The Beer of the Month Dynasty

[PurdueBrad]

I was very inspired by the fact that My Campaign for Mock President earned a Golden Scribes nomination and it has me itching to write some for the board. So I tried to think about what I have been spending my time doing...

I've been sick, but you guys have heard about that and, frankly, I don't like dwelling on it.

I teach, but I'm always timid with what I share from my classroom as I like to ensure the privacy of my students and avoid using it for fodder or entertainment.

I have a two year old, but I'm so busy chasing him everywhere that by the time I can sit down and write, I'm probably trying to avoid thinking about him!

I have a wife that is one of the worst gift buyers ever...until this year. Five year anniversary is wood...she gets me a full-size 1992 mint condition Star Wars pinball machine. Holy crap. And then Christmas rolls around and she pulls out a Beer of the Month club subscription...Nicely done! I can't get over how excited I get on the first of each month when they announce the selections or on the fifteenth when they arrive and I get to tear into them...and there it is, A BEER DYNASTY!

So let me give you a quick idea of my taste profile so you can gauge where I'm coming from. I enjoy beer quite a bit, although oftentimes when push comes to shove I still order a Coke, Captain and Coke, spicy Bloody Mary, or even a glass of wine ahead of a beer. I usually drink when I'm eating so I simply find the others a bit more drinkable with food.

My five favorite domestic beers:
1- Leinenkugel's Fireside Nut Ale
2- Ommegang Abbey Ale
3- Iron City
4- Leinenkugel's Berryweiss
5- Budweiser

My five favorite import beers:
1- Chimay Red
2- Sapporo
3- Amstel Light
4- Unibroue's Don De Deiu
5- Red Stripe

I think it is an eclectic collection, but I realize there are some big gaps with the bolder, stronger, and darker beers. It was also hard to eliminate things like Mississippi Mud, Guinness, and Beck's Dark. I don't know a ton about beer, although I've been doing a lot of reading on craft brewing. I'm trying to learn much more as I do this.

So here is the procedure for this dynasty. Each month, around the 15'th, I receive a 12 pack made up of four different domestic microbrews. I will drink two of each and then post my impressions on drinking the third beer. I firmly believe that the more you taste something, you start to get more depth from it so that is why you aren't going to get initial impressions from the first of each beer. I'll give some basic demographics on each beer and then three key categories: Taste description, rating out of 10 (I consider my top two or three beers in each categories to be 10's), and I'll pair the beer with an ideal meal.

If you have any beer suggestions, comments or otherwise critiques I would love to hear them so please feel free to post as I do.

The group that is handling my Beer of the Month club is located at hxxp://www.beermonthclub.com

[PurdueBrad]

December Beer #1

Brewery: Woodstock Inn Brewery

Brew: Red Rack Ale

Description: Cream-soda style head, red beer, creamy, coffee aroma

Alcohol Content: 5.5%

Taste: The beer drinks exceptionally smooth and creamy. It is a very nice beer for either Spring or Fall. It is smoother or richer than other red beers (i.e.- Killians). It has a slight coffee taste but a nice, clean finish. A bit of caramel and sweetness to it to off-set a brandy-bitterness end. I really enjoy that touch of fine liquor that seems to permeate the flavor. This one drinks quite a bit like a Chimay to me but in some ways is even smoother and more pleasurable than the White or Blue. One of the more enjoyable beers I've encountered in the last year or so. It's a bit of a sipping beer, but I would be happy having two or three of these at a bar.

Rating: 8.5/10, a very good and drinkable beer

Ideal meal: This is a great drinking beer that I think would go equally awesome with a bowl of chili, a burger, or a good steak. It is definitely a beer to be drunk with beef as it will stand up nicely and the sweet, creaminess will remain smooth in contrast. Another possibility may be with a good sausage or bratwurst but I’m not one hundred percent certain that it’ll hold up quite as well to the salt content. As much as I like this beer, it probably would not drink as well with a spicy meal either.

