Plains Amber - Plains Brew Company

The Twelfth Beer of Christmas 2017 is Plains Amber from the Plains Brew Company in Lubbock, Texas.

Summary

• Appearance: Ruddy amber,
• Aroma: Malty sweet
• Taste: Sweet malt, light roasting, light hops.
• Feel: Light to medium body. Clean, crisp finish. Thrist quenching.

Stats

• Brewer: Plains Brew Company
• Location: Lubbock, Texas
• Website: http://theplainsbrew.com/
• Style: Amber Ale

Audacity Brew House - Repercussion

The First Beer of Christmas for 2017 is Repercussion from Audacity BrewHouse in Denton, Texas.

Summary
Tasty beer with a nice aroma and a fruity flavor.

• Appearance: Hazy amber, decent head, no lacing
• Aroma: Fruity and yeasty aroma, almost a touch sour.
• Taste: Lightly sweet. Lightly smokey. Mild hop. Yeasty. Sharp finish.
• Feel: Rich with a medium body.

Stats

• Brewer: Audacity Brew House
• Location: Denton, Texas
• Website: http://www.audacitybrewhouse.com
• Style: Altbier
• Alcohol Content: 5.0% ABV

Odell Brewing Co. - 90 Shilling Ale

For the First Beer of Christmas, Colorado emulated Scotland and sunk a hole in one!

Odell Brewing
90 Shilling Ale

Years ago when I first saw an Odell beer, my mind read as "O'Doul's" and I thought, "I don't want that crap." I am glad I took a second look at the label and realized my mistake because Odell has a fantastic line up of beers and is on my short list of breweries to visit the next time I'm in Colorado.

90 Shilling Ale is Odell's flagship brew and it's definitely a standard around which their entire selection can rally. The style is Scottish Ale, but it's a light Scottish that comes across as a bold American Amber.

A coppery-amber, the beer pours up with a half inch head of off-white foam. Light to moderate lacing clings to the glass all the way to the bottom of the drink. This, of course, is erased when you pour your next glass. And you will. Trust me. I only got to this paragraph before popping the top off number two.

At first the aroma hit me as almost Belgian with a bit of yeast and spice and some grass thrown in to boot. However, after a bit it became more clear that these were more of an evergreen aroma. Spicy, floral (somewhat hop-like,) and lightly malty with a biscuit finish. My wife (who generally dislikes IPAs) was afraid the floral/evergreen aroma meant she was in for something she wouldn't like, was surprised when she took her first sip.

Despite that floral-ness that often accompanies an IPA, the flavor lacks that hop bite and is, instead, mildly sweet with caramel malt. There is a bit of citrus and pine - to go along with the evergreen aroma - that balance the malt and make this drink thoroughly sessionable due to it's medium body and effervescent carbonation.

Wow! What a way to begin the Twelve Beers. Hey ... you other eleven ... the bar has been set very high.

Stats
Brewer: Odell Brewing Company
Location: Fort Collins, Colorado
Website: http://www.odellbrewing.com/
Style: Scottish Ale
Alcohol Content: 5.30% ABV
Interesting Note: We've all heard of pairing beer (or wine) with food, but Odell takes the concept to a new level with Mood Pairing (http://www.odellbrewing.com/mood-pairing/ .) After a nine question survey (from What Time Is It to Whose Spirit Are You Currently Channeling to What's the Weather Doin') Odell will kindly tell you what kind of beer you're in the mood to drink. It turns out that I'm always in the mood for a beer.

Sixpoint Brewery - Sweet Action

For the Seventh Beer of Christmas, we take on another brew that puts a new twist on an old classic.

Sixpoint Brewery
Sweet Action

The cream ale (which has no cream or dairy in it ... the lactose intolerant can now rejoice) is a lagered ale. Yes, it's fermented as an ale (usually quick and at warmer temperatures) but it undergoes a long period of lagering (colder fermentation and aging.) Some cream ales even add a little lager yeast to give the transition greater effect. This results in a brew that has the sweeter, fruiter taste of an ale but with a cleaner, smoother flavor of an ale. Most cream ales are very light in color (think pale gold) and low on the bitterness scale. This is where Sixpoint makes their mark. The color is closer to an amber and the bitterness is nearly double what is normal for the style.

