The Fifth Beer of Christmas - Eisbock

Blah blah blah say something.

Summary

• Appearance: Clear, medium-dark brown with ruby highlights
• Aroma: Full of bread dough, dark cherries, dates, molasses, walnut, and licorice
• Taste: Medium body with a chewy feel, not boozy despite the alcohol content
• Feel: Light bittering on the end, smooth

Stats

• Brewer: Kulmbacher Brauerei
• Location: Kulmbach, Germany
• Website: https://www.kulmbacher.de/
• Style: Eisbock
• Alcohol Content: 9.2%

The Fourth Beer of Christmas 2019 - Russian Imperial Stout

From Russia with love, Baltika Breweries' Russian Imperial Stout sets a high bar for other Russian imperial stouts to follow. This is simply amazing.

Summary

• Appearance: Opaque black/brown with a nice head of tan bubbles that leave a lot of lacing
• Aroma: Unsweetened chocolate, dark fruit, charred coffee
• Taste: Dark roasted toffee, bittersweet chocolate, dark coffee, star anise, dates, cabernet sauvignon
• Feel: A touch short of really heavy, nice carbonation, dry finish, robust & complex

Stats

• Brewer: Baltika Breweries
• Location: St. Petersburg, Russian Federation
• Website: https://corporate.baltika.ru/
• Style: Russian Imperial Stout
• Alcohol Content: 10.0%

Rahr & Sons - Winter Warmer

The Seventh Beer of Christmas 2017 is Winter Warmer from Rahr & Sons Brewing in Fort Worth, Texas.

Summary
Spiced just right with an extra dash of alcohol, perfect for warming you up on the inside.

• Appearance: Dark brown, burgundy around the edges.
• Aroma: Malty sweet, cinnamon, cherry pie
• Taste: Malty sweet, chocolate and toasted grain, cinnamon, raisins, crasins, & prunes, and warm gingersnap cookies. Finishes with spice and a warming boozy kick.
• Feel: Medium body, dry finish.

Stats

• Brewer: Rahr & Sons Brewing
• Location: Fort Worth, Texas
• Website: https://rahrbrewing.com/
• Style: Winter Warmer
• Alcohol Content: 8.0% ABV

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

Wasatch Brewery - The Devastator

The Tenth Beer of Christmas for 2016 is Wasatch Brewery's The Devastator:

Summary
Dangerously delicious, the Devastator is smooth brew that comes in at 8% ABV. Be careful!

Stats
Brewer: Wasatch Brewery
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
Website: http://www.WasatchBeers.com/
Style: Doppelbock
Alcohol Content: 8.00% ABV

Brouwerij Westmalle - Westmalle Dubbel

The Eighth Beer of Christmas for 2016 is Westmalle Dubbel:

Summary
The original dubbel, Westmalle set a bar for excellence in brewing and this is it. This fantastically complex beer is a world class drink that you won't want to share.

Stats
Brewer: Brouwerij Westmalle
Location: Malle, Belgium
Website: http://www.TrappistWestmalle.be/
Style: Dubbel
Alcohol Content: 7.00% ABV

Victory Brewing Co. - Golden Monkey

For the Third Beer of Christmas, I had to be very careful because this beer is like Teddy Roosevelt, it speaks softly and carries a big stick.

Victory Brewing
Golden Monkey

Well, it doesn't speak that softly. It's a flavorful and intensely drinkable beer. And because of that, the 9.5% ABV will sneak up on you and whack you in the back of the head with the aforementioned big stick.

This is a beautiful golden beer. A light haze keeps it from being completely clear, but it's still transparent enough to see through. Tiny bubbles continued to flow to the surface up until my very last drink. Originally, the head formed with large bubbles that quickly dissipated leaving only a small swirl of bubbles across the top. Even though there was no lacing, the small bubbles leaving the brew did cling to the glass at every sip.

