Beer & Cookie Pairings: Winter Warmer & Snickerdoodle

The First Beer of Christmas 2022 Beer: Holiday Ale Brewer: New Belgium Location: Fort Collins, CO Website: https://www.newbelgium.com/ Style: Winter Warmer ABV: 7.5% Cookies: Snickerdoodle & Chocolate Chip from United Supermarkets

Strawberry Rhubarb - Great Divide Brewing

The Fifth Beer of Christmas is Strawberry Rhubarb from Great Divide Brewing in Denver, Colorado.

I was skeptical about this one. Rhubarb, really? But Great Divide made me a believer.

Summary

• Appearance: Coppery color with fine, white foam
• Aroma: Sweet malt, yeast, strawberries and something else that I assume must be rhubarb
• Taste: Sweet, tart, strawberry, and something else that I assume must be rhubarb
• Feel: Medium body, sharp carbonation, dry finish 

Stats

• Brewer: Great Divide Brewing Company
• Location: Denver, Colorado
• Website: http://greatdivide.com/
• Fruit: Strawberry Rhubarb
• Style: Sour Ale
• Alcohol Content: 6.2%

Left Hand Brewing - Wake Up Dead Nitro

The Twelfth Beer of Christmas for 2016 is Left Hand Brewing's Wake Up Dead Nitro:

Summary
Cocoa, caramel, and licorice ... on nitro. A great combination.

Stats
Brewer: Left Hand Brewing
Location: Longmont, Colorado
Website: http://LeftHandBrewing.com/
Style: Russian Imperial Stout
Alcohol Content: 10.20% ABV

Oskar Blues - Death by Coconut

The Eleventh Beer of Christmas for 2016 is Oskar Blues Death by Coconut:

Summary
A suprisingly delicious combination of two of my favorite things: porters and Almond Joys.

Stats
Brewer: Oskar Blues
Location: Longmont, Colorado
Website: https://www.OskarBlues.com/
Style: Porter
Alcohol Content: 6.50% 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.

Upslope Brewing - Upslope Craft Lager

For the Twelfth Beer of Christmas, we ascend to new heights with a yellow can of lager from Colorado.

Upslope Brewing
Upslope Craft Lager

No, not a Coors. A different yellow can. A better one.

Bright, pale gold beer flows into the glass under a head a pure white foam. Almost no lacing clings to the glass, which is not surprising as the head virtually disappeared before the glass was half gone. It looks and acts much like any other mass market American lager, but the pleasant surprise is in the aroma and the taste.

A sharp, fresh lemon aroma is the first thing to hit the nose. Under that lies a bit of biscuit and some fresh cut grass. It's also rather mild. I have to get my nose right into the glass to catch the scent, though once there it's plentiful.

The taste is a combination of grassy sweetness mixed with citrus and some raw dough. It finishes clean and crisp with just a touch of yeast in the aftertaste. Being lightly bodied, this beer goes down very easily and is extremely refreshing.

If your friends still drink Coors or Bud, press one of these into their hands. They might be pleasantly surprised.

Stats
Brewer: Upslope Brewing Company
Location: Boulder, Colorado
Website: http://www.upslopebrewing.com
Style: American Pale Lager
Alcohol Content: 4.80% ABV
Interesting Note: Upslope began when a Colorado homebrewer met an Argentinian brewery owner and then the Argentinian fell in love with a Colorado girl. What did the Argentinian do? What else, he moved to Colorado. In 2008, Upslope's first beer, a pale ale, was released to the public. It's the classic tale of boy meets boy who meets girl.

Oskar Blues Grill & Brewery - Old Chub NITRO

For the Sixth Beer of Christmas we ran into an old friend with a whole new groove.

Oskar Blues Grill & Brewery
Old Chub NITRO

As noted back during Christmas 2011, Oskar Blue's Old Chub was the first craft beer I ever drank that came in a can. There's been plenty since, including most of the Oskar Blues family, but Old Chub will always have a special "first place" in my heart. Now this first comes with a new twist ... nitrogen.

