Beer style of the week; The 12 Beers of Christmas, (but Great any time)

11th Day of Christmas

For the past 3 weeks we have merrily ventured through the kingdoms of Christmas Ales and enchanted Winter Warmer wonderlands. For the next 2 days we bring you a sampling of diverse beers from around the world that are purely divine by nature. These are the splendid spirit-lifting brews to enjoy with family and friends as we celebrate this special time of year.

Some of these delightful beers are found in weeks past and in week’s future, others will be making a cameo appearance because of their special connection to the season. They come in all styles, varieties, and strengths. All are very good!

Day 1 – Sinebrychoff Porter

Day 2 – Geary’s Hampshire Special

Day 3 - Hooker Liberator

Day 4 – Trappiste Rochefort 10

Day 5 - Baden Baden – Red Ale (Double Red)

Day 6 - Samuel Smith’s Imperial Stout

Day 7 - Ayinger Celebrator Doppelbock

Day 8 – DueS (Brut Des Flandres

Day 9 - Schlafly Reserve Imperial Stout Bourbon Barrel 2008 Vintage

Day 10 - Traquair Jacobite

We continue zig- zagging (at a staggering pace) our way around the world, reviewing perhaps the very worse beer name in the business (especially at the Yule Time). With a name like Rigor Mortis, it must be good…right?

Day 11 – Rigor Mortis ABT – Brasserie Dieu Du Ciel – Montreal, Canada – 10.5% ABV

12 oz. brown bottle. Indecipherable freshness date code. Released once a year in January.

Served in an Allagash glass.

This heavy Quad pours a muddy Coca Cola color with a thin, fast-fading beige head.

Fruity, yeast esters are quite potent. Smells of horse barn, cut hay, cloves, and citrus blend very well together. Nice warming gin-like perfume fuminess rises.

As in the aromas, there are big, dominant flavors. Tart white grapefruit, strong gin, limes and a slightly astringent medicinal taste slowly allow the sweet maltiness to inch forward. A taste of rum-soaked prunes and lemon zest peek through, and lasts throughout. A little bit of wood and tobacco is noticed.

The mouthfeel is rich, slick and deeply satisfying.

Two of these powerful brews in one sitting are plenty.

Rich creamy cheese and strongly flavored salamis go well with this big, flavorful brew.

One must imagine more than a few individuals might be turned off by the name and the morbid picture on the label, but trust me; the worms would be mighty happy chowing on a corpse soaked in this stuff.

Salut and Cheers!....and eeeewwww!

Quote: “It’s extraordinary how friendly you can make a lot of people on a couple bottles of beer” – Baron Frankenstein - ‘Frankenstein’ Universal Pictures - 1931

Beer style of the week; The 12 Beers of Christmas, (but Great any time)

10th Day of Christmas

For the past 3 weeks we have merrily ventured through the kingdoms of Christmas Ales and enchanted Winter Warmer wonderlands. For the next 3 days we bring you a sampling of diverse beers from around the world that are purely divine by nature. These are the splendid spirit-lifting brews to enjoy with family and friends as we celebrate this special time of year.

Some of these delightful beers are found in weeks past and in week’s future, others will be making a cameo appearance because of their special connection to the season. They come in all styles, varieties, and strengths. All are very good!

Day 1 – Sinebrychoff Porter

Day 2 – Geary’s Hampshire Special

Day 3 - Hooker Liberator

Day 4 – Trappiste Rochefort 10

Day 5 - Baden Baden – Red Ale (Double Red)

Day 6 - Samuel Smith’s Imperial Stout

Day 7 - Ayinger Celebrator Doppelbock

Day 8 – DueS (Brut Des Flandres

Day 9 - Schafly Reserve Imperial Stout Bourbon Barrel 2008 Vintage

Day 10 (Back across the Pond…because we can)

Traquair Jacobite – Traquair House Brewery – Peebleshire, Scotland – 8% ABV

I don’t believe the Jacobite Rebellion and the Christmas Season have anything, at all in common, but that doesn’t mean that this Scottish Wee Heavy doesn’t belong on this happy holiday list.

11.2oz dark brown bottle. Served in a nonic tumbler.

It pours a heavy dark molasses color with a thin, but lasting beige on top and some patchy lacing.

A sweet dark-roasted malty aroma fades rather fast. A smell of honey along with the smell of prune juice and ripe pears lingers.

The first flavor forward is of dark sweet honey and dark rum. A taste of coriander emerges from a light citrusy bitterness. An earthy taste reminiscent of tequila slides in lightly. The body is heavy and slick. This brew just slides down so smoothly! The 8%abv is well disguised, but the effect is quite apparent.

Wonderful stuff!

Cheers!

Quote: “Wine is but a single broth, but ale is meat, drink and cloth.” – 16^th century proverb

Beer style of the week; The 12 Beers of Christmas, (but Great any time)

9th Day of Christmas

For the past 3 weeks we have merrily ventured through the kingdoms of Christmas Ales and enchanted Winter Warmer wonderlands. For the next 4 days we bring you a sampling of diverse beers from around the world that are purely divine by nature. These are the splendid spirit-lifting brews to enjoy with family and friends as we celebrate this special time of year.

Some of these delightful beers are found in weeks past and in week’s future, others will be making a cameo appearance because of their special connection to the season. They come in all styles, varieties, and strengths. All are very good!