Packed with yeasty goodness, the aroma is also lightly floral (not IPA floral) with a hint of caramel and lemon. Digging deep into the smell, there's also just a bit of banana mixed in with that sweet caramel.

Like most tripels, there's a clove-like spice at the forefront along with a sweetness that is much like a saison or farmhouse ale. Drinking at a normal pace, you'll miss the high alcohol esters. So, please, sip this and enjoy them because they are there. Also, if you sip it you'll realize that it is carrying a big stick!

Somewhere between medium and full bodied, the beer leaves a bit of a sweet aftertaste that doesn't quite clear despite the sharp, lingering carbonation.

I had to think about this one. It's not quite what I expect of a tripel. It misses the mark just a bit. However, it's still a wonderful drink. A bastard, if you will, that resembles it's father but also stands on its own. I would definitely drink this again. Scratch that, I will drink this again.


Stats
Brewer: Victory Brewing Company
Location: Downingtown, Pennsylvania
Website: http://www.VictoryBeer.com
Style: Tripel
Alcohol Content: 9.50% ABV
Interesting Note: A lot of brewers have blogs and I'm sure some (that I haven't run across) do this also, but Victory is the first I've seen that uses its blog to celebrate it's employees. As far back and June 2011, their blog contains "Meet Victory ..." posts which introduce you to every from the co-founders to the brewers to the human resources staff to the house band (the Dirty Firkins.) Sure, the blog contains other cool information, but I love that they celebrate their employees with these spotlight articles.

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.

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).

Brouwerij Duvel Moortgat NV - Duvel

For the Tenth Beer of Christmas, we drink the beer that introduced the tulip shaped glass to the beer drinking world.

Brouwerij Duvel Moortgat NV
Duvel

In the 1960s, the third generation of the Moorgat family (the family that started and still owns Brouwerij Duvel Moortgat NV) decided that their beer deserved to be served in a unique glass. The tulip shaped beer glass held 33 centiliters (just over 11 oz) and, therefore, a full bottle of Duvel.

The glass is a beautiful, pale golden yellow with a thick head of medium sized bubbles. The head retention is impressive and a thin cap remained even at the end of the glass. Nice clumps of lacing adorned the sides of the glass.

A malty sweetness with notes of pepper and yeast are the main components of the aroma. There's also a little hint of hard apple cider coming from the fruity esters of the ale yeast and from the rather high alcohol component.

Duvel has a crisp and lively carbonation. It's sharp on the tongue, almost like champagne. It's similar to the First Beer (Brouwerij Lindemans' Framboise), but it's a bit stronger. Sweet, fruity flavors (apples and white grapes) and touches of alcohol come through with the first of the drink. Hoppy bitterness follows in the aftertaste. Pepper and other mild spices also come through. Of course, this is typical of most Belgian beers.

Overall, Duvel is a good pale ale. Crisp, clean, and very sessionable. However, like the Obscura from two nights ago, there are other great pale ales that come in at much more affordable prices. But the Belgian PLUS pale ale PLUS strong alcohol content style may be hard to find without dropping a few dollars.

Stats
Brewer: Brouwerij Duvel Moortgat NV
Location: Breendonk-Puurs, Belgium
Website: http://www.duvel.com/
Style: Strong Pale Ale
Alcohol Content: 8.5% ABV
Interesting Note: Founded in 1871 by Jan-Leonard Moortgat, the brewery is still controlled by the Moortgat family. Over the years they've expanded their line of beers to include Maredsous (in conjunction with the monks of Maredsous Abbey) and they've purchased Brewery Ommegang, which produced the Third Beer of Christmas for 2013. In late 2013, they purchased another American brewer, Boulevard Brewing Company in Kansas City, Missouri.

Brouwerij Huyghe - Delirium Noël

For the Twelfth Beer of Christmas, we went back to where we started the year. But we must have had a few too many because we're seeing pink elephants.