[PurdueBrad]

Brewery: Woodstock Inn Brewery


Brew: Pemi Pale Ale


Description: Very thin head, has the appearance of a citrus beer, but thin, a bitter-caramel scent


Alcohol Content: 5.7%


Taste: This is an interesting beer for the winter. On the surface, it seems like a summer ale with a nice, crisp thin appearance and viscosity. However, it drinks much more like a fall beer. There is a bit of spiciness to the beer that is off-set by a citrus (maybe orange or grapefruit) taste. It doesn’t taste like a fruity beer, but there is enough there to off-set the spicy bitterness. The beer drinks a bit earthy with the combination and is described others as even having a hint of butter to it. If I get the butter, it’s deep in the aftertaste.


Rating: 7.5/10, I’m not a huge pale ale drinker however this one has quickly grown on me. In fact, this beer is why I wait until I’ve tried all three bottles. At first, it seemed a bit too bitter to me but that seems to have faded away now.


Ideal Meal: I think that this beer would pair exceptionally well with a beer-can chicken or rotisserie chicken. It may, even with its touch of spiciness, do very well with a spicy Mexican meal or a white chili. I think that it is a beer that could very easily be overpowered with something bolder like barbecue but I think with its subtle flavoring that it can hold up pretty well with chicken.

[MacroGuru]

Originally Posted by PurdueBrad

My five favorite domestic beers:
1- Leinenkugel's Fireside Nut Ale
2- Ommegang Abbey Ale
3- Iron City
4- Leinenkugel's Berryweiss
5- Budweiser

My five favorite import beers:
1- Chimay Red
2- Sapporo
3- Amstel Light
4- Unibroue's Don De Deiu
5- Red Stripe

If you have any beer suggestions, comments or otherwise critiques I would love to hear them so please feel free to post as I do.

The group that is handling my Beer of the Month club is located at hxxp://www.beermonthclub.com

I have Leinenkugel's Oktoberfest in the fridge now...it definitely drinks well with food.

I tend to like micro's and hunt for them a lot. Had a Blueberry Oatmeal Stout last week that was awesome, I will have to see if I have an empty in my recycle and tell you the brewery.

Chimay is one of my favorite imports along with Sapporo...I used to drink a lot of light stuff and I am moving more to the darker brews. I like a beer a can chew now.

Anyways, I like it and will be following...

Oh, and if you can find it...Dundee Honey Lager is a great drink.

[PurdueBrad]

Originally Posted by MacroGuru

I have Leinenkugel's Oktoberfest in the fridge now...it definitely drinks well with food.

I tend to like micro's and hunt for them a lot. Had a Blueberry Oatmeal Stout last week that was awesome, I will have to see if I have an empty in my recycle and tell you the brewery.

Oh, and if you can find it...Dundee Honey Lager is a great drink.

I am really hit or miss with Leine's, although I do enjoy their Oktoberfest quite a bit. And I agree, it drinks really, really well with food.

I tried Anheuser-Busch's Wild Blue Lager last week and am really, really torn on it. It's honestly too sweet, cloyingly so, but at the same time they did do a nice job drawing out a strong taste for a fruit beer. I would like to see a similar taste profile but with a lot less sweetness. It could be a good beer but right now, it's close to undrinkable unfortunately. I would compare it to Leine's BerryWeiss with triple or quadruple the sugar.

I think I've had Dundee's Honey Lager, but I'll have to go out and double-check that. If I have, it's been a long time so I greatly appreciate the tip.

[MacroGuru]

The Blueberry Oatmeal Stout I had was from Buffalo Bill's Brewery

[PurdueBrad]

Thanks Macro, that's another one I'll look up. I enjoy the pairing of blueberry with brew, it's just got to be a decent balance.

[Izulde]

I'm curious to learn how the wife went from horrible gift buyer to awesome, like what process caused the change.

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by MacroGuru

The Blueberry Oatmeal Stout I had was from Buffalo Bill's Brewery

Definitely on my to try list now, hopefully they ship

I love blueberry / beer pairings, Seadog Blue Paw is one of my favs, they sell it at the Yardhouse if you have any in your locale. http://www.seadogbrewing.com/seadogbrews.php

[PurdueBrad]

Originally Posted by Izulde

I'm curious to learn how the wife went from horrible gift buyer to awesome, like what process caused the change.

