Southern Star Brewing - Blood Belt

The Tenth Beer of Christmas 2017 is Blood Belt from Southern Star Brewing in Conroe, Texas.

Summary
A delicious combination of blood oranges & their signature APA, Pine Belt. Great by itself or with a side order of Jamaican jerk chicken fries!

• Appearance:
• Aroma:
• Taste:
• Feel:

Stats

• Brewer: Souther Star Brewing
• Location: Conroe, Texas
• Website: http://southernstarbrewing.com
• Style: American Pale Ale
• Alcohol Content: 6.3% ABV

Revolver Brewing - Revolver Bock

The Ninth Beer of Christmas 2017 is Revolver Bock from Revolver Brewing in Granbury, Texas.

Summary

• Appearance: Coppery, antiqued bronze
• Aroma: Brown sugar, caramel, figs, pumpernickel
• Taste: Malt forward and sweet, toffee, caramel, figs, and plums. Very rich flavor.
• Feel: Light and crisp despite the rich flavor and high alcohol content.

Stats

• Brewer: Revolver Brewing
• Location: Granbury, Texas
• Website: https://revolverbrewing.com/
• Style: Bock
• Alcohol Content: 6.5% ABV

Lagunitas Brewing Co. - A Little Sumpin' Sumpin' Ale

For the Eleventh Beer of Christmas, I opened a big ol' beer.

Lagunitas Brewing Co.
A Little Sumpin' Sumpin' Ale

Lagunitas rolls out hit after hit. I've never tried this one before but it's definitely up to spec with the rest of the line up.

This one needs an over-sized glass. The medium gold beer quickly foams up a large, soft-white head that leaves outrageous lacing. Check out the picture at the bottom.  Here's why: wheat has higher protein levels which contribute to foam stability. That means better, longer-lasting head on the beer and it gives the beer a fuller feel.

It smells of orange juice, spices, and sweet malt. At first it made me think of wassail. Piney hops continue to enhance the Christmasy feel. There's enough of a hop punch to ward off non-IPA drinkers.

The taste clocks in a little closer to that of an American IPA except smoother and thicker. Floral and fruity hops give it an IPA punch in the mid- and after-taste. However, the edges are rounded off making this beer very sessionable. Light alcohol esters come out as the beer warms and become more obvious in the taste.

Carbonation streams out to the last drink keeping the body crisp and the head charged.

The style proclaims it as an American Pale Wheat Ale, but I'd call it more of an India Pale Wheat Ale. Just fuller and softer. It's a great drink.

Stats
Brewer: Lagunitas Brewing Co.
Location: Petaluma, California
Website: http://www.Lagunitas.com/
Style: American Pale Wheat Ale
Alcohol Content: 7.50% ABV
Interesting Note: Back in the early days of Lagunitas, the brewery used to throw parties every Thursday afternoon at 4:20pm. Yes, that 4:20. On Thursday, March 17, 2005 - St. Patrick's Day - the brewery got a surprise visit from the police. The small company survived that encounter and every spring they brew Undercover Investigation Shut-Down Ale to commemorate what they now call the St. Patrick's Day Massacre. Check out the video below for the whole story.

Lots of lacing on this Little Sumpin' Sumpin'

Flying Dog Brewery – Classic Pale Ale

The Fourth Beer of Christmas went to the dogs … Flying Dog Brewery.

Last night we drank an English Pale Ale. I was a little concerned that Pale Ales might not be my kind of brew. I know I’ve had a few over the years, but I don’t remember much about them. Maybe I drank them after a some shots of tequila. Hmm … the Twelve Tequilas of Christmas … maybe that’s next year’s project.

Anyway, back to beer. So I was a little concerned about this brew but I forged ahead anyway and poured my glass for the photo. It was a nice light brown (or deep gold, depending on your arrangement of cone cells). I had a second bottle ready to refresh the head on the beer as I took the pictures. The last two nights, the head quickly wasted away to nothing. The photo in this post was the 5th photo I took. And I took it after stopping to stare at the beer for a second, slightly amazed by the head retention.

Then it was time to tip the glass.

Just as quickly as her comment last night, tonight Aubrey said, “Soooo much better than the last one.” And I agreed.

The beer had a medium body and a fruity flavor that was more citrus than apple. Which is good news because I do like citrus. The dose of hops (Northern Brewer and Cascade) comes through strong including a bitter finish. I took several drinks and tried to get a handle on my feelings for the aftertaste.  Definitely bitter, and definitely strong.  But unlike last night’s un-Holy (Grail) aftertaste, I enjoyed tonight’s aftertaste and found myself pausing after every drink to savor it.

The best beer I’ve ever had? No. My favorite beer so far during this Twelve Beers of Christmas? Yes. I know we’re only four beers in and there are some strong contenders in the days ahead. But this one will grace my refrigerator again.

Stats
Brewer: Flying Dog Brewery
Location: Frederick, MD
Website: http://www.FlyingDogAles.com
Style: American Pale Ale
Alcohol Content: 5.5% ABV
Interesting Note: I laughed and laughed when I went to their website. There’s a link for “Free Shit.” And their 20th Anniversary beer is named “Raging Bitch.” When I have more time, I’ll go back and look through the site more thoroughly.