It's the most wonderful time of the year for beer drinkers Part 9: Ringing in 2010

This is the last official post in this season's, "It's the most wonderful time of the year for beer drinkers. These are the beers. I had from New Year's Eve through January 3.

On New Year's Eve I began with Duyck Jenlain Bière de Noël, which is a Christmas beer brewed in France. The beer is like nothing I'd ever tasted before. It isn't very Christmasy, but it is a very nice Christmas gift. It isn't the greatest beer I've ever had, but one of the most unique so far — and after trying over 850 beers, that's saying something. I wasn't accustomed to grassy hops with all the malty, nutty and toasted flavors and aromas that are a big part of this 6.8% ABV Bière de Garde. There are notes of caramel malt, toast, nuts, champagne, red wine, grassy hops, cherry and a little citrus.

Next up was Géants Noël de Géants, which I started after the ball dropped and I made my phone calls to loved ones — so it become my first beer of 2010. It is a good one. This 8.5 % ABV Belgian strong ale brewed in Belgium falls somewhere in between a dubbel and a tripel. It hides the alcohol well and has notes of caramel, toast, nuts, doughy yeast, cherries and apples.

New Year's Day evening found me drowning my sorrows over the Flyers loss at the Winter Classic with a bottle of Nørrebro (or Nørrebros as the label states) Julebryg. It is a 7% ABV spiced beer from Denmark. It's very Christmasy, but seems to be watered down. There are lots of spices and sour fruit, nutty malts and hints of cocoa; but all those flavors seem watered down. There is even an ever so slight hint of sour chocolate milk in the taste. One of my least favorites from this season's Christmas/winter beer batch. Maybe I had a bad bottle, but I think it will be a while before I try it again.

I followed that with a much better and much more appropriate beer for the day — although by the time I tried it, it was already January 2. The beer I refer to is Dupont Avec les Bons Voeux, a 9.5% ABV Saison brewed in Belgium. The name means "best wishes" and is marketed more as a New Year's beer than a Christmas beer. I think of it as being like a far more complex Duvel. It is a very well made beer of the highest quality, but not really my cup of tea (or beer as the case certainly be). That's not to say I didn't like it, it's just not one of my favorites and I can think of many other beers I would like to have instead. It is very complex with an intense aroma. (It also went surprisingly well with a microwaved pretzel and squeeze cheese.) There are notes of oranges, tangerines, sour fruit, candy sugar, crackers, apricots, spicy yeast, peaches, peach pits, pepper, citrus rind, floral hops, lightly toasted light bread, mustiness, dust, slight funk and then toward the end some citrus hops.

On the second day of 2010 I tried Klein Duimpje Kerstbier, an 8.5% ABV Belgian strong ale from the Netherlands. It is a very interesting beer. The aroma seemed off to me at first but it grew on me as time went by and the beer warmed a bit; but the flavor is great from the start and becomes even better with time. This was one of the better Christmas beers I tried this season. It hides the alcohol very well. It does seem Belgian, but also somewhat different than a true Belgian beer. The aroma has caramel malts, cocoa powder, hot cocoa mix, bakers chocolate powder, spicy yeast, raisins, prunes, toffee, honey brown sugar, alcohol, sweetened tea, a little liquor and an ever so slight soured chocolate milk. The flavor is similar, yet more refined, featuring chocolate, raisins, caramel, spicy yeast, toffee, chocolate syrup, sour cherries, cocoa powder and slight sour chocolate milk. All in all, this is a special Christmas treat that gets better and better the warmer it gets.

On the last day of my Christmas vacation before going back to work for the first time in 11 days, I tried Amager Julebryg 2008. This Denmark brewed beer is another of those beers that is an entirely different beer each year. The 2008 version is a 7.5% ABV abbey dubbel. I don't know what it was like when it was first released, but the aging of this beer has made it great. It is very intense and does become a little cloying as time goes by. It's not all that Christmasy, but it is a wonderful Christmas gift from the brewer. It also has a warming presence that makes it a nice winter warmer. If you try this one, make sure to keep the yeast out of the glass. I let a little get into my second glass and it killed some of the great flavors present. Some of those flavor notes are raisin, prune, alcohol, fig, chocolate, caramel, toffee, cherry, spicy yeast, maple syrup and brown sugar. This was a nice finale to this season's Christmas/winter beer extravaganza.

