The Seventh Beer of Christmas 2019 - The Oak Balthazar

Strong, sweet, and oaky. It's beer's version of delicious French toast.

Summary

• Appearance: Medium to dark brown like a chestnut-stained piece of furniture.
• Aroma: Sugar and spice and everything nice. It smells a little bit like French toast.
• Taste: Sweet and boozy with a strong oak aftertaste. There's also a bit of chia tea flavor that builds as you drink.
• Feel: Thanks to the sharp carbonation, the body is a little lighter than you would expect given the rich flavor.

Stats

• Brewer: Picobrouwerij Alvinne
• Location:  Zwevegem, Belgium
• Website: https://www.alvinne.com/
• Style: Belgian Strong Dark Ale
• Alcohol Content: 9.0%

The Third Beer of Christmas 2019 - Taj Mahal Premium Lager

Brewed by the same brewer as Kingfisher, this beats the heck out of Kingfisher, Budweiser, and Coors.

Summary

• Appearance: Bright golden yellow and crystal clear. Non-stop stream of bubbles throughout the drink.
• Aroma: Biscuit and sweet corn
• Taste: Very low taste profile but a touch sweet and grasssy. A bit of Ritz cracker.
• Feel: Crisp and light

Stats

• Brewer: United Breweries Group
• Location: Bangalore, India
• Website: http://unitedbreweries.com/
• Style: American Lager
• Alcohol Content: 4.5%

The Second Beer of Christmas 2019 - Baby Jasmine Tea Lager

It's like a glass of my grandmother's sweet tea. But at 5.1% ABV, it will sneak up on you. Drink this one AFTER you mow the yard. Not before or during. 😀

Summary

• Appearance: The color and haziness of an Arnold Palmer if it was made with fresh-squeezed lemons.
• Aroma: Honey, jasmine, and Super Sugar Puffs (do they still make those?)
• Taste: Tea sweetened with honey. A little floral. Light bittering on the end.
• Feel: Smooth and thirst-quenching. Slick on the teeth.

Stats

• Brewer: Master Gao Brewing Company
• Location: Nanjing, China
• Website: http://mastergaobeer.com/
• Style: American Lager
• Alcohol Content: 5.1%

Lakewood Brewing - Sin Mint Temptress

The Sixth Beer of Christmas 2017 is Sin Mint Temptress from Lakewood Brewing in Garland, Texas.

Summary
If it looks like a cookie, smells like a cookie, and tastes like a cookie, it's got to be a pretty tasty beer!

• Appearance: Nearly opaque black. Beige head of fine bubbles.
• Aroma: Smells like a Thin Mint along with some alcohol esters and toasted grains.
• Taste: Up front, sweet dark chocolate and that 9% alcohol. Finishes with a strong Thin Mint flavor.
• Feel: Medium to heavy body. Not ask silky smooth as their regular Temptress. I think the mint flavor breaks the silkiness.

Stats

• Brewer: Lakewood Brewing
• Location: Garland, Texas
• Website: http://lakewoodbrewing.com/
• Style: Imperial Milk Stout
• Alcohol Content: 9.1% ABV

Hops & Grain Brewing - Alt-Eration

The Fourth Beer of Christmas 2017 is Alt-Eration from Hops & Grain Brewing in Austin, Texas.

Summary
Sweeter than what I normally think of as an alt, this is still a very tasty beer.

• Appearance: Medium brown with reddish tones, thick & chunky foam (extra-foamy!)
• Aroma: Lots of brown sugar and some biscuit
• Taste: Sweeter than most alts I've tried, but very tasty. Graham cracker, roasted walnuts, toffee, and molasses
• Feel: Dry and not overly filling. Leaves you ready for another.

Stats

• Brewer: Hops & Grain Brewing
• Location: Austin, Texas
• Website: http://www.hopsandgrain.com
• Style: Altbier
• Alcohol Content: 5.0% ABV

Saint Arnold - Ale Wagger

The Seventh Beer of Christmas for 2016 is Saint Arnold Ale Wagger:

Summary
An American Brown Ale with a sweet, almost fruitcake aroma with a taste that brings the fruit and sweet malt back to the front. A good brew for a good cause. A portion of the proceeds of Ale Wagger sales goes to animal rescue charities.