I'm thinking that the wife had a couple things happen. First, not to sound arrogant, I'm a pretty good gift-giver (mainly because I don't stick to our $ rules and try to constantly outdo each previous year, so she got a luxury cruise last year for instance), I think she put a lot of effort into it because of how sick I've been, and finally, I think she was really frustrated over last year. For lack of a better description, it felt mailed in. We ended up returning three of the four anniversary gifts she got me because they were basically cheap little gadgets that she got for lack of better options. Christmas was kind of the same way, so I know she came out of that frustrated. I wasn't a douche though, I argued to keep what she gave me but from the second she gave them to me, she urged me to return them until that was just the easy choice.

This year, she was out of the world good. I got a Franco Harris throwback (he's common-law married to my dad's cousin AND I'm a huge Steelers fan), the beer of the month club, a Drew Brees McFarlane toy (a $9.99 gift but an awesome surprise), the pinball machine, and a bunch of good, little things that she just knew I would be into. Like I said, this time around, she definitely put focus into it.

I feel bad describing her gift-giving the way I have but she's read this and basically says that I'm "being too nice" in my description. This was probably the best year gift-wise that I've ever had, it was like everything was perfect.

[PurdueBrad]

Oh, and I'll hopefully have beer #3 up tonight. It's the Never Summer Ale from the Boulder Beer Company.

Although I have to admit that you guys are going to have me out on a blueberry beer search very soon.

[PurdueBrad]

December beer #3

Brewery: Boulder Beer Company

Brew: Never Summer Ale

Description: A very coppery color with a thin head. The head does linger however. A very mild, light scent that has just a hint of brown sugar.

Alcohol Content: 6.5%

Taste: Never Summer Ale is a 2004 Gold Medal winner from the World Beer Cup for the Strong Ale Category. It’s a very spicy beer, particularly on first and second drink. Ultimately though, that spiciness tones down and it ends up being a smooth, almost light beer which is a bit odd for a winter brew like this. Its strength is definitely clear as you drink it, as the alcohol and spice pair strongly at the back end. Not a tone of aftertaste to it, but there are some subtle undertones as you drink of brown sugar and maybe caramel. I do think it is a beer that would be even better off the tap as well.

Rating: 7.25/10, which may be low but it’s not an everyday beer to me which does bring it down some

Ideal Meal: I’m not sure that this beer stands up particularly well to a meal as it might dominate in terms of taste. I will say though that it would be a great drink with bar food appetizers, particularly deep fried foods. I wouldn’t have spicy wings with it but I would have it with fried mushrooms, fried cheeses, etc.

[PurdueBrad]

I did some looking around and am happy to see that I may be able to get both Buffalo Bill's Blueberry Stout and the SeaDog Blue Paw locally. It may mean a drive but I'll try to give both a shot at some point in the next couple weeks. Thanks again for those recommendations.

[MacroGuru]

Originally Posted by PurdueBrad

I did some looking around and am happy to see that I may be able to get both Buffalo Bill's Blueberry Stout and the SeaDog Blue Paw locally. It may mean a drive but I'll try to give both a shot at some point in the next couple weeks. Thanks again for those recommendations.

Awesome! I need to go to my local Consumers Beverage and see if I can get SeaDog.

[PurdueBrad]

December Beer #4


Brewery: Boulder Beer Company


Brew: Flashback India-Style Brown Ale


Description: The bottle pours a very nice head, with a rich brown color. The aroma is definitely both hops and malt forward, but not obnoxiously so (sorry, I still remember how awful the individual ingredients of beer smelled and tasted when I visited the Bud brewery in St. Louis). It definitely has the strong aroma of a dark beer but the consistency of something more middle-of-the road.


Alcohol Content: 6.8%


Taste: Again, malt-forward. You definitely get hit with the hops up front. The blend presents a non-sweet caramel flavor, if that makes sense. This is the strongest of the first four beers but still drinks quite well, perhaps better than the Never Summer Ale, which is a lighter beer but nearly as strong. The tastes that come through early is a spiciness that is given depth by that caramel flavor. There does seem to be some hint of underlying sweetness, that is just enough to off-set the spice. I would say that what I’m getting is chocolate, which does pair well and gives the beer that dark beer feel.