Once I go back to work in January I usually try to go on a bit of a beer fast, not having any beer until the Super Bowl, in an effort to save my liver after recklessly endangering it during December. So far I have been successful with this every other year. This is one of the off years. I made it almost two weeks, but decided that I may have had a lot of strong beers during the holiday season, but I usually wasn't getting drunk. I am however still going to take it easy until the Super Bowl and not try any new beers or any super strong beers until after the Super Bowl, so there won't be any posts about new beers that I'm trying.

The plan for the next couple weeks, is to finalize my 2009 favorite beer and music lists. I might post something sooner if I hear any breaking news, but look for the Heathen Awards to show up soon in a post or three. Until then, drink it in!

It's the most wonderful time of the year for beer drinkers Part 8: Christmas around the world

The week between Christmas and New Year's Eve found me trying Christmas/winter beers from all over the world.

Hook Norton Twelve Days, brewed in England, is an English strong ale. It is a nice Christmas gift. It's like some sort of Christmas dessert. The carbonation is a bit overpowering, but there are notes of caramel, nuts, cocoa, raisins, dark cherries, plum, apple, toast, cookies, molasses, earthy and herbal hops. At 5.5% ABV it would be easy to knock back a few of these around the holidays.

Stoudts Winter Ale, brewed Adamstown, PA, is a beer that changes from year to year. The 2009 edition is a 6.2% ABV, hoppy amber ale. It isn't very special, but the fact that the beer changes from year to year makes it a true Christmas present, because who wants to get a gift that they already received the year before. It's hoppy, but well balanced. Nothing too extreme.

The St. Bernardus Christmas Ale, brewed in Belgium, is a beer that I've been wanting to try for a few years now and finally got the opportunity this holiday season. This one has Christmas written all over it — both literally and figuratively. At 10% ABV, it is nice and warming, which was much appreciated the night I tried it, considering it was 19 degrees with the wind chill making it feel like 7 degrees. The aroma is evident as soon as this beer is poured. It hides the alcohol incredibly well. It also has one of the most persistent heads I've ever seen on a beer. It is a little hard to explain, but I will try. There are notes of dark, sour fruit, dark candy sugar, light Christmas spices, maple syrup, molasses, chocolate, cinnamon, caramel, earthy yeast and slight metal. An incredible Belgian strong ale. I think this will be on my list of Christmas Eve beers next year.

New Holland Cabin Fever, a 6% ABV brown ale from Holland Michigan, is a bit of a mixed bag. It starts out incredible and ends up just nice. For having an average ABV, the beer does a very poor job of hiding the alcohol. While not the best trait in a beer, the noticeable alcohol did make it a nice winter warmer on a cold night. It is almost like an ale version of a doppelbock. The key to enjoying this beer might be to drink it quickly and fairly well chilled, because it goes from tasting like a Chunky bar or a Christmas cookie to cloying and medicinal when you take your time with it and let it warm up a little.

Ølfabrikken Jule Ale, from Denmark, is just one of several Christmas beers that Ølfabrikken makes each year. Denmark is one of those place, like other Scandinavian countries, where the breweries commonly brew more than one yule or jule/jul beer as it is known in that part of the world. This is an odd Christmas ale because it is both hoppy and full of Christmas spices. Most brewers go one way or the other and I feared this combination as I opened the bottle. At first, the two flavors didn't seem to go all that well together, but it grew on me. This 8% ABV American strong ale doesn't do a good job masking the alcohol content, but that seems to work fine in this beer and is quite welcome. It has notes of caramel, chocolate, spices, citrus, pine, coffee and brown sugar. It is also very well balanced once you get used to the clash of flavors.

I also tried Ølfabrikken Kloster Jul, a bigger, seemingly more traditional (if only slightly so) Christmas ale from the brewery. This Belgian strong ale, at 9.5% ABV, is very warming. I definitely prefer the previous beer. This one seems to have something off in the aroma and flavor, but I cant tell if the beer is slightly skunked or if it is the licorice root that is used in the brewing process. There are notes of caramel, molasses, raisin, cherry, licorice, yeast, cheap chocolate, instant coffee, spices, cola, alcohol, metallic hops, toffee and oranges. It is interesting, but not one of my favorites.

