Posts Tagged ‘beer’

Beer in Vermont, Dec. 2009

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Posted 21 Dec 2009 — by Nathaniel
Category General

Hey folks I am up in the fucking frozen north in Vermont for the whole holiday shebang.  This is the land of my youth and as such much of my initial beer drinking can be traced back to here.  I’ve been here since this past Friday and have thus far had the opportunity to try out a few beers, so I thought I might fucking share some thoughts with you on what I’ve encountered.

First off, only a short while off the plane my mother, brother and I went to grab a bite to eat at American Flatbread in Burlington.  they have some fucking delicious brick oven pizza there as well as a seriously legit beer menu (including their own brews by Zero Gravity Brewing).  I personally had their 2009 Old Ale which was a delighful strong ale style beer, with a rich full-bodied maltiness.  It was about 6.5% abv, so a little bit on the stronger side (but just a little bit really).  I could easily have sat around and had a good number of these.  My mom had Zero Gravity’s Solstice Gruit Ale which is a fantastic beverage.  A few years back this was the first gruit style beer I had ever tried and I hold it responsible for my interest in gruits.  Unfortunately my own gruit attempt did not turn out very wel as it got soured (though the Untamed Beer‘s half of the batch turned out rather well).  Trying a few sips of my mom’s beer on Friday confirms to me that the Solstice Gruit is still the best tasting gruit I have had.  It is strongly reminiscent of a pale ale, but instead of a strong hop characteristic you get a subtle herbaceous quality.  I am not sure what herbs they use in particular but it works great.  It isn’t so foreign that a person who has only experienced hopped beers would think “what the fuck is this shit?”  However it is just different enough to promote interest as well as enjoyment.  Ian (that brother of mine) had something too but for the love of me I can’t fucking remember what.

That night at home I helped my Dad finish off a growler of some beer from Rock Art Brewery.  I liked this beer a whole fucking lot, but my dad, being a good old space-fucking-cadet couldn’t remember what kind it was.  Ass-hole!  How the hell do you forget what kind of beer you bought?  I mean seriously, if you can’t remember then maybe you shouldn’t be doing the buying, just sayin’ is all.  Anyways, using my prowess as a relatively well educated beer drinker I could deduce that we were dealing with some sort of Belgian style beer here.  In particular I was thinking perhaps a Dubbel.  it was definitely a stronger beer, and had a good golden brownish color to it, with rich malty notes and some other flavor (perhaps coriander) in there.  Rock Art does not list a Dubbel at this time, but they do have a Golden Triple of the Belgian Tripel style ale.  Not knowing what this beer was for certain this seems to be the best guess (and the ginger could explain that other flavor I was getting).  Whatever it was it was really good and I wish I had more of it.  Now, for those who don’t like Belgian style beers (Ian is a good example) this would not be a recommended beverage, as it hits that “Belgian” quality quite squarely.  On the other hands, Belgian fans like myself would love this beer.

Finally, I’ve tried Magic Hat‘s two most recent creations; Howl and Winter ’09 Odd Notion.  Now I know that some folks don’t really care much for Magic Hat (Dan, I’m looking at you buddy)  which is fine in the sense of personal preference (though I hold that they might be limiting their perspective to #9 solely . . . try a fucking Roxy Rolles, that beer is god damn delicious!).  Personally Magic Hat has played a huge roll in my learning to like beer.  It has long been a stable beer provider for my dad (he actually gave me a button the other day that he had gotten in 1997 when Magic Hat moved to their current location) and as such I started drinking them early on.  As far as Howl and the Winter ’09 Odd Notion goes these are both interesting beers.  Howl is a dark-lager which is interesting in it’s own right.  Looking at the pour one might be tempted to think that this was some sort of stout or porter though it does have a fantastic clarity to it’s pitch blackness.  However the flavor completely throws you off.  It is rich and smokey but also clean and crisp just like a lager should be.  Really it is very interesting and not a whole lot like any other beer I can think of.  I would not recommend this beer to somebody who is just getting into the whole beer thing as there is unquestionably an intensity that is more suited for the drinker who has put in a few more hours in the beer experiencing grind.  The Winter ’09 Odd Notion couldn’t be any more different.  This is an American Sour Ale which means exactly like the name suggests; that it is sourish.  Now, for the homebrewers out there, it might seem strange to offer a sour beer as this is exactly what we often try to avoid creating (sour often equals contamination and a less than enjoyable, if not outright disgusting, beer).  However there is a style of beer that seeks this sour quality and they are slowly and surely making an appearance in the American market (Mr. Cendrowski has recently written a good piece on sour beers.  Check it fuckers!).  I have to admit I am really surprised at how much I like this beer.  When I hear sour beer I tend to cringe a little bit and yet this one by Magic Hat is very well done.  Yes it does have a sour quality to it, but it is not the full flavor, merely an aspect and all and all this is a very drinkable and refreshing beer.  I would say that this might be a great place for people to start if they have an interest in sour style beers.