Stats
Brewer: Saint Arnold Brewing
Location: Houston, Texas
Website: http://www.SaintArnold.com
Style: American Brown Ale
Alcohol Content: 5.30% ABV

Kona Brewing Co. - Big Wave Golden Ale

For the Twelfth Beer of Christmas, I dreamed of warm, sunshiny days far away from the snow in my yard.

Kona Brewing
Big Wave

This year my snow shovel learned its true purpose. It's a week after the snowfall and there's still snow everywhere. This in a city that's usually clear of snow in a day or two. What better way to get my mind off the snow than to drink a cold beer from a warm locale?

Golden certainly describes this one as it creates a glass of transparent gold with a head of solid white foam. Moderate lacing lines the glass as the head fritters away to almost nothing after just a few drinks.

The aroma is lightly sweet with a strong peach component. Other scents that come to mind are lime and toast on the lowest setting of my toaster.

With a light to medium body, Big Wave starts out lightly sweet and finishes with a distinct wash of lime. Have you ever had a sour lime at Sonic? That's lime and carbonated water. It's kind of like that. It leaves your mouth clean and ready for the next drink. At 4.4% ABV, this is a dangerous combination. You could accidentally drink 6 or 8 after mowing the yard on a hot Saturday afternoon. But hey, you earned those 6 or 8, right? Of course you did. Enjoy!

Light, clean, and refreshing. This is another that any beer drinker will enjoy.

Stats
Brewer: Kona Brewing Company
Location: Kailua Kona, Hawaii
Website: http://www.KonaBrewingCo.com/
Style: American Blonde Ale
Alcohol Content: 4.40% ABV
Interesting Note: I have two interesting notes for this. First, about the brewery, you may be thinking as I did, "Isn't it expensive to ship beer from Hawaii to the mainland?" Yes, yes it is. Consequently Kona joined the Craft Brew Alliance along with founders Redhook and Widmer Brothers to expand their brewing footprint and share other resources. So that Kona you're drinking, while designed in Hawaii, probably came from Portland.

Second, I was introduced by my friend Wyatt who had it while on one of his trips to Hawaii. Wyatt is also a homebrewer and liked it so much that he decided to try to brew his own. As many homebrewers are wont to do, he tinkered with the clone recipe until he came up with a bigger & bolder Big Wave. He named it Tsunami. While still clean, crisp and citrusy refreshing, it is medium bodied and clocks in around 7% ABV. Yes, also dangerous after mowing the lawn Or watching TV.

Wyatt brewing his Tsunami

Epic Brewing Co. - Brainless Raspberries

For the Seventh Beer of Christmas (New Year's Eve!,) I found a great replacement for that flute of champagne you're considering.

Epic Brewing
Brainless Raspberries

I have never been a fan of champagne. I know, some of you will think that's crazy but that's just me. On New Year's I will typically drink the obligatory flute of champagne, but I think tonight I'll simple fill that glass with another serving of Brainless Raspberries. It's a tart, sweet, and fruity bubblicious brew that would be at home in a pint glass or champagne flute.

The glass looked like a dark, fizzy glass of Cherry 7-Up as I pour out of the 12 ounce can. A loose cluster of large bubbles formed on the top of the beer, but quickly dissipated. In fact, it was gone by the time I finished taking my pictures. However, like champagne, it continued to bubble and fizz a bit as I drank to the bottom of the glass.

The predominant smell is, of course, raspberries. It reminds me a bit of a lightly sweetened compote: mostly tart but a bit of sweet. Yeast bread dough comes through, too.

Raspberries are the taste. It starts out sweet and finishes tart. There's also a big bubblegum flavor. It makes me think of Hubba Bubba from back when I was in high school and I chewed bubble gum all the time. The flavor rounds out with a bit of yeast, vanilla, and orange rind. I found it interesting that the flavor overrode and hid the high alcohol content. I barely noticed the 9.7% ABV.

The mouthfeel is interesting. This is when the champagne replacement hit me. After each drink, there was a refreshing wash of carbonation throughout my whole mouth leaving a lightly astringent sensation.

Fruit beers are a nice change of pace once in a while, but they'll never be my go-to beer. However, I could see myself going back to this one now and then to break up my typical porter/stout line-up.

Stats
Brewer: Epic Brewing Company
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
Website: http://www.EpicBrewing.com/
Style: Fruit / Vegetable Beer
Alcohol Content: 9.70% ABV
Interesting Note: Founders David Cole and Peter Erickson started business together in 1992 as an aquaculture company. When Utah's beer laws became more relaxed in 2008, the pair started a craft brewery.