We've almost come to the end of this journey. My next post should wrap up the Christmas/winter beers that I tried this holiday season. It will focus on the beers I tried on New Year's Eve into the new year. Drink it in.

it's the most wonderful time of the year for beer drinkers Part 7: A Cold Nose and a Climax with an Italian

It was a the day after Christmas and I still had a ton of Christmas/winter beers to try before my Christmas vacation ended, but that didn't stop me from picking up one last winter beer that I hadn't seen until the day after Christmas when stopping into a liquor store to pick up a bottle to take to a wassail party.

The beer I picked up was Laughing Dog Cold Nose Winter Ale. The beer, brewed in Idaho, is a malty winter warmer with a nice hop bite at the end. It is rather British and at 6.9% ABV it was very nice on a cold night. I only wish I would have had a chocolate chip cookie to go with it.

I also tried Eel River Climax Noel. It was my first Eel River beer and the first of several Noel beers I would be trying in the week between Christmas and New Years Day. This 8% ABV American Strong Ale, brewed in California, is a bit over carbonated. It is balanced between sweet and acidic. It is very fruity and reminded me a little of Tröegs Mad Elf, although nowhere near as good. It is a bit Christmasy, but not by much. The fight between sweetness and acidity in this certified organic brew also overpowers most of the underlying flavors.

The next noel beer I tried was Baladin Noel du Baladin, which is brewed in Italy. This is probably also the first true craft beer I've tried from Italy. It is a little light in body, but nice. It hides its 9% ABV very well. It isn't very Christmasy and being my first Baladin, I have no idea if this is a true gift from the brewer or not, but I sure wouldn't mind getting this under my tree in years to come. It is brewed in the Belgian strong ale style and is somewhat sour. It is an interesting beer. Some of the notes I jotted down about the flavor are: sour fruit, hints of chocolate, lots of yeast, tobacco, very sour fruit, red wine, apple cider, sour cherries, hints of wood and spicy yeast. Not as full as I like, but the flavors are nice even if they seem a little watered down.

That's all for now. I need to get started on the next few collages. Until I post again.

It's the most wonderful time of the year for beer drinkers Part 6: Christmas Eve and Day

On Christmas Eve I don't try any new beers. Instead I share my favorite Christmas/winter beers from past years and from earlier on in the current Christmas season with my brother. Above is a picture of this years Christmas Eve beers. As you can see, this year we had seven different beers and were jokingly calling it the feast of the seven ales. The above picture will replace the picture of me holding a glass of Mad Elf for the duration of this series as the intro photo for each post.

Now it's time to get back to the actual new Christmas/winter beers I tried. On Christmas I tried Nøgne Ø/Jolly Pumpkin/Stone Special Holiday Ale. The beer is brewed with "Michigan chestnuts, white sage from southern California and Norwegian juniper berries," according to the label. This three-brewery collaboration is a great idea. Each year the beer is being brewed in a different one of the three breweries. The recipe is the same each year, but the brewing and aging process is different each year, which I assume means they follow each breweries normal brewing and aging policies. I regret to say that I missed out on last year's version which was brewed at Stone in California. After seeing a picture of the bottle this year, I realized that I passed it up because it didn't look Christmasy enough. Another example of why you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. This year's edition was brewed at Nøgne Ø in Norway and is great and very Christmasy. It has a very unique aroma and flavor. It hides its 8.5% ABV just enough. The alcohol that is noticeable just adds to its Christmasyness. It's like an even better Arctic Circle Ale. There is juniper, spices, toffee, nutty malt, fruit, some sort of pine or spruce, licorice, pepper, cola; and when a little yeast got in the glass, some slight chocolate notes. I can't wait for next year's, which will be brewed at Jolly Pumpkin in Michigan where I'm assuming it will be aged in their famous wood barrels that ad a nice bit of sourness and some funk to all the beers I've tried from them so far.

I finished off Christmas with Mikkeller Santa's Little Helper 2009. It isn't very Christmasy, but it is definitely a Christmas gift from the brewery to the beer drinker. It is an even more special ale than their normally exceptional beers. This beer is brewed using a different recipe each year and is one of my favorites each year. It always seems to surprise me. The dominant flavor and aroma of this year's edition is moist coffee grounds that blend with piney hops, but there is also so much more. There's just layer after layer of flavor. It hides its 10.9% ABV extremely well. With a little less carbonation, I would considered this a perfect beer. The carbonation is so strong that it seems to hide some of the flavor. Thank you, Mikkeller, for a wonderful Christmas nightcap.