So yeah, I’ve had a fucking few over the last couple of days and I aim to have a fucking few more while I’m up here.  Hell, this is good beer country (probably because it is so fucking god damn cold and beer is the only way to get warm . . . well there is always Canadian Whiskey . . . aw fuck, whom I kidding, nobody but fucking silly Canadians really drink Canadian Whiskey).  Beer is what it is around here, so grab one and fucking enjoy.

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So You Want to Brew Your Own Beer?

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Posted 11 Dec 2009 — by Nathaniel
Category General

The vast number of beer drinkers find themselves being satisfied with just consuming commercial brews (whether domestic, import, or craft) and this is fine and good.  However there are some people who eventually start to think to themselves, “hey, I think I’d like to try my hand at brewing my own beer.”  From this stock we get homebrewers, a group of people with whom I am pleased to be included.

In 1978 the U.S. Congress passed an Act (then signed by President Jimmy Carter) that allowed for individuals to brew a certain amount of beer (200 gallons a year), for personal or family use, that would be exempt from taxation.  While it is generally assumed that this makes homebrewing legal across the board in this country, it should be noted that the Act specifically still allowed individual States the right to regulate or prohibit homebrewing, and while it is legal in most states nowadays, one should make sure to determine specific state laws in regards to homebrewing legality (Alabama is probably the best known for  laws against homebrewing). Basically though it comes down to this, if you’d like to brew you’re own fucking beer than you probably can (except in Alabama).  

I personally have been brewing for just about a year now, having brewed eight beers* of my own and having partaken or aided in the brewing of easily a dozen others with fellow brewing friends.  While I am at the point in my personal brewing experience where I have a pretty good idea what I am doing in all the important aspects of brewing, I claim no major expertise in the hobby (though I have migrated to primarily doing all-grain brews which is a big step forward). 

Maintaining my humbleness on the matter I do not intend here to provide a detailed step-by-step procedure for making a homebrewed beer, but instead would like to offer some things that I think of as being important considerations for all homebrewers (whether just starting off or having done so for years).  I hope that these consideration might help some of you all out in deciding if homebrewing is the thing for you (and if it isn’t remember there are plenty of other fucking hobbies out there, like god-damn knitting, or the collecting of acorns that look like former presidents, just to name a few).  So starting off here are some things that are important (if not essential) for producing quality homebrewing.

Sanitation

I list sanitation first and foremost because if you have no sense of how to keep shit clean then you are going to produce disgusting sour shitty-ass beer every time.  Seriously, good sanitation is key to brewing good beer, and you will hear this stressed again and again by fellow homebrewers or in books about homebrewing.

To make beer a sugar loaded liquid called the wort needs to be left to ferment for a period of time (the time can very between different styles).  As it is fermenting yeast is consuming the sugars and farting out alcohol (for those of you not in the know, alcohol in fermentation is a waste product of yeast getting all fat and happy on sugar). Because you are dealing with a sugar rich liquid there are a lot of other microbes (foreign yeasts, bacterium, etc.) that would love to munch out on the wort too.  These contaminates will alter the flavor of the beer.  So basically you gotta keep stuff nice and clean.  That means everything; your equipment, your brewing area, yourself, so on and so forth. 

