

why are our glasses empty?!

New Orleans is always a wonderful, whirlwind tour of bars, if you are open to it.  And on a cold, blustery Monday full of grey skies and down jackets, a cocktail or beer is just what you need to warm your spirits and close out the chill on your fingers and toes.

Drive on out River Road and check out the cozy, comfortable River Shack for Abita and NOLA brews on draft. Think the bar version of Cracker Barrel and you’ve got the River Shack.  Warm, friendly people, and fresh popped popcorn on the bar. Um, yes!

If Uptown’s your gig, head to St. Joe’s for the best blueberry Mojito you’ve ever tasted, Lazy Magnolia’s Jefferson Stout or Anchor Christmas Ale on draft, or the old standby Chimay in the bottle.  Talk about cozy and friendly.

The final leg on my New Orleans Monday bar tour? The Avenue Pub for two of my favorite easy drinking beers: Blanche de Bruxelles and Blanche de Chambly.  With Bruxelles, notes of honeysuckle, grapefruit honey, and white flowers welcome the nose and make you wanna dive in for more. And drink in copious amounts on a hot summer day, with seafood on the grill.  Blanche de Chambly, another star from Unibroue, fills the nose with apricot, yeast, biscuits and herbs.  Both lovely, both yummy.

SO, for my Christmas beer?

Great Lakes Christmas Ale: ABV: 7.5%

good beers make for happy smiles.

First off, this is the same producer that won my Best American Porter, with its Edmund Fitzgerald Porter. (see Beer # 98 of my 100 beers 30 days) Second, this is a deeeeelicious beer folks. No kidding.  Loads of spices jump like kids on pogo sticks out of the glass. Ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, and coriander. And I mean ginger like I have not seen in any other holiday brew so far. Refreshing fresh ginger and warming baked gingerbread simultaneously. Cherry skin. And lets talk about the honey notes people, on both the nose and palate. Yum, yum honey.

Sure enough, this beer that spawns musical homages on You Tube (I’m serious!) is brewed with, yes, honey, cinnamon, and ginger. The great thing (no pun intended) is that none of these adjuncts is overbearing or overwhelms the beers.  Drinking this on a cold, winter night is a pure pleasure.

Do yourself a favor and obtain a sixer of this beer for your next yuletide gathering.  You will be thanking me 10 times over. I promise.

CHEERS!

On the Tenth Day of Christmas, My True Love Gave to Me…

Lots of fruit and spices (sing with me!)

After Guinness, the Saints game, sushi, sake, Chevy Chase and a big, fat nap, Day 10 closed out under big blankets and a California Christmas brew.  Ahh good times….

Marin Brewing Co. Hoppy Holidaze: ABV: 7%

What a step up from my two previous Christmas contenders.  This beer is produced by the same brewery as the San Quentin Breakout Stout, which I thoroughly enjoyed in my final day of my 100 beers 30 days challenge! (See Beer #100 entry)

not this vanilla folks....

My expectation was a hop bomb along the lines of a Stone brew or the Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale.  Not nearly.  While there is a hop presence, the nose is far more dominated by the spices used in the brewing process: VANILLA, nutmeg, and cinnamon. The hop shows itself with notes of peach, mingled with orange aromas and flavors found from the utilization of the peel. And kudos to Joe who nailed an aroma I would never have gotten: red licorice.

THIS vanilla.

This would be a nice beer to pair with holiday desserts such as peach cobbler, spiced cake, and gingerbread cookies.  A lighter Christmas brew, this one won’t weigh you down. Give it a try.

CHEERS!

On the Ninth Day of Christmas, My True Love Gave to Me….

Santa and his Reindeer…. (They arrived late to my house)

After a long, crazy Christmas holiday, I am back to finish the 12 beers of Christmas!  With the historical tradition of the 12 days of Christmas, I will complete my festive journey with the Three Wise Men on January 5, with a beer called none other than “The Gift of the Magi.” How awesome.

Santa’s Butt Winter Porter: ABV: 6%

Jokingly, Joe sent this to me for Christmas in North Carolina and wrote, “Hopefully this won’t taste like the name.”  Boy it wasn’t far off.  NO, I jest, but I will say I did not like this beer.  Perhaps it needs to age. Or perhaps it is cursed by it’s name. Either way, not a very enjoyable brew.  Now, to be clear the butt referred to is not Jolly Old Saint Nick’s plump rear end, but the end of a barrel. Whew.

So why am I ba humbugging this festive ale? Especially since it’s a winter porter, you would think I would love it!  And believe me, I wanted to. But it was heavy-handed and lacking a real personality.  Kind of like the great uncle who wears way too much Aqua Velva and a track suit and sits in the corner of the living room all Christmas with nothing entertaining to say….

By heavy-handed, I mean too many syrupy notes of maple and caro. On both the nose and palate.  Add to that an odd herbal note, almost funky with spoilage yeast. But not in that good Brett way I love so much in both wine and beer. More like a “That’s not supposed to be in there” way…The mouthfeel was awkward (if you get what I mean by that) with a peculiar, offsetting finish.