Rating: 7.5/10


Ideal Meal: This is definitely a steak and potatoes kind of beer. I would love to have a slab of beef coming off the grill tonight, a good baked potato, and a couple glasses of Flashback. The India-Style Brown Ale is part of a movement to merge the traditional IPA with some of your darker brews. I would say that this is a successful mix overall. Damn, now I really want a steak and, of course, I’m making pasta.

[PurdueBrad]

Now that I'm caught up in terms of the month, I will probably start to leave a few more days between each brew. What I do want to do though is give a bit more background in terms of each brewery, so I'll be doing some research and letting you know what I find out.

For instance, the last brewer, Boulder Beer Company seems to specialize in the big, bold, strong beers. They make two that I really do want to try at some point, a blueberry stout and they make the infamous Killer Penguin barleywine, which is a 10% beer. I am impressed in how they handled the alcohol content of the two above beers so I would like to see what they can do with even more.

[PurdueBrad]

Originally Posted by PurdueBrad

Damn, now I really want a steak and, of course, I’m making pasta.

And I can now say, from experience, that it does not pair well with a spinach tortellini stuffed with parmesan romano and a sausage alfredo sauce. Damn, wish I had that steak!

[PurdueBrad]

I'll try to keep an updated geographic list as we go.

Colorado: Boulder Beer Company (December 10)
New Hampshire: Woodstock Inn Brewery (December 10)
South Carolina: RJ Rockers (January 11)
Wisconsin: Lake Front Brewery (January 11)

RJ Rockers really seems to take a lot of pride in hand-crafting their beer. Their slogan is "Handcrafted. Every Beer. Every Drop. Every Time." They were founded in 1997 and were Spartanburg, South Carolina's first brewery. Mark Johnsen, the founder and current president, spent time in the first Gulf War and then was stationed in Germany. It seems that in Germany, he learned from some of the beer masters how to brew.

The brewery produces a huge range of beers, from a 4.5% alcohol traditional light beer all the way up to a 9.5% Black Perle Dark IPA. From their list of brews, the ones that most intrigue me are Son of a Peach (a peach summer ale, which could be a really interesting combination), Bell Ringer Ale (an 8.5% beer that they seem to take some real pride in), and their Patriot Pale Ale (a hoppy start that leads to a sweet, caramel finish). Lucky for me, the Bell Ringer and Pale Ale just so happened to come in my pack this month.

The other thing I am excited about is their location. We vacation in Myrtle Beach each year and it looks like I'll have lots of opportunities to sample and pick up more of their beers down there if I like them.

*****

Lakefront is located in the heart of American beer country, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. They've been in business since 1987, meaning they just pre-dated the big craft beer craze. The whole brewery seems to have started with a gift from one brother to another: a book about beer. That book spawned a partnership that turned out to be a throwback to their grandfather, a former Schlitz employee. They've been a Milwaukee mainstay ever since.

They produce a tremendous mix of beers, including a big seasonal lineup. They also work in some of the niche markets such as gluten free and 100% Wisconsin product beers. From their terrific list of beers, I really am looking forward to trying their Fuel Cafe Stout which is brewed with coffee. They also make a Cherry Lager, made with Door County cherries (those of you not from the area, Door County is a terrific cherry producer). As you can tell, I'm intrigued by fruit/beer blends, as long as they aren't too cloying. The third beer that I would like to try is their Oktoberfest because I usually love Oktoberfest brews.

Being down in the Chicago-land area, I have pretty good access to most of their lineup it looks like, so I'll definitely be working through their list at some point.

[PurdueBrad]

A bit of a teaser here...I tried the first of the RJ Rockers brews, the Patriot Pale Ale and all I can say is wow. Not a big pale ale drinker regularly but wow, very, very nice. We'll see if that is how I feel after the next tasting.