Fortunately there are a lot of sanitation and cleansing products available to brewers.  I personally have used Star San or iodophor (here are some pros & cons for both) but know that other sanitizers exist.  Basically whatever works for you.  Just make sure that you get everything clean.  I have only had one beer come out soured and there is some debate as to whether this was due to poor sanitation or if it was other elements (the specific yeast strain, the herbs used to flavor this beer, etc.).  basically I pursue a cleaning philosophy of “it’s better safe than sorry” because I would rather spend a little extra time cleaning than have to dump out an entire five gallons of beer because it got nasty from rushing the sanitation job.

Patience

In some ways sanitation could fall under the category of patience and like sanitation I will stress that this is a vital skill (and possibly one of the hardest to achieve).

While it would be super awesome (like bad-ass to the fuckteenth degree) if you could just say abra-fucking-kadabra and have some delicious beer ready but that just isn’t the case.  Brewing takes time in pretty much all aspects of the process and if you don’t have the patience to take the right amount of time you are going to fuck shit up and make crappy beer (and you’ll have nobody to blame but your own god-damn self for having tried to rush shit).

Part of patience requires waiting for water to come to temperature and also to boil (and just think of the watched pot proverb here and you’ll get a bit of the picture of patience).  Part of it is waiting on the fermentation process, which will in the very least take a couple of weeks.  Part of it is for bottle aging.  Part is for sanitation.  And part is just all the little shit you need to do here or there in the process; measuring, pouring, tasting, bottling, etc.

But basically you have got to be patient.  As you get more experienced you learn how to manage your time a bit better, but some things are going to take time inevitably.  When people ask me how much it costs to homebrew I always ask them how they value their time as I think the time expense tends to be one of the biggest costs in regards to homebrewing.

Working with Others

This is something that could be argued as a non-essential but I intend to make my case for it.

I probably never would have picked up homebrewing if I had not known people who did it themselves and were willing to help me learn the processes.  Not only is it valuable to work with others who know homebrewing themselves, but it is also just so beneficial to have an extra set of hands available throughout the process.  Plus, because the initial stages (the mashing, the boiling, etc.) can be quite time-consuming, it is nice to have somebody to chat with in the process.

Again, while it is possible to brew alone, I think some of the whole thing is made better working with others.  Besides getting some good beer, I think one of my favorite aspects of brewing is the social end of it.

Creativity

This is another thing that one could argue is not as totally essential.  The reason why is that it is possible to stick to brewing just pre-set beer recipe kits, which if you do right will still produce great tasting beer.  In fact using one of these recipe kits is how I strongly recommend starting homebrewing as they tend to provide everything that is needed and thus you don’t have to stress about other things. And for some people these set recipes will suffice for all their brewing.

I, and many others I know, like to push the limits some.  This isn’t to say that we don’t use recipes, we still do, but we like to be inventive and daring.  In many ways this is just like cooking.  Following a recipe closely can allow anybody to cook a decent meal, but as one becomes more familiar with the flavors and elements of the food they may opt to change things up.  The same with beer brewing.  As we become more aware of how the grains impart flavor and color, or what different hops will do, we can opt to change things around.  This is fun because this is when you really get to feel like you are in command of the outcome.  To date have brewed beers flavored with ginger, honey, coriander, a gruit (which came out soured), orange peels, chocolate, and, most recently, Habanero peppers.  I have altered grain bills, changed up hops, and even used different priming sugars (usually corn sugar is the standard, but I have made other concoctions).

Sure there can be a risk involved with creativity, but there is also that chance of creating something unique and kick-ass.  I think that much of the modern craft beer renaissance is due to the desire to innovate and push the boundaries of creativity.  I also think it allows for some of the most interesting and enjoyable beers.

and for the final . . . and possibly most obvious (I fucking hope)

LOVE BEER!

I have honestly met a brewer who said he doesn’t drink beer, even his own (besides small tastes).  While he might be able to produce some fine beer I do not think I would ever try his brews.  Why?  Well because why the fuck would you pursue a hobby if you didn’t love the product?  Again, I can imagine, considering the systematics of brewing, that one who does not love beer could still produce a fine beverage, but to me that is just silly.

