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.