[PurdueBrad]

January Beer #1

Brewery: RJ Rockers


Brew: Patriot Pale Ale


Description: A golden, but cloudy pour with a light head that lingers. It has a strong hops aroma, but not offensive, just a hint of bitterness.


Alcohol Content: 6.0%


Taste: Again, I’m not a big pale ale or bitter beer drinker, but this is a really, really nice ale. The beer drinks a touch strong but it is off-set with a sweetness. As opposed to a lot of what I’ve tried, the sweetness here is not a caramel or toastiness but instead has a fresh citrus (guessing grapefruit) balance. The pale ale bitterness is mild compared to a lot that I’ve tried. I would probably compare this to something like Blue Moon (a beer that I just can’t get into) but it drinks much smoother, less sweet and bitter (I feel like Blue Moon is a rollercoaster of the two), and has a nice, subtle depth. I highly recommend this beer. Served at a bit above refrigerator temperature (thinking around 42-45 degrees) and it drinks really well.


Rating: 8/10


Ideal Meal: I think that this beer would be absolutely amazing alongside a good, hot buffalo chicken sandwich. This beer would drink spectacularly well with something that has some spice to it because I could see putting down three or four with a good meal. I do have to say that this is a beer that would not stand up well to a steak but would probably go pretty well with a burger. This is a good casual beer and one that I would enjoy at a late spring barbecue. Ohhhh, or with barbecue, a great beer for ribs or pulled pork. The only reason I say late spring barbecue is that I’m not sure that it is quite refreshing or smooth enough to go with a hot summer day.

[Autumn]

I'd recommend a couple of beers from a local brewery here, Atlantic Brewing Company (and also Bar Harbor Brewing company, they're basically the same brewery).

Their Scottish Ale is excellent. And since you were discussing blueberry, their Blueberry Ale is in my opinion much, much better than Seadog. Lastly their Cadillac Stout is a real winner.

[PurdueBrad]

Thanks Autumn, I'll definitely look into all three.

Your mention of Scottish Ale reminds me of a beer I left off of my top 5. I love McEwan's IPA off the tap, truly an amazing and transcendent beer experience. Supposedly the closest we can get in a store is McEwan's Export (or something like that) but I'm yet to find it on a shelf. Love their IPA though.

Another teaser actually, involving the same brewery as before. RJ Rocker's knows their friggin' beer, that's all I can say before I post the next review. Wow.

[PurdueBrad]

Brewery: RJ Rockers


Brew: Bell Ringer Ale


Description: Pours a rich orange-brown color with a creamy, foamy head. The beer definitely smells like a strong beer with a nice bitter aroma to it.


Alcohol Content: 8.5%


Taste: This one was also a shocker. I expected an 8.5% beer like this to drink really, really strong and alcohol forward. Honestly, it is about as smooth as your standard 5.0% brew. It drinks very easy which makes it a beer that can definitely knock you on your ass. One of the things that helps it drink so well is that there is a light sweetness that seems to undercut everything. It’s another beer that is infused with some citrus, guessing something tart like a pineapple. I’ve read others say grapefruit but I’m not sure I’m getting that. I definitely get a really nice, deep toasted brown sugar finish at the end, which also helps off-set the higher alcohol content. I definitely feel like this is a beer that I could sit down with a six pack of and put it away easily although I may regret it in the morning. RJ Rockers has knocked both beers out of the park.


Rating: 8.25/10

Ideal Meal: This beer stands up really, really well. I made a good, peppery olive oil and balsamic infused pork tenderloin tonight and it paired beautifully. Additionally, I made a smoky bleu cheese mac and cheese and this beer held its own there as well. I think that this beer would go with lots and lots of foods and, if I can find it on the shelf here, I’m going to be putting that to the test. I also think that with the great flavor that this would be a great beer to cook bratwursts in or perhaps even do a terrific beer cheese soup with.

[PurdueBrad]

Hopefully tonight I will be posting a coffee flavored beer named Fuel Cafe Stout. The wife and I are both really looking forward to this one.

[PurdueBrad]

January beer #3

Brewery: Lakefront Brewery


Brew: Fuel Café Stout


Description: Pours as rich and dark as any beer I’ve seen, think Guiness but a bit darker. A very light head, almost non-existent. A very good coffee aroma to it, definitely has you looking forward to a rich coffee taste.