I have loved beer for some time now and it was this love that was a big aspect of wanting to take the leap into homebrewing.  Since I began brewing last year my appreciation of beer has grown even more so.  I hang out with fellow brewers, I read about beer and beer making, and I write on this blog about all things beer.  I fucking love beer!

And really I feel like this should be a given for any hobby one has.  Love what you pursue or maybe look for another hobby.  If you truly enjoy beer then brewing might be a good one, if you just are so-so then think of something else.  Besides the above mentioned fellow, all the brewers I know are serious beer enthusiasts.  I also know some beer lovers who choose not to brew, not that they can’t, just because the brewing doesn’t interest them as much as the drinking.

So I hope these points mentioned give you some perspective on things to consider if you are thinking about brewing beer.  It is a fun hobby for those of us who do it, providing plenty of opportunities for enjoyment, discovery, and some healthy challenges.  If you think it might be for you then I’d say “give it a fucking shot and brew some beer.”

*Beers I’ve brewed to date (in order, first to most recent): Irish Stout; Copper Ale; Ginger Wheat (also called HeffeBelgian); Dark Rye; Nut Brown; Gruit (the one beer of mine that has been soured); Belgian Whitbier; Habanero Stout (just got put into secondary, is likely the most intense beer I have brewed yet, both in flavor and alcohol content – it is almost at 11% abv right now).  I will also be brewing a Brown Rye on Saturday with Brian from Untamed Beer.

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Where to Get Your Drink On

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Posted 09 Dec 2009 — by Nathaniel
Category General

In regards to drinking of alcohol of any kind, and beer specifically, one of the questions we often have to ask ourselves (or others within proximity) is “where the fuck should I get my drink on?”

Now it shouldn’t take any major degrees of genius to rationalize that going out to drink is bound to put more strain on the wallet than drinking at the good ol’ home (or the homes of others, which can be beneficial for not having to worry about any necessary cleaning).  As such, a person inclined to preserving reasonable monetary stability might aptly respond to the above question by answering, “well I think I will just stay in and enjoy my beverage of choice at home.”  Now I can appreciate and empathize with wanting to be careful with ones money spending (especially in these “tough economic times” – most fucking overused expression of the past year, so annoying) and so will say to you, “If that suits you then I’m not gonna knock it.”

That being said however, I happen to be one of those folks who, even considering all the pleasures and conveniences of home, needs to get out and about on occasions and as such the question is still at large.  Of course the next answer after home shouldn’t be too hard to provide.  Obviously considering most laws regarding public open container drinking means that I’ll be heading to a bar or restaurant (or a place that they are one and the same).

So where do you go (when you’re not staying at home you fucking cheap skates!) to get your drink on?

I grew up in a small town right amongst the Green Mountains in Vermont and I am pretty certain (like lets say 87% certain) that there was only one bar in the entire town.  However, this was not really much of a problem to me considering that most of the time I spent in that town I was under the legal drinking age and thus would not have been served even if I had gone there.  I, like many folks, became of drinking age while I was in my college years (though admitedly I turned 21 during the summer break, so actually was back in my Vermont hometown).

In college I was a bit older than everybody else in the same class year as me and thus turned 21 prior to the beginning of my junior year of school.  I attended a small liberal arts state school in New Hampshire called Plymouth State University in the equally small town of Plymouth.  Being a small town it was also limited in its offering of places for drinking, but considering that it had a college population to support it there were more places than my home town back in Vermont.  So after turning the legal drinking age I took the time to familiarize myself with the estabalishments that served alcohol (and especailly beer as that is obviously my drink of choice).  The two places that I most frequented to get a drink durning my last two years in college were Biederman’s Deli & Pub and The Lucky Dog Tavern & Grill.  Part of the appeal of both was that not only did they provide places to get a drink, but they also both served some good food (Biederman’s was definitely a deli with all sorts of sandwiches and soups while The Lucky Dog was a kind of family restaurant with all sorts of stuff on their menu).  While I cannot recall the exact tap lists of either place I am pretty certain that I could usually get a Harpoon IPA or a Long Trail Ale at them.  I clearly remember wandering down to Biederman’s on several occasions after I was done classes for the day to get a pint of Guinness.  Of the two I think that Biederman’s tended to maintain the better beer list (which is supported by their current tap list), but unfortunately is also closed a lot earlier.  Of course being in college I probably spent more of my drinking time out at parties, drinking cheap ass shit that would progress me towards inebriation quickly.  Just sayin’ yo.