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/

Sierra Nevada Brewing – Tumbler

For the Tenth Beer of Christmas, we (s)tumbled upon a seasonal classic.

I first came across Tumbler in a hotel bar at a conference a few months ago.  It was the perfect beer for a cold winter night in a mountain resort.

A beautiful, walnut furniture brown, the beer forms a thick head that leaves a chunk lacing on the glass and retains a light foamy cap down to the very last drop.   The aroma is sweet with hints of toasted grains and nuts.   A hoppy touch lingers in the background but is not as prominent as some other brown ales (especially English ones) that I’ve tried.

Despite the rich head of foam that grew in the pouring, the carbonation is very mild.  The beer doesn’t feel flat, but it lacks the effervescence that previous the beers this year have had.  This isn’t bad.  Not by any stretch of the term.  Just an observation.  Just a little variety … and variety is good.  Otherwise this blog might be the Twelve Bud Lights of Christmas.  “Tonight’s Bud Light is just like last night’s.  Although this can was dented when I dropped the 30-pack in the parking lot at Wal-Mart.”

The taste brings on bitter chocolates, a brown sugar-esque sweetness, and roasted malt.  As with the aroma, the hops are there, but are subdued.  The medium body balances all of the above with a dry finish.

Just the other day I was talking with Aubrey about how I never say “I’m ready for winter.”  In January I regularly say, “I’m ready for spring” or “I’m ready for summer.”  And when it’s 110 in August, I frequently mention that I’m ready for fall.

This is a great fall beer and I will likely start mentioning that I’m ready for fall in May or June because I know that fall brings out the Tumbler.  Grab some of these for a night around the fire place or sitting on the back porch under a blanket.

Stats
Brewer: Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
Location: Chico, CA
Website: http://www.SierraNevada.com
Style: American Brown Ale
Alcohol Content: 5.5% ABV
Interesting Note: Sierra Nevada’s Pale Ale is the second highest selling craft beer in the United States (Sam Adam’s Boston Lager being #1). The brewery is the 6th largest brewer in the U.S. and the 2nd largest craft brewer. And all this is accomplished while also being environmentally friendly. They were awarded “Green Business of the Year” in 2010 by the U.S. EPA for their practices in sustainability.

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.

Sierra Nevada – Porter

For the Fifth Beer of Christmas, we went back to the West Coast for a little California Dreamin’.

After the light to medium beers we’d have the last three nights, I decided it was time to come back in black (I know, I’m mixing my musical genres … just go with it) and the nearly opaque, deep brown/black color of this particular porter was a great selection.

Pouring the glass resulted in a rich aroma, like deep loamy soil mixed with caramel, coffee, and a hint of vanilla. Good head retention from the light tan foam that held up during the photo session and remained as a thin wisp through the entire glass … and foamed up again nicely for the second glass.

Now, I’m normally a “drink it from the bottle” guy (“longneck bottle, let go of my hand”), but I wanted to take pictures of them in the glass so you could see the color of each beer. One of the side benefits of this has been enjoying the rich aromas. The Sierra Nevada Porter has been the best smelling beer of the twelve (so far). As I tipped the glass for each drink, I took a big whiff just to revel in the scent. When you buy this beer (and you should), it deserves a glass.

The taste starts off just a little sweet and finishes with a bittersweet chocolate flavor. The dark, roasted malt comes through strong between the start and finish for a warm and friendly drink (despite the beer’s cool 38° F temperature when coming from my refrigerator). The lush, thick taste translates to a rather filling beer. I finished three and felt comfortably full … like Thanksgiving before I hit the desserts and move on to uncomfortable and sleepy.

Speaking of desserts, Aubrey thinks this beer would go great with cheesecake.

Stats
Brewer: Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
Location: Chico, CA
Website: http://www.SierraNevada.com
Style: Porter (American)
Alcohol Content: 5.6% ABV
Interesting Note: Apparently I’m not the only one who likes this beer:

• California Brewers Festival (2000) – First Place
• Colorado State Fair (1996) – First Place
• “…there can be little doubt that this is one of the best porters being brewed anywhere in the world today.” – Christopher Finch, A Connoisseur’s Guide to the World’s Best Beer