At 358 years of age, Brouwerij Huyghe has a history of numerous names, owners, and beers.  But the current incarnation is certainly the most celebrated.

Deep mahogany with a light haze, the beer forms a nice head due to strong carbonation.  However, the head doesn't stick around and quickly slips away to a thin white cap.  The lacing is minimal and leaves a fine mesh that washes away with the tilting of the glass.

The strong aroma floats free of the glass and filled the space around me.  It's a very nice mix of sweet malt with heavy splashes of spice. Mostly black pepper and cinnamon.

The flavor matched the aroma: sweet with pepper and cinnamon.  There was a yeastiness to each drink, too.  Given the very high alcohol content, 10%, the esters were much lighter than I would have believed.  It came through, of course, but more as a mildly warming aftertaste than an overarching characteristic.  Be warned, though, the alcohol is definitely there.  By the bottom of the bottle, my ears and cheeks were a little flush.

Brandon commented on the yeast in both the smell and taste.  Aaron remarked on the warming alcohol finish.  And Wyatt said the finish was surprisingly tart.  He added that this was an "I'll just have one" kind of beer for him.

Ratings

Aaron: 9.5
Brandon: 9.5
Wyatt: 9.5
Tracy: 9

Stats
Brewer: Brouwerij Huyghe
Location: Melle, Belgium
Website: http://www.Delirium.be
Style: Belgian Strong Dark Ale
Alcohol Content: 10.0% ABV
Interesting Note: Nearly 21 years ago, in April of 1992, "Confrerie van de Roze Olifant" (Brotherhood of the Pink Elephant) was formed to promote the ancient brewing traditions of Melle and, especially, Brouwerij Huyghe's flagship beer, Delirium Tremens.  In addition, they do charitable work and wear snazzy outfits.  There are currently on 23 members, but I'm going to send in my application to be an absentee professor.

Full Sail Brewing - Wassail Winter Ale

For the Eleventh Beer of Christmas, we set sail for a brewery with 47 employee owners. We'll delve into that cool little footnote at the end of the review.

Full Sail is another relatively new to Lubbock brew that I've been looking forward to sampling.  I don't know the first thing about sailing, but I do know good beer and the 47 employee owners of Full Sail apparently do, too.

Reddish brown with a moderate head, the beer makes for a pretty glass.  The head quickly subsided to next to nothing.  Just a thin ring where the beer met the glass.

Piney hops come through in the aroma.  There are also notes of citrus, roasted chocolate malt, and a hint of oak-aged whiskey.  I can't find any information that suggests this brew was barrel aged.  It's probably just a combination of the roasted malts and high alcohol content.

A strong does of roasted coffee and malt forms the base flavor.  Warming alcohol and a bite of citrus hops round out the middle taste while bittersweet chocolates close each drink.  Full bodied with low carbonation, each drink is just shy of being called "chewy."

By the end of the first glass, I was feeling a bit full and a bit warm.  This isn't a sessionable beer.  But it would make for a great night in front of the fire place with two glasses of beer.

Aaron said this was another good, toasty one.  Brandon said it had coffee flavor and he thinks it's "awesome."

Ratings

Aaron: 10
Brandon: 10
Wyatt: 8
Tracy: 10

Stats
Brewer: Full Sail Brewing Company
Location: Hood River, OR
Website: http://www.FullSailBrewing.com
Style: Winter Warmer
Alcohol Content: 7.2% ABV
Interesting Note: In 1999, twelve years (and certainly more than twelve beers) after opening, Full Sail split up ownership of the brewery among their 47 employees. Reading their company mantra, I have to admit that I felt a little choked up. Give it a read: http://www.fullsailbrewing.com/mantra.cfm .

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).

Deschutes Brewery - Jubelale

For the Fifth Beer of Christmas, we visit the brewer of one of my all time favorite beers.

Last year I fell in love with Deschutes Brewery's Black Butte Porter. Since we picked the theme of holiday/winter beers for the Twelve Beers of Christmas this year, I was excited to see Jubelale sitting on the shelves.