I did spend some drinking time back in Vermont, and when I did I spent most of it in Burlington.  Burlington, VT is the home of The University of Vermont and as such has a pretty decent night life and is a fun place to hangout.  Vermont in general has a pretty well established beer culture as well with a good number of breweries including Magic Hat, Long Trail Brewery, Otter Creek Brewery, Rock Art Brewery, and one of the Harpoon Breweries (the other is in Boston).  If there is one place in downtown Burlington I can claim that I frequented pretty regularly to get something to drink it would probably have to be The Vermont Pub & Brewery.  The Vermont Pub & Brewery has been around for a pretty long time and has a good reputation for good food and beer.  It seems like pretty much every time that I go back to Vermont I end up in there for at least a pint.  Of course there are a number of other locations that I have enjoyed drinks in while in Burlington, but I will not go through them all here.

For the past two and a half years (the time after graduating from college) I have lived in Greenville, SC.  This was a change for me in many ways (especially the whole New England to the South thing) but one of the biggest had to be moving from primarily living in the country to living in a very urban city area (not that Greenville is huge, but it is bigger than where I’ve previously lived).  Greenville has it’s fair share of bars and restaurants and by this point in time I think I have probably visited most of them.  Being a creature of habit I tend to return to a few places most regularly.  In Greenville, if I am really looking to get to some drinking and want good beer, I will almost always head to Barley’s Taproom & Pizzeria.  Everything about the place is a pleasure.  It maintains the best beer list in the city, has very good food, and I frequent it enough that several of the staff recognize me.  They also regularly host cask tappings or other beer centered events from various breweries which are a blast to attend.  All around Barley’s gets my big ol’ stamp of approval.  There are a number of other locations I stop into on occassions (though in recent times I admit to being a bit of a cheap skate myself).  Another good spot is Blue Ridge Brewing Co. if you are looking for some local craft brewed beer.

What I think it really comes down to when asking “where should I get my drink on?” is what you are looking for.  Do you want to high class it a bit or will the local dive satisfy your needs?  What will you be drinking?  In my case it is almost always beer but others might prefer wine or liquor.  If it is beer that you want you may have to think about what is on tap, unless you happen to prefer the domestics, which you can find just about anywhere.  Personally I prefer to drink at places where the bar staff know the beverages they are serving.  If a bar tender can’t tell me what a beer they have is like then I question whether or not they should have it available (basically know your shit, this goes for wine and liquor as well).  But finally I think it is important to just be comfortable.  I have always been more of a lounging type, and so prefer a place where I can relax and not feel like I have to shout over all the noise or fight my way through big crowds.  Sure places like Barley’s get a bit busy on occasions but generally it is a flowing kind of busy and allows for good socializing.

So where the fuck do y’all get your drinks on?  Hopefully somewhere good.

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A Beer Mug with "Real Craftmanship"

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Posted 04 Dec 2009 — by Nathaniel
Category General

This morning while I was browsing through the web, reading whatever crap it is that I read in the mornings before heading to work, I stumbled upon this brief post/question on uncrate (a really fun sight to find cool new things to blow cash on): 

Where can I find a beer mug with real craftsmanship? 

The question caught my attention because I have an answer (albeit one that probably doesn’t really help the asker), which would be “My house mother fucker!” 