As much as I wanted to like this beer, I just didn’t. I would not recommend it guys.  And with so many other AMAZING holiday brews out there, take my advice and just skip this one.

Everyone...Shlomo the Reindeer.

Reindeer’s Revolt: ABV: 6%

Odd herbal note x 2.  Here it is again!  Let’s start at the beginning.  Pours out looking like apricot juice.  Seriously. Orange hue. The nose gives me a little funk, which again is not a bad thing in many cases. In this situation, not good. But on a positive note, after 10 or so minutes, it blows off.

The nose definitely improves to aromas of honey, honeysuckle, peach, and flower blossom.  But the palate never does the same.  Thin and almost watery with a metallic edge from 2/3 to the finish.

I’m sorry people, not trying to be Debbie Downer.  But what we have here is 2 lumps of coal in my Christmas stocking. And I’m not happy about it. Ready to unwrap the next one!

On the Eighth Day of Christmas, My True Love Gave to Me….

8 Corsendonks….(yeaaah, I wish)

Try one Christmas Ale.

ooh! a tin!

Corsendonk Christmas Ale: ABV: 8.5%

I really enjoyed drinking this beer.  But there’s not much to tell you it’s a Christmas Ale.  No big neon flashers like in American holiday brews.  Much like the St. Bernardus, the Corsendonk drinks like a good, delish Belgian.  Big maltiness with definite notes of orange peel and a bit of dry spice, like nutmeg and cinnamon on the finish.  Now normally, you would say, HELLO Delk, these are the things IN a Christmas beer.  And you would be right. Except that Corsendonk uses orange rind anyway, with coriander.

mmmm, yeast.

I am not a coriander aficionado, so I couldn’t honestly tell you it was in there. It probably is part of that spicy finish I perceive. Perhaps I need to go sniff some.

Like all Corsendonk beers, the Christmas Ale is bottle-fermented in dark, warm rooms for three weeks before release. Yum, give it to me.

I recommend trying this, and all Corsendonk beers.  Check out their website by clicking here. And P.S. I want one of those cool glasses….

CHEERS!

On the Seventh Day of Christmas, My True Love Gave to Me….

Six herbs and spices…

OOH, close folks. Close.

ooooh. looks magical swathed in soft light.

Gouden Carolus Noel: ABV: 10.5%

Hailing from one of the oldest breweries in Belgium (1369!), Gouden Carolus come on down! This brewery, known for the famous Cuvee van de Keizer, started making the Noel again in 2002 after 38 years of absence.  Now made in August of each year, the Noel rests for several months before release.

i want to go to there.

And whoa. This Strong Dark Ale is intense.  So, the name fits. Tons of dried, dark fruit aromas, like currant and fig come pouring out of the glass. Add to that malty sweetness, and  you can smell it from a foot away. And boy, that richness follows through on the palate.  A substantial yeastiness and sugar level is detectable as well as alcohol.  While I enjoyed it, I would suggest sharing this with others, and sipping.  This is not one to chug friends….

P.S. I went to what I thought was their website, http://www.goudencarolus.nl/, and I swear the man in the icon winked at me. Will someone out there check it out and tell me if I am crazy?! And since I cannot read it, I have NO IDEA what it says….I did find another site, which gives alot more understandable info on the Gouden Carolus lineup of brews. AND they make a whisky!! Click here to check it out.

CHEERS!

On the Sixth Day of Christmas, My True Love Gave to Me…..

6 pints of beer….

Here’s one of them!

Delirium Noel: ABV: 10%

Delirium Tremens is one of those beers people ALWAYS seem to have a story about. And it normally starts out, “I got so drunk drinking that beer!” The Noel is their Christmas brew, with a ramped up alcohol content. I had this tasty brew at both the free beer tasting at Cork & Bottle, and then on draft Saturday night at Avenue Pub.  I like this one, and it’s dangerously easy to drink.  But at 10% ABV, you’ve gotta be careful.  Suppress the desire to gulp it.

Refreshing and nose-appealing aromas of orange peel follow through as straight-up orange on the palate.  But let me be clear here.  This is NOT an orange-flavored beer, like an alcoholic Sunkist.  It is just one element, along with nice yeasty and malty notes, which also . Friends Ross and Mark detected notes of baby’s breath, but I couldn’t get it.

This beer is considered a Belgian Strong Dark Ale, although it is not nearly as dark or rich as say Rochefort 10.  Other examples of this type of beer are Chimay Grande Reserve (blue bottle), St. Bernardus Abt 12, Brasserie des Rocs, and Gouden Carolus Grand Cru of the Emperor.  So, if you are a fan of these delicious brews (I sure as hell am), it is likely you will like the Delirium.  If you are a fan of hoppy, bitter beers, maybe not your bag, as this one has some definite sweet, malty notes. Try one and let me know what you think!

CHEERS!