Alcohol Content: 6.1%


Taste: The beer starts off like a good, strong coffee. It has the right bitterness, aroma, and balance to it. It is a beer though that really does need to be poured at the right temperature, mid to low 50 degrees. Drinking it any cooler and what you find yourself hit with is a really, really strong alcohol taste on the back end that is unappealing. As the beer warmed up some and got midway between fridge temp and room temp, it became a much more drinkable beer. The alcohol aftertaste starts to fade but never becomes non-existent. Interestingly, a lot of times I feel like flavor infused beers don’t deliver what they promise. This beer certainly does, maybe even a bit too much so. I’m not a huge coffee drinker, particularly iced coffee, and I think this beer may be a bit too much coffee flavor and not enough of a stout to it.



Rating: 6.75/10


Ideal Meal: I did pair this pretty well actually. I made a couple of bleu cheese, mushroom, and swiss burgers that were marinated in a port, season salt, pepper, worcestershire, and pinot mixture. The burgers cooked up great and moist, the strong bleu cheese went well with the beer, and it was a nice combo. We did follow that with a piece of chocolate cake and I’ll say that the beer also did a nice job with the sweetness of the chocolate.

[PurdueBrad]

January beer #4

Brewery: Lakefront Brewery


Brew: Lakefront IPA


Description: This beer screams citrus in color, clarity (or lack thereof), and scent. It’s like sticking your head into a grapefruit. Frankly, the scent is strong enough to be reminiscent of like Bath and Body Works handsoap. Don't let that turn you off to it though. It pours an average head and smooth consistency. For background, an india pale ale is simply a pale ale that was marketed for export to India from Great Britain. American IPA’s though, which this is, have a wide, wide variety in them. Still same basic idea though, pale malts and light hops.


Alcohol Content: 6.4%


Taste: This is the best drinking beer that I have had from the eight thus far. I, again, was prepared to be a bit disappointed as I am not a traditional pale ale fan. IPAs are slightly higher for me that I feel that they have more depth to them than traditional pale ales. This beer does drink a fairly strong citrus taste but it does a nice job of undercutting the bitterness. It drinks incredibly smooth and tasteful. It is much fruitier than I expected but at the same time it isn’t a sweet fruitiness, just the citrusy taste. There is little in terms of a lingering aftertaste which, for a beer like this, I find unique. It drinks smooth enough to be a warm weather beer but does have enough depth to flavor and heaviness to be a cold weather beer.


Rating: 8.5/10


Ideal Meal: I made the mistake, although I knew it in advance, of having it tonight with an aged alfredo sauce blended with a mushroom marinara sauce pasta. The pasta and sweetness of the sauce brought a bit more bitterness out of the beer. This beer would be phenomenal with a grilled chicken, something like a spicy teriyaki or another spicy preparation. The other thing that I think it would drink really well with is something like a curry or Asian selections. I have one bottle of this held back so that I can do a spicy chicken to go with it. I also gave some consideration to making pork carnitas or enchiladas.

[PurdueBrad]

I must say, January was a very, very, very good month in terms of the beer. Three beers over 8 points is surprising. I would've been happy with 1 beer in that range, but to get three was quite exciting. Furthermore, I appreciated the exposure to beers I wouldn't normally drink, such as the pale ales, and then to find that I enjoyed these versions.

I also really, really was excited that these are two groups of beers that I'll have good access to. Lakefront is up north from here and I vacation in South Carolina each year which should give me the ability to load up on RJ Rockers.

I look forward to Tuesday because they unveil the February beers on Monday and then the wait until they arrive. I will either review some other beers in the meantime or do prep work on the new ones. Thanks for reading along.

[PurdueBrad]

Bonus Review!

Brewery: Blue Dawg Brewery


Brew: Wild Blue Lager


Description: This beer pours out and looks like grape drank, as my students would say. Seriously though, it looks like a glass of Crush Grape. The smell is similar as well, perhaps a little less sweet which comes from being blueberries rather than grapes (I personally find purple grapes to taste sweeter than blueberries anyway). The smell is sweet but light, nothing too overpowering.