And thanks to anyone following this blog for being patient as I slowly get you up to date on the new Christmas/winter beers I've tried this holiday season. Drink it in.

It's the most wonderful time of the year for beer drinkers Part 5: The Eve of Christmas Eve

I'm very disappointed that I wasn't able to keep up with the blog during my winter/Christmas beer experience. I was too busy trying new beers and didn't have access to a computer on more than half of my Christmas vacation. I did, however, keep notes and took pictures of all the beers I was trying, so they all will eventually be mentioned here in time. I'll be posting a few beers at a time instead of one long post with all the beers listed so that it won't take forever to finish the post. I will also stop trying to be so technical with my comments on each beer and give a more general description in order to get these posts up faster. Well, enough about my bad blogging habits. Let's get to the beer.

On the Eve of Christmas Eve, I tried two more winter ales.

Smuttynose Winter Ale, is like a "Lite" abbey dubbel. "Lite" in alcohol that is. This 4.8% ABV beer, brewed in New Hampshire, may not pack a punch of alcohol, but it does have tons and tons of flavor. It has a very nutty, malty and Christmasy flavor without having any spices in it, just a spiciness from the Belgian yeast used in fermentation. Some chocolate is also evident and it would pair nicely with some chocolate chip or peanut butter cookies. With all the flavor and the low ABV, I could have drank this all night, but I only had the one bottle.

I also tried Wachusett Winter Ale that night. At 6.1% ABV, this ale, brewed in Massachusetts, is a nice and malty Scotch Ale with notes of toffee. It isn't very Christmasy, but it is a nice winter warmer with all sorts of malts fighting each other for the starring role and a surprising, belly-warming power beyond what I would expect for the ABV.

The next installment in this series will finally get into some of the true Christmas beers I tried this holiday season.

it's the most wonderful time of the year for beer drinkers Part 4: Winter Comes Early

Well, winter came early this year and I had the perfect beers to be drinking when it did. All but two of the Christmas/winter beers I tried on the third weekend of December were beers actually named "Winter Ale." So, as mother nature dropped around two feet of snow throughout much of the Delaware Valley before the official start of winter, I was sipping on ales from Brooklyn, Geary's, Oppigårds, Ipswich and Nøgne Ø breweries. I also tried Miller Coors Blue Moon Grand Cru and Nøgne Ø Sunturnbrew.

Brooklyn Winter Ale is a Scottish ale brewed in New York. I've seen this beer for a long time but just got around to trying it now. At first I thought this beer came across as being a little flat for the style, but then I got to thinking. This beer is probably very similar to an actual Scottish ale. I've gotten so used to everyone making wee heavy style Scottish ales, that I forgot that all Scottish ales aren't huge alcohol bombs made even more intense by American craft brewers trying to appeal to many a beer geek's desire for extreme everything. Sorry, I'm getting off point. This beer isn't going to scream "Christmas" in your mouth, but it is a very easy-drinking winter ale that is full of caramel and nutty flavors along with slight citrus and cherry. At 6% ABV it might not thaw your bones, but you can knock back a few with good friends without embarrassing yourself.

Geary's Winter Ale is an India Pale Ale brewed in Maine. I never really think of IPAs being all that wintry or Christmasy, but a beer such as Sierra Nevada Celebration, an IPA, is one of the most sought after holiday beers around. This one wasn't quite as good as Celebration, but I might not have had the best example of this beer. It didn't seem skunked but the bottle was very dusty when I picked it up in the store. This is also a more British rendering of the IPA style, where Celebration is a very American and more specifically West Coast IPA. The Geary's has an almost honey-like malt with some cracker, oranges, peaches and apricots; and the hops are rather floral. It doesn't come across as very wintry flavor-wise, but it does seem to have a slight warming effect, which is a little surprising due to the fact that it is only 6% ABV.