Like all nitrogenated beers, the can opened with a crisp release of pressurized air. I really enjoy watching the foam on a nitro beer. The thick creamy head sits on top like foam on a cappuccino with thousands of tiny bubbles rising in sheets. The head settled to an 1/8" cap and never went away. After each and every drink, all the way to the bottom, it blanketed the side of the glass with a flowing cascade of lacing.

Chocolate and roasted grain form most of the aroma. There's a bit of sweetness underneath as well as a touch of alcohol. However, I only got the alcohol scent after enjoying several long sniffs from the glass.

The mouth feel is extremely smooth and creamy, almost like a coke float after most of the ice cream has melted and the carbonation has left the coke. There is a lot of sweet caramel in the taste along with some semi-sweet chocolate and bread in the beginning and dark bitter chocolates at the finish.

I have one can left from the four-pack I purchased. I'm going to save it until I can get back to Spec's and buy some of the original Old Chub. I'd like to try them side-by-side and see how they compare.

Stats
Brewer: Oskar Blues Grill & Brew
Location: Lyons, Colorado
Website: http://www.oskarblues.com
Style: Scotch Ale / Wee Heavy
Alcohol Content: 8.00% ABV
Interesting Note: Despite what I've heard said a few times, nitro beers are not "nitro" due to nitrous oxide - what your dentist uses on your and what rockets & race cars use for that extra oomph. Good thing, too, as Vin Diesel will be needing all the NOS he can get for Fast & Furious 8 (you know it's coming sooner or later.) The nitro in nitro beers is pure nitrogen, but it's a mixture of both nitrogen and traditional carbon dioxide that creates the bubbles. The mixture varies, but it tends to be around 30% nitrogen and 70% carbon dioxide.

Avery Brewing Company - White Rascal

For the First Beer of Christmas, someone devilishly naughty made it onto Santa's nice list.

Avery Brewing
White Rascal

On their third visit to the Twelve Beers in five years, Avery Brewing's Belgian style white ale is a change of pace from 2013's Old Jubilation, and English Olde Ale, and 2011's Hog Heaven, a barley wine with IPA tendencies.

Pouring fills the glass with a hazy, straw colored beer with a thin cap of foam. There's very little lacing and the head dissipated quickly, leaving small swirls of bubbles on top and around the edge where the beer meets the glass.

The aroma is full of fresh yeast with lemon zest, coriander, and a little bit of freshly cracked peppercorn. The smell reminds me of fresh hay in the barn.

The carbonation is lightly crisp with a zip of small, tight bubbles across the tongue.  There's orange and lemon citrus flavors along with a soft zing of spice - pepper, coriander, and ginger - with a light yeasty finish.

The light body and crisp finish makes it extremely refreshing and sessionable. I'm kind of wishing it was summer right now so I could sit out in the back yard with this. But then I'd have to mow (or, rather, pay the neighbor kid to mow,) so I guess I'll just sit here in the house and drink it with the heater running. This will definitely be on my list for this coming summer.

Stats
Brewer: Avery Brewing Company
Location: Boulder, Colorado
Website: http://www.averybrewing.com
Style: Witbier
Alcohol Content: 5.60% ABV
Interesting Note: White Rascal is an unfiltered beer. So yes, that stuff in the bottom of the can is live yeast. Pour out most of the can, give it a good swirl, and then pour the rest into the glass. Brewer's yeast is a good source of B-complex vitamins but it does not contain B-12 (per the University of Maryland Medical Center: http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/supplement/brewers-yeast.) There appear to be all kinds of health benefits, but beware of the side effects. Drink too much and you might be a bit gassy. Not that it's ever happened to me. I'm just sayin' ...

Great Divide Brewing - Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout

For the Eleventh Beer of Christmas, a mountain legend came to life.

Great Divide Brewing
Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout

From deep in the Rocky Mountains, the mysterious Yeti has crept down from the heights and can now be found in fine package liquor stores, probably in a town near you. Great Divide has a number of fantastic beers, including last year's Hibernation Ale.