Alcohol Content: 8%


Taste: Okay, so here is where things fall apart. Fruit-flavored beers for me are normally too weak in fruit flavor. This beer is a “be careful what you wish for…” idea in that it is too much fruit, way too much. It really does taste like a cross between a wine cooler and a soda. Now, that’s not a terrible thing if you want to drink an 8% beer and try to put a bunch away but it’s too sweet to really put a night of drinking into. The taste is definitely blueberry with a slight lager bite on the back end. I would say that it may fall into the realm of a “chick beer” but the females that have tried it basically loved their first drink but couldn’t get through a bottle due to just how over the top it is in terms of sweetness. As I drink this I find myself desperately craving something with more bite to it. The problem is I’m still a sucker for these kind of beers (or at least trying them). I had hoped for something closer to Leinie’s Berryweiss rather than Kool-Aid but to no avail. I’ve got to be honest, as much as I want to like this beer (at least in principle), I just can’t. The best blueberry I’ve had is probably from BeerWorks in Boston, but it may have helped that I was getting plowed at the time, had front row seats for the Sox, and was sharing drinks with a bunch of buddies and Bob Ryan (of Around the Horn fame).


Rating: 4.5/10


Ideal Meal: I can’t figure out what to pair this with other than maybe a cheese course. I would try to use something like a strong bleu or cheddar to cut the sweetness. I did check out Blue Dawg’s website and they recommend pairing it with a pork tenderloin or a “mixed-green salad with dried fruit.” I think that last pairing says it all. This is just not a beer drinkers’ beer.

[PurdueBrad]

2 days off of work (today and now tomorrow) means you guys should get a couple beer reviews based on what is sitting on my shelves. I've got some strays from various guests so we'll see what I dig out.

[PurdueBrad]

Hey guys, sorry for the delay, I got taken to the hospital Thursday morning with what they initially thought was a heart attack (it wasn't, but a muscle problem in the chest) so I haven't been able to drink and won't be for another couple days because the pain pills, muscle relaxers, and booze aren't the best cocktail. I will be updating this at the end of the week hopefully. Sorry!

[Izulde]

Hope you feel better soon, Brad!

[MacroGuru]

How has this been treating you?

I am going to try an Innis & Gunn Cask Aged brews tonight, this brought up this thread...

On top of that, I just wanted to find out how you are feeling?

[PurdueBrad]

Hey guys, back with an update or two as I continue to work myself through some of my beers.

The first update comes thanks to the FOFC Secret Santa and, in particular, CleBrownsFan. He shipped me three new beers to try and I popped the first one today.

It is January 2'nd and, due to summer construction, we're already back in school after just a 9 day Holiday break. So, I figure after working and grocery shopping and before cooking dinner, I could go for a beer.

And I started with the Great Lakes Brewing Company's Christmas Ale. I know Great Lakes best for their Elliot Ness beer and Burning River brews.

I opened the bottle, after reading the label, completely unsure what to expect. This beer is described as being "spiced with cinnamon, ginger, honey, yuletide cheer..." Hmm...

I took my first drink fresh off of opening it (usually I let beers come down a bit in temp from the fridge but I'm thirsty and curious) and I immediately had to take another drink...and then another. I'm not sure I've ever had a beer that tastes this unique, different, and good.

The beer has a mix of flavors that can only be described as warming and Christmassy. I am often skeptical of the holiday brews (outside of Oktoberfests of course!) but this one holds its own and then some. The beer is impressively light despite the heavier and warm winter flavors and leaves a beautifully smooth, creamy aftertaste. The spices aren't overpowering and I feel that, as I drink this, this is truly what a person should drink on a 10 degree night as they sit next to a fireplace in a nice, cozy leather chair. This is just a relaxing beer to drink.

I can't say enough good things about it. I think the best food mix would be a soft, salty pretzel or perhaps cheese and sausage.

This is a 10/10 beer and gets a permanent spot on my personal must buy list when it comes out next November. WOW!!!

10/10, a form of beer perfection