The beer I was sipping when the snow began falling was Blue Moon Grand Cru, a beer brewed in honor of there being an actual blue moon on New Year's Eve this year. If you think the original Blue Moon is incredible, this one might be a little too much for you; but if you think the original is a nice stepping stone beer to get more people drinking craft beer, you will wish they made the Grand Cru all year long. It is basically an imperial version of the original in both flavor and ABV (11%). There is some biscuit in the flavor, with plenty of candy sugar, oranges, spices and even a slight funk. With the oranges and spices it comes across as a little Christmasy too.

The Oppigårds Winter Ale is surprisingly British for having been brewed in Sweden. The flavor is a little hop heavy in the beginning, but when it warms up a little it balances better with the malt. There are caramel and nutty malts, and all sorts of hops — perfumy, piney, resinous and herbal. There is also some sour fruit and citrus rind with hints of chocolate and coffee and an ever so slightly off, sour smell. It's a beer you could drink all night at just 5.3% ABV. It was much different than I was expecting when picking up a beer from Sweden, but surprises are part of trying all different beers.

The Ipswich Winter Ale, at 6.2% ABV, is a little hard to define. The brewery calls it a Scottish ale, RateBeer calls it an English strong ale, but I think it seems like a brown ale, but definitely a British brown ale. It is very malty, but a bit too hoppy to be considered Scottish. It has nutty, toasted and caramel malts, a little hint of cocoa, herbal and perfume hops, a little sour fruit, slight toffee, tea and citrus.

The Nøgne Ø Winter Ale, known as God Jul, in its native Norway, is quite good. It is particularly beautiful to look at. What you can't see above is that in direct light there is a reddish brown glow. It is very malty and chocolaty with a perfect blend of hops that almost makes it seem like there are spices in it, which it doesn't. (Their spiced beer, Peculiar Yule or Underlig Jul in Norway, is one of the most spiced beers I've ever had). At 8.5% ABV it is slightly warming. In a way it reminds me of those chocolate oranges I used to get for Christmas as a kid. It also goes well with chocolate chip cookies, so this might be a nice one to leave out for Santa.

So the day before the winter solstice, I decided to try Nøgne Ø Sunturnbrew, a beer brewed on December 21 as the sun turns and changes direction. The label states that this turning of the sun is something Norwegians believe in. Whether you do or don't, it is a fact that cultures were celebrating this time of year because they knew that after the solstice, days would start to get longer again. These celebrations were around a long time before Christmas and led to the birth of Christ being celebrated at this time of year, which is something I will get into more in my next post. But back to the beer in hand. It's pretty much a smoked barley wine, that hides its 11% ABV incredibly well. It is surprisingly easy to drink for a smoked or high ABV beer. Part of that is due to the fact that it is not overly smoked. There is just enough smoke to make it interesting. It really is like drinking an ancient beer and oddly enough I do think of it as Christmasy. The flavor is way more complex than the aroma, but the aroma is fairly complex to begin with. An excellent example of something similar to what people might have been drinking while hoisting stone drinking vessels to their lips in celebration of the sun's lengthening of days.

I really need to post more often during this project to avoid these long posts. I hope you enjoyed these latest beers. As I post this I am starting an 11-day weekend and hope to have more time to try more Christmas/winter beers. I have a few more "winter ales" to go and then I'll be getting into the specifically Christmas and Jul beers. Here's hoping my liver survives the journey. If it does I'll tell you about some more beers. If not, I hope you will continue to drink it in.

The Bruery's Holiday Party this Friday!

I don't know if anyone from California will be seeing this, but I figured I'd pass on this e-mail that I received today.

It's that time of year to get out your favorite holiday sweaters and come on out to the Tasting Room! We're having a holiday party this Friday (December 18) and we're inviting you to come dressed in your favorite holiday sweater.

This will also be a charity related event for Project 23, benefitting homeless and families in need here in Orange County. We ask that you donate an unwrapped, first use toy for girls under the age of 12.

As a thank you for your participation, we'll be raffling off some items including a few of our favorite beers from our archive to those who contribute.

Humulus XPA will be featured on cask dry hopped with hops grown right on premise. We'll also have a few light snacks because what's a holiday party without snacks?!

Speaking of snacks, on Saturday night our friends at Kogi BBQ will be stopping by to serve some of their delicious Korean BBQ for your enjoyment (and ours) so come hungry!

You can also pick up some last minute holiday gifts like Bruery Reserve Society memberships, Bruery gear (including our new beanies!), and gift baskets.