The beer pours up a beautiful dark chocolate brown with a thick head of milk chocolate brown foam. Thick lacing clung to the side of the glass throughout the drink and left a scattered web all the way to the bottom of the glass.

The aroma reminds me a bit of when I was in college an we'd make Irish coffee by pouring any available whiskey (not just Irish whiskey) into coffee. There are also chocolate and vanilla coming to the scent surface every now and then. And, as my wife mentioned, there's an understated flower garden aroma of hops. However, I think she thought it was overstated.

The 70 IBUs (International Bittering Units) of hops come through fairly strongly in the taste. This is as high as an IPA (India Pale Ale) style would have, but the strong malt character makes the hops more subtle in taste than they would be in an IPA. Flavors of coffee, bitter chocolate, and an alcohol warming are also there. It has a smooth, creamy feel even with a light bite of the hops and highly roasted malt.

While the IBUs are a bit higher than I normally look for in an imperial stout, this is still a fantastic beer. Thick and rich, a single 22 oz bottle could easily last you through most of an evening of sitting and visiting with friends and family.

Stats
Brewer: Great Divide Brewing Company
Location: Denver, CO
Website: http://www.GreatDivide.com
Style: Imperial Stout
Alcohol Content: 9.5% ABV
Interesting Note: As many brewers do these days, Great Divide follows their own set of green practices. While there are a number of usual ones in the list (sending spent grain to local farmers for feed, shopping locally, reusing heated water for other purposes, etc), one that stood out in my mind was that all proceeds from their beer sample sales are donated to local non-profits. It comes to about $75,000 per year. That's pretty cool. You can read more about all of their practices at their website (link above).

Avery Brewing - Old Jubilation Ale

For the Tenth Beer of Christmas, we travel 26 miles to go from Arapahoe to Arapahoe.

Oddly enough, Great Divide Brewing, creator of last night's Hibernation Ale, is located on Arapahoe Street in Denver. Just 26 miles away, Avery Brewing, creator of tonight's Old Jubilation Ale, is on Arapahoe Avenue in Boulder.

The coppery chestnut brew forms a thick head of dense, tan bubbles. The lacing left behind on the glass as I drank was so think that it was more like icing than lacing. A moderate level of carbonation kept feeding the head so that a thin cap remained all the way to the bottom of the glass.

Hazelnuts, toffee, and rich malt dominate the aroma. Subtler tones of bread, vanilla, and alcohol slip in at random intervals.

Sweet malt and molasses comprise the basis of the taste palate. There's a very light touch of licorice that is almost masked out by a highly roasted malt bittering in the end. With the moderate carbonation, the beer comes off with a medium-full body and mouthfeel.  It's a very drinkable beer that would also be sessionable, however the high alcohol content might make that a little bit dangerous.

Aaron found it to be toasty and hoppy while Brandon remarked on the caramel flavor. Wyatt is back from his alien abduction but is still playing catchup on the beers.

Ratings

Aaron: 9
Brandon: 10
Wyatt: 8 (and he's back to reviewing now ...)
Tracy: 10

Stats
Brewer: Avery Brewing Company
Location: Boulder, CO
Website: http://www.AveryBrewing.com/
Style: English Olde Ale
Alcohol Content: 8.3% ABV
Interesting Note: As noted in my previous Avery review for Hog Heaven, Avery was started by a homebrewer turned pro.  Like Deschutes and Stone, Avery has a number of their recipes posted on their website for homebrewers. Among them is the Old Jubilation Ale recipe.  I may have to give this one a try myself.  http://averybrewing.com/brewery/recipes-for-homebrewers/

Great Divide Brewing Co. - Hibernation Ale

For the Ninth Beer of Christmas, we head to Denver for a taste of the Great Divide.

Great Divide (the brewerly, not the continental division of watersheds) brews a number of beers.  The one that always stands out in my mind is the large brown & beige bottle of Yeti that has even made its way into my local grocery stores. However, The Great Divide (the area that separates the watersheds) itself does have a great number of beers and breweries. But that's a subject for a different post.

Their seasonal offering, Hibernation Ale, creates a beautiful mahogany glass of beer with a thick head of light beige foam that leaves a trail of heavy lacing on the glass.