The beer pours up a deep cherry brown.  Lisa (the soon to be Mrs.) and I went looking at hard wood flooring the other day to replace the carpet in my living room.  This is almost exactly the shade of the cherry flooring we saw.  A nice, light tan head develops on top from the pour.  As I drank it, thick lacing clung to the sides of the glass.

The aroma is earthy.  Like moist soil and long, uncut grass back from a river in Cimarron Canyon, New Mexico.  Yes, I know, that's kind of specific.  But that's what I got from it and I haven't been there in 20 years.  That's just the memory it pulled up.  There's also a low undertone of dark fruit and alcohol from the high ABV that comes with the Winter Warmer style.

Like the aroma, the strong alcohol content comes through in the taste, but subtler than last night's Christmas Ale.  It's definitely a warmer, but a complex malt character of bitter-sweet chocolate, medium roasted coffee, and dates masks the alcohol.  This medium to full bodied beer finishes clean and crisp and leaves you warm and satisfied.

Lisa ... can we go to Oregon for our honeymoon?

On the other hand, I don't think Wyatt cared much for this one.  What makes me think that?  He said, "I'm gonna need at least two beers before I enjoy this one."

Ratings

Aaron: 5.5 (also precise)
Brandon: 6
Wyatt: 5
Tracy: 7

Stats
Brewer: Deschutes Brewery
Location: Bend, OR
Website: http://www.DeschutesBrewery.com/
Style: Winter Warmer
Alcohol Content: 6.7% ABV
Interesting Note: In the about page, I mention being a former homebrewer.  Well, that was two years ago.  Over the summer I got back into it and am brewing all grain batches.  Given my absolute love of Black Butte Porter, I cannot tell you how excited I was to find that Deschutes has posted a Black Butte Porter clone recipe on their website.  Seriously, how freakin' cool is that?!  I'll be brewing that up soon and drinking some original BBP while doing so.

Breckenridge Brewery - Christmas Ale

For the Fourth Beer of Christmas, we make our first of three trips into the beer brewing powerhouse of Colorado.

Breckenridge is known for good beers (I reviewed their Agave Wheat last year and enjoyed it).  This is one of their four seasonal brews, along with Pandora's Bock (I like that name) in spring, SummerBright Ale in summer, and Autumn Ale in ... wait for it ... autumn.

The Christmas Ale pours up a very attractive medium-brown ale with a low to medium head of foam that subsides to nothing fairly quickly and leaves minimal lacing.

Nutmeg, dark fruits (not quite fruitcake), sweet malt, and alcohol undertones make up the aroma when close to the glass.  But a light spiced and sweet malt scent carries several feet from the glass.

This is a very sweet beer.  It's got a heavy malt presence that masks, though not completely, the higher-than-normal alcohol content.  It's definitely a "warmer," as the style would imply.  Traditional Christmas spices back up the sweet alcohol: cinnamon, nutmeg, a touch of cloves.  It finishes with a bitter sweet burnt sugar taste.  While the alcohol content is high, the beer has a medium body and would not be terribly filling. It's definitely a session-able drink.

This beer would go very well with a roaring fire in the fireplace.  The heat of the flames warming your outsides and a Breckenridge Christmas Ale both cooling and warming your insides.

Aaron described this one as hoppy while his brother Brandon came at it from a similar vantage with "flowery."  Wyatt felt spicy was the best description.

Ratings

Aaron: 8
Brandon: 9
Wyatt: 7.5 (he's very precise)
Tracy: 8

Stats
Brewer: Breckenridge Brewery
Location: Breckenridge, CO
Website: http://www.BreckBrew.com
Style: Winter Warmer
Alcohol Content: 7.4% ABV
Interesting Note: Breckenridge was started by Richard Squire, a homebrewing ski bum (they called him a ski bum, not me) who loved good beer and, coincidentally, could make it as well. If you'd like to be a regular at the Breckenridge Brew Pub (and who wouldn't?), pull up chair and get ready to shell out some big bucks for a house.  The cheapest house I could find at www.Breck4Sale.com was $1.1 million.  According to a 2009 report from www.BreckenridgeHomes.net, the average price for a single family house was just over $1 million.  I'll have to settle for having it shipped to my local beer store.