Day 1 – Sinebrychoff Porter

Day 2 – Geary’s Hampshire Special

Day 3 - Hooker Liberator

Day 4 – Trappiste Rochefort 10

Day 5 - Baden Baden – Red Ale (Double Red)

Day 6 - Samuel Smith’s Imperial Stout

Day 7 - Ayinger Celebrator Doppelbock

Day 8 – DueS (Brut Des Flandres

Day 9

Hey, let’s go to St. Louis for some really great beer! Haha…

Schafly Reserve Imperial Stout Bourbon Barrel 2008 Vintage – St. Louis Brewery – 10.5% ABV

It pours a thick, spent motor oil with highlights of amber red poking through against the light. A thick 1” tannish head settles slowly leaving trails of lacing as it goes down.

Giant smells of chocolate and coffee brandy waif out. Smells of burnt malt, resinous hops, cut wook, prunes, dark rum and bourbon are right behind.
The flavors are bold and powerful. We have tastes of coffee brandy, dark chocolate, bourbon, resinous hops with a slight metallic tang and prunes.
The mouthfeel is slick, nearly oily, yet ever so gulpable. And when you do gulp, you’re rewarded with complex and full-flavored brew that will take the chill right out of the bones.

Just a super strong and tasty Bourbon barrel-aged Imperial Stout.

Cheers!

Quote: “There are only two acceptable times of day during the holidays to sample beer…day time and night time” - Me

Beer style of the week; The 12 Beers of Christmas, (but Great any time)

8th Day of Christmas

For the past 3 weeks we have merrily ventured through the kingdoms of Christmas Ales and enchanted Winter Warmer wonderlands. For the next 5 days we bring you a sampling of diverse beers from around the world that are purely divine by nature. These are the splendid spirit-lifting brews to enjoy with family and friends as we celebrate this special time of year.

Some of these delightful beers are found in weeks past and in week’s future, others will be making a cameo appearance because of their special connection to the season. They come in all styles, varieties, and strengths. All are very good!

Day 1 – Sinebrychoff Porter

Day 2 – Geary’s Hampshire Special

Day 3 - Hooker Liberator

Day 4 – Trappiste Rochefort 10

Day 5 - Baden Baden – Red Ale (Double Red)

Day 6 - Samuel Smith’s Imperial Stout

Day 7 - Ayinger Celebrator Doppelbock

Day 8 – DueS (Brut Des Flandres) Brouwerij Bosteels – Buggenhout, Belgium – 11.5 ABV

What else, but a Biere de Champagne (Biere Brut) to ring in the New Year?

Served in a champagne fluted glass.

It pours a hazy golden color, which magically clears in a minute. A spritzy snow-white head bubbles up fast, then slowly fades.
The first aroma is a sweet grassy dried malt with herbs and tart gin-soaked fruit (green apples)mixed in. A little earth and basement funk and a light, odd smell of the ocean floats in the distance.
The tastes seem in reverse of the smells. A flavor of the gin-soaked fruit cup buzzes the tongue in the edgy effervescence. A nice dose of earthy dried malt, floral hops and honey-like sweetness roll in as it warms and settles down.
The mouthfeel evolves slowly, revealing different flavor profiles and textures as the bottles draws to its finale. Sad to see it go…

Goes very well with raw oysters or mussels steamed in beer.

Salut and Happy New Year everybody! Thanks for indulging me this past year!

Quote: “From man’s sweat and God’s love, Beer came into the world” – St. Arnoldus, Belgian Saint (1040–1087)

Beer style of the week; The 12 Beers of Christmas, (but Great any time)

7th Day of Christmas

For the past 3 weeks we have merrily ventured through the kingdoms of Christmas Ales and enchanted Winter Warmer wonderlands. For the next 6 days we bring you a sampling of diverse beers from around the world that are purely divine by nature. These are the splendid spirit-lifting brews to enjoy with family and friends as we celebrate this special time of year.

Some of these delightful beers are found in weeks past and in week’s future, others will be making a cameo appearance because of their special connection to the season. They come in all styles, varieties, and strengths. All are very good!

Day 1 – Sinebrychoff Porter

Day 2 – Geary’s Hampshire Special

Day 3 - Hooker Liberator

Day 4 – Trappiste Rochefort 10

Day 5 - Baden Baden – Red Ale (Double Red)

Day 6 - Samuel Smith’s Imperial Stout

Day 7

Ayinger Celebrator Doppelbock – Privatbrauerei Franz Inselkammer KG – Aying, Germany – 6.7% ABV (the mildest of my 12 Beers of Christmas selections)

It pours a tar black with a smallish beige head and a bit of sticky lace. Aromas of dark chocolate, licorice, coffee and slight alcohol fuminess lasts a god long time. A heavy, almost oily malt body is home to many rich flavors and tastes. Strong coffee, chocolate and fresh rye bread-like tastes are upfront. Tastes of licorice, orange zest, toffee and nice alcohol finish get together very nicely. As it warms a taste of prunes develops. This is one satisfying brew!

Pssst…it comes with little goat ornaments around the bottle neck!

Prost! And Cheers! And Happy New Year!!!!

Quote: “Without question, the greatest invention in the history of mankind is

beer. Oh, I grant you that the wheel was also a fine invention, but the

wheel does not go nearly as well with pizza.” - Dave Barry