Toasted biscuit and mildly rough alcohol esters dominate the scent. There's a bit of hops, dark fruit (dates, figs, etc), and sweet malt, too. With the 8.7% ABV, I believed the alcohol would come through much stronger. It's there, but surprisingly mild. As I pulled the glass away after each drink, there was an additional surprise of a toast scent but without the biscuit.

My first thought when drinking this was "thick." It has a full body and a big, bold taste. The sweet malt in the aroma comes through double in the taste. But it's offset by a a combination of the alcohol and a strong dark chocolate flavor. I particularly enjoyed the complexity of the drink. Sweet in the beginning of the drink, changing to bittersweet mid-drink, and warming with alcohol in the aftertaste.

Despite the thick, full body and the thick head of foam, the carbonation was low through most of the drink.

Big & bold. Complex & warm (even at the 45°F I had it chilled to ... side note, the recommended serving temperature is in the mid 50s).

Aaron described the taste as malty with a hint of dark chocolate. Brandon went with malty and nutty. Both agreed that this is a very good beer (see their ratings on a scale of 1 to 12 below). Wyatt said that the only reason he didn't give it a 12 is because he couldn't drink lots of it at once.

Ratings

Aaron: 11
Brandon: 11
Wyatt: 11
Tracy: 10

Stats
Brewer: Great Divide Brewing Company
Location: Denver, CO
Website: http://www.GreatDivide.com
Style: English Olde Ale
Alcohol Content: 8.7% ABV
Interesting Note: A 17 year veteran of Great Divide's line up, this fantastic beer has deservedly won a gold medal and three silver medals.  In addition, it comes in a whiskey barrel aged format that runs 12.4% alcohol.  I haven't seen one of these locally, but if I find one I will definitely grab it (and a couple of spares).

Oskar Blues Grill & Brewery – Old Chub

Apparently we got a little excited about New Year’s Day and got our beers out of order.  Here’s #8 in place of last night’s #9.

For the Eighth Beer of Christmas, we tried something strange.  A canned craft beer.

I was about to pass by this when Aubrey’s friend at World Market suggested it.  I was skeptical.  Every quality beer I’ve had has come from a keg or bottle.  Cans are for Coors, Budweiser, and other mass produced beers.  But Oskar Blues’ Old Chub puts those to shame and plants a new flag for quality canned beers.  (See the interesting note below for more canned goodness info.

Old Chub fills a glass with a deep brown liquid which forms a medium-thick, cream colored head.  It holds for a long time but eventually disappears complete.  But the aroma … wow.   It wafts several feet out of the glass with chocolate, malt, and hints of smokey wood.  As I poured out the can, I was still doubtful that the beer would be good.  But this beer called out to be consumed.  I had to hold myself at bay while taking the photos (I’m not a great photographer … each night it takes me 3 or 4 shots to get one I like).

This Scotch Ale fills out a medium body with a creamy, smooth feel.  The taste brings the previously mentioned chocolate (maybe a semi-sweet, not milk chocolate) and malt to life.  A light coffee taste with a touch of spice compliments the overall character of the beer.  At 8% ABV, this one sneaks up on you, too.  But it’s very filling so you won’t get too many in you before start feeling like it’s an hour after lunch on Thanksgiving Day.

This was a great beer.  Please, do not drink this out of the can. Pour it into a glass so you can get full effect.

As a side note, I love that they included references to “So I Married an Axe Murderer” on the can.

Stats
Brewer: Oskar Blues Grill & Brewery
Location: Lyons, CO
Website: http://www.OskarBlues.com
Style: Scotch Ale
Alcohol Content: 8.0% ABV
Interesting Note: Craft beer in a can? I know. Kind of bizarre. But Oskar Blues launched their “Canned Beer Apocalypse” in 2002 by starting with a hand canning their brews with a machine that sealed one can at a time. To me, beer in a can is synonymous with Coors/Budweiser (which I drank plenty of before learning better). But this puts a new (and tasty) spin on this bottle drinker’s view. Oskar Blues, I salute you! Can On!