The slightly cloudy drink pours out a bright, new-penny copper color and with a thin cap of large, white bubbles. The lacing is minimal and the head quickly evaporates to a random scattering of small bubbles.

A sharp floral hop scent flows freely from the glass. There's a bit of sweetness underneath the hops. It's not quite IPA-like, but if you dislike IPAs, the aroma alone might make this one might be too close for your comfort.

Then, of course, there's the hop-forward taste that might send the IPA haters and even just dislikers running. The IBUs (International Bittering Units) for this beer come in at 34. While not quite up to the 60 of an traditional IPA, the hops definitely stand out in this light to medium bodied beer. If you like IPAs or even tolerate them, this is mild but a highly enjoyable drink with a clean finish. It starts out crisp with sharp carbonation but finishes quite smoothly.

The Beer Guru at my local store (and I dub him thus with all respect because this guy KNOWS beer) said this is a fantastic drink. He was not wrong. I have enjoyed every beer so far this year and am not sure I could call this my favorite. But it's damn close. Open one of these tonight and celebrate the New Year with great beer!

Stats
Brewer: Sixpoint Brewery
Location: Brooklyn, New York
Website: http://www.sixpoint.com
Style: Cream Ale
Alcohol Content: 5.20% ABV
Interesting Note: While this whole Christmas is dedicated to the can, let's take another look at Sixpoint's slim can. The 12 ounce offering comes in a can nearly as tall as the two 16 ouncers we've already seen this year (Scruffy's Smoked Alt and Old Chub NITRO.) That means it's in a slim can similar to those that Red Bull comes in. One of the reasons for this is that their six packs take up less horizontal shelf space in New York where shelf space is far more limited than in places like Lubbock. Of course, it also doesn't hurt that the beer stands apart from it's different look.

Speaking of looking, turn the can around and find the bar code. I thought this was very cool ... the Statue of Liberty and some skyscrapers. The image below is from Sixpoint's website because the photos of my can didn't come out very well.

Cedar Creek Brewery - Scruffy's Smoked Alt

For the Second Beer of Christmas, we went old school. Or, rather, alten Schule.

Cedar Creek Brewery
Scruffy's Smoked Alt

At only two years of age, Cedar Creek Brewery creates session-able beers with complex flavors. Scruffy's Smoked Alt is my favorite from their line up.

Golden-amber, the 16 ounce can makes for a full glass, especially with the head of large bubbles that form on top and quickly give way to a thin cap of small bubbles. The cap clears away quickly, though, and leaves little to no lacing on the glass and only the slightest ring of bubbles around the edge.

A faint campfire smell, like when you burn a light wood, wafts from the glass. It's pleasant and accompanies subtle floral hops and the sweetness of apples.

Some smoke beers - Rauchbiers, if you're German - are overpowering. But, true to Cedar Creek's mission of creating session-able drinks, the smoke is in the background and adds to the flavor rather than ruling it. Semi-sweet malt, pears, and fresh yeast make up most of the flavor of this medium body beer.

Even though this is definitely a session beer, the smoke flavor does build. Similar, I suppose, to how some spicy foods build until your mouth is on fire. It's not that bad, but after a couple, you'll probably want some water before you open a third. And you will want a third.

Stats
Brewer: Cedar Creek Brewery
Location: Kemp, Texas
Website: http://www.cedarcreekbrewery.com
Style: Smoked Beer
Alcohol Content: 5.10% ABV
Interesting Note: Located an hour southeast of downtown Dallas, Cedar Creek Brewery welcomes two and four legged visitors. They are dedicated to the proper care and treatment of animals and support local animal shelters. The really cool thing is that we can help them in their mission while enjoying their tasty beers.