Bières de Chimay – Grande Réserve (Blue)

For the Twelfth Beer of Christmas, we celebrated in style.

Unlike some of the other beers, I’ve had this one before. Several times.  Chimay Grande Réserve has long been a celebratory beer around my house.  With every new job, I buy a bottle of Chimay. 

Accomplish something I’m proud of, I buy a bottle.  When Aubrey turned 21 and again when she graduated, I bought her a bottle.  And so, to celebrate the final night we bought another.

I won’t bother raving about how great this beer is.  Obviously it’s something special.   At least to me.  Instead, I’ll just tell you about it as I have the others.

It pours out a mahogany brown.  Translucent but not transparent.  The head forms rapidly and nearly overflowed the glass as I was getting ready to take the photo.  But it dissipates rapidly to a light frosting with low lacing.

Moderate alcohol esters follow cedar, dark fruit, and faint yeast scents.

The yeast and alcohol come through in the flavor along with roasted malt, raisins, and a smokey wood.  The carbonation is crisp and light.  A nice compliment to the silky smooth, medium body.

At nearly $13 a bottle (for 750 ml), this is probably not what you want for your staple beer (mine is Shiner Bock).  But I highly recommend that you find a reason to celebrate and grab a bottle of Chimay Grande Réserve. Maybe just celebrate that it’s Thursday!

Stats
Brewer: Bières de Chimay
Location: Belgium
Website: http://www.Chimay.com
Style: Strong Ale
Alcohol Content: 9.0% ABV
Interesting Note: Grande Réserve is a Trappist beer. These are brewed only by monks in Trappist monasteries. Of the 174 monasteries in the world, only 7 produce beer and are authorized to use the “Authentic Trappist Product” logo.

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!

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!

Brouwerij St. Bernardus – Abt 12

For the Eleventh Beer of Christmas, found a beer with an alcohol percentage that nearly matched.

We continued our trek east from England to Belgium (and plan to do so again tomorrow with a German brew). Probably the most famous brews in Belgium are the Trappist beers. While St. Bernardus is an abbey ale, it is not a Trappist beer. But it carries on the Trappist traditions of brewing even though it comes from a commercial brewer.

Although a beautiful medium/dark brown, the beer is translucent rather than transparent as most of the other medium-ish beers have been. Most commercial beers I’ve drank have tended towards transparent except for the hefeweizens and some other heavier wheats. The head was very thick and left a lot of lacing on the glass. The smell was rich with an apple and yeast smell that reminded me of home-brewed hard cider. Strong but not unpleasant.

The taste starts off sweet with a strong dose of cloves. Partially disguised in the flavor, the alcohol sneaks past the cloves for a brandy-like sharpness and a finish that is both warming (not surprising) and smooth (surprising).

Would I drink this again? You bet. And I would recommend it time and again. But if I’m going to buy a big 750ml bottle of strong, dark ale, I prefer the true Trappist Chimay Grande Reserve.

Stats
Brewer: Brouwerij St. Bernardus (Brewery St. Bernardus)
Location: Watou, Belgium
Website: http://www.SintBernardus.be
Style: Quadrupel
Alcohol Content: 10.5% ABV
Interesting Note: The beer now known as St. Bernardus used to be a Trappist beer, but the St. Sixtus monastery decided to turn over brewing to a commercial enterprise which brewed under a “Trappist license” until 1992 when the Trappist Monasteries agreed to impose qualifications that required true “Trappisentbiers” to be brewed within a Trappist monastery.