Breckenridge Brewery – Agave Wheat

For the Ninth Beer of Christmas, we combined beer with another of my favorite ingredients: agave (aka … the source of Sammy Hagar’s Cabo Wabo Tequila).

Before we get started, let’s disclose a little fact.  The agave in this is (agave salmiana) not quite the same as the agave that is used in tequila (agave tequilana or agave azul).  But let’s not worry too much about that …

We’ve already had one wheat beer (see Style below) on the list this Christmas, Napa Smith’s Wheat Beer.  The nice thing about wheat (IMHO) is that it’s a nice pallet to color upon.  Some of my homebrew friends have made wheats with peach, raspberry, and even jalapenos.  It makes for a nice backdrop for an additional flavoring.

The difference between this wheat and Napa Smith’s is that Napa went with a straight forward what while Breckenridge experimented a little.  And their experimentation paid off.

The beer pours out in an attractive hazy golden.  The head builds up to a medium height and rapidly dissipates.  But it sheds an enticing floral smell that’s laced with lemon and what I can only describe as a “backyard sweetness.”  I’m going to call it honeysuckle.  When I was young, my mom had two giant honeysuckle plants in her backyard.  At the height of summer, the yard smelled so good.  That’s what this beer brings to the table.

Now, the taste is less exciting than the smell, but it’s still very good.  The wheat base comes through along with a light fruit zest that seems to be from a combination of melon and lemon.  And, of course, there’s an extra layer of sweet from the agave. Hops plays little to no part in this brew’s palate.

Definitely a summer backyard BBQ beer.  This would go great with hot wings on the grill, basketball on the driveway, and the smell of freshly cut grass wafting through the air.

Stats
Brewer: Breckenridge Brewery
Location: Denver, CO
Website: http://www.BreckenridgeBrewery.com
Style: Wheat Beer
Alcohol Content: 4.2% ABV
Interesting Note: Chalk up another one for the home brewers. In 1980, Breckenridge founder Richard Squire just wanted to ski and drink great beer. Skiing was easy in Breckenridge, but great beer was in short supply so he began home brewing his own. Unfortunately (not really), his beers were so good that he was soon spending more time brewing than skiing.

New Belgium Brewing – Frambozen Raspberry Brown Ale

For the Seventh Beer of Christmas, we got a sweet treat.

New Belgium is one of my favorite breweries. Any time I see a new beer from New Belgium (or Shiner or Saint Arnold), I put it into my shopping basket. I was excited to find this one prominently displayed at World Market. It was the first beer we grabbed.

This brown ale creates a beautiful brown glass with just a hit of red. Sort of like the tinge of red that a cherry coke has. The head foams up to a relatively thin cap, but once it thins out, it remains as a thin cap atop the beer. The mild, pleasant bouquet includes raspberries, a bit of a floral essence, and a touch of vanilla. There’s a sweetness to smell that comes to life rather strongly in the first taste.

The sweet taste slams you pretty hard at first. Given that beers lean towards the bitter, more than just a malty sweetness tends to stick out and this one is well beyond just malty sweet. There’s a chocolaty taste, too. It’s a little bit like a raspberry filled Valentine’s Day chocolate.

The medium body holds the carbonation but also allows the sweetness to hang around and each drink finishes like an over syruped Coca-Cola.

Good? Yes. A favorite beer? No. This was nice to try, but I’ll probably only buy this again if I’m planning to share it with friends at a beer tasting (which usually happens during homebrew days).

Stats
Brewer: New Belgium Brewing
Location: Fort Collins, CO
Website: http://www.NewBelgium.com
Style: Frambozenbier
Alcohol Content: 6.5% ABV
Interesting Note: Last year I mentioned a number of interesting tidbits about New Belgium when I reviewed their Abbey beer. To add to that, New Belgium is an environmentally friendly brewer.  Their website runs on wind power.  And every summer they host a Bike-In Cinema and donate the proceeds to a local non-profit.

Avery Brewing – Hog Heaven

For the Third Beer of Christmas, we tried a Barley Wine (see Style below).

I’ve only had two other Barley Wines in my life and didn’t like either.  Although during my days of homebrewing I always wanted to try to make one.  This one came highly recommended from a clerk my daughter knows at World Market.

The Hog Heaven pours out as a dark, golden orange color with a high level of fine carbonation.  The head built quickly and the crispness of the carbonation stayed in the feel of the beer until I was well near the bottom of the glass.  Which, in all honesty, took a while.  And that’s because …

Whoa!  This beer is a handful.  Or mouthful, rather.  You might need to brace yourself for this one.
The lightly fruity citrus aroma is accompanied by a strong whiff of alcohol.  Almost like if someone a couple of feet from you opened up a bottle of Cabo Wabo Anejo Tequila and you caught a light whiff of it.  These two smells can be compared to an old west gunslinger showing you his two six-guns when you meet in the street for a gun fight.  When you taste the beer, he’s just drawn on you and fired.

The intense hop taste followed by an alcohol warming in the throat is nearly overwhelming at first.  But over 5 or 6 drinks, it became more comfortable.  Possibly because it killed my taste buds.
It reminded me of an extra strong Double IPA.  Aubrey was not a fan of this one.  But, she’s not a fan of regular IPAs, much less doubles.

Give it a try, but you might want to be prepared to share the big 22 oz. bottle.  I have a second one in my refrigerator.  Wyatt … I’m bringing this to your house to share on your next Brew Day.

Stats
Brewer: Avery Brewing Company
Location: Boulder, CO
Website: http://www.AveryBrewing.com
Style: Barley Wine
Alcohol Content: 9.2% ABV
Interesting Note: Founder Adam Avery started Avery Brewing Company in 1993 after 7 years of home brewing experience.  To my home brewing friends out there … yes, you can turn your hobby into a career!  Please consider this to be my application to be your official alpha-taster!

New Belgium Brewing – Abbey

For the Sixth Beer of Christmas, we stopped in Colorado for a Belgian Dubbel (okay … obviously I’m not going out of town, this was another trip to World Market … I should get them to sponsor the Twelve Beers of Christmas).

New Belgium Brewing is the creator of one of my favorite beers, 1554, a Belgium Dark Ale. Even though Abbey has been around for a while, I hadn’t noticed the bottles on the shelf until we started shopping for our Twelve Beers.  I was excited to see this addition to the New Belgium lineup since Fat Tire, Skinny Dip, 2° Below, and especially 1554 are in regular rotation at my house.

The beer began with a strongly spiced smell, cloves, maybe coriander, and a suggestion of pepper, with a light touch of alcohol peaking through.  Even though it’s not a Christmas beer, per se, it had an aroma that whispered “Christmas” into my nose.  Hmm … that’s an odd statement.  Anyway, it’s a pleasant and inviting scent.

The taste carries a touch of the spice that came through in the smell along with a large dose of yeast, almost like rising bread dough.  With a medium body and a light hint of carbonation, the Abbey finishes with a warming caress of alcohol.  Yes, that 7% ABV actually does come through in the taste.

Overall, I enjoyed New Belgium’s Abbey, but I doubt I buy this one very often.  For me, 1554 is just too good to pass up when I mosey past the New Belgium section of the store.

Stats
Brewer: New Belgium Brewing
Location: Fort Collins, CO
Website: http://www.NewBelgium.com
Style: Dubbel
Alcohol Content: 7.0% ABV
Interesting Note: If you get a chance, read through their employee perks (http://www.newbelgium.com/Files/nbb_employee_perks.pdf).  I’ve heard people say that New Belgium is one of those few companies with a culture that combines hard work with a love of the job and a lot of fun.  Their “perks” highlight this with things like:

• A “Fat Tire” bicycle on your one year anniversary
• An on site Cyclocross course
• A 12-pack of Employee beer per week
• And … yes, it’s awesome … one “shift beer” after you clock out!

Oh … and I hear the brewery tour is really cool.  I haven’t been, but if you get close to Ft. Collins, stop by for the tour and let me know how it is.