Behold, one of the best beer mugs I have yet to encounter in my life: 

The Beer Mug

An excellent stone ware mug that is a perfect pint (holds 16 oz and a bit of foam with no problem)

 

Here is the story behind this mug.  My friend Evan and I were wandering about and by some way or another ended up at a GoodWill store.  Being as we are appreciators of the finer things we decided that browsing through the GoodWill store might turn up some good finds.  What luck that we chose to look around, for there, by the random assortment of home goods and tacky decorations sat these three excellent stoneware mugs (each one had a different print on it).  Evan took two and I grabbed the one seen in the picture above.  All together the three probably put us out about $2.70 or something like that (money well spent).  To date it may still be one of the greatest finds I’ve ever encountered at a GoodWill store (though I did buy a pimping huge-ass fake fur coat back when I was in college.  That thing was fucking sweet). 

So what is so fucking great about this mug (and the two counterparts owned by Evan)?  A number of features really.  

I’ll start with the general look of the things.  There was no question upon encountering them what these mugs were intended for.  Neither Evan nor I were like, “Gee fuck, I sure feel like being a douche and drinking some sangria out of this here mug.” No, they were obviously intended for the sole purpose of holding beer and being fucking bad-ass.  Each one has a different design printed on it.  Mine has an “HB” with a crown over the top.  One of Evan’s has a tree with some mushrooms by it and some kind of German writing (can’t remember what). His other (by far the best print of the three) has a German dude with a huge fucking mustache who is wear lederhosen and drinking a frosty foamy beer from a like mug (seriously, you just look at this one and are all like, “Holy fuck, when I drink from this mug I almost transform into that awesome German dude on the front.”). 

The second great feature of the mugs is the fucking feel of them.  These are no pussy ass wimpy little mugs. No fucking way.  They are weighty and strong and really probably just attest to overall masculinity.  You pick one up and the first thing that you notice is that you actually need some arm strength to hold it (and I’m not talking the minor muscles you get from beating you meat when you get a bit lonely, I’m saying you’ve got to be lifting some fucking weights to be using one of these mugs).  Part of the reason for the weight is that these mugs are beasts of strength.  This is probably because they were inspired by mugs that were made by fucking viking warriors (who obviously didn’t fuck around with mug creation).  In a bar fight these mugs could come in crazy handy for smashing up some faces.  This isn’t a wimpy piece of glassware that is going to break and leave sharp shards all over the floor if you knock it off the table.  No, you knock one of these fuckers off the table and you’ll be paying for floor repairs. 

Next, the drinking experience.  As I mentioned above in the image, these mugs are a perfect pint, which is just what we are looking for when drinking a beer.  The mouth of the mugs curve in a little which helps with retaining foam a bit (but just a bit, these mugs still allow for some awesome foam spillage if you need it).  Beer stays at a good temperature in them, insulated by the thick stoneware sides.  This is further benefited by the handle which keeps hand warmth at a distance from the beverage. All and all drinking a beer from one of these mugs is a great pleasure. 

Alright, for the final point of greatness of these mugs, I will say it has to be the sound of two of them clunking together in an affirmation of “Cheers!”  There are few (if any) more beautiful sounds I have ever heard.  This is not the high pitch clink of two pint glasses (which is fine if it’s all you got to work with).  No, I believe that the sound of two of these mugs in a cheers clunk is like the sound of God clapping.  It is mind-blowing. 

Now, as of the present, I only know of the existence of the three mugs that Evan and I own.  I do speculate that more exist as their overall uniformity of design suggests they may have been mass-produced (so basically feel free to look around for some).  I will also say that really there is a whole hell of a lot of different beer glassware or other drinking vessels out there.  I suggest that you check out Untamed Beer’s “Guide to Beer Glassware” if you are looking for some advice on how to drink your brew of choice properly.  But all and all, at the end of the day, whether in mug, pint glass, bottle, or can (or Keg stand I suppose), just keep remembering, “It’s a fucking beer, just enjoy it damnit!”

~General Lordisimo

 

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It's Winter Time, So Drink Fucking Winter Seasonals!

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Posted 03 Dec 2009 — by Nathaniel
Category General

Having started a few blogs previously (the three currently functioning, besides this one, are Apocalypse, Science, and Books) I have some personal thoughts about the whole blogging thing.  One of those thoughts is that it is not the first blog post which presents a real challenge, it is all the ones that follow it, starting with the second.  The reason why I think this is because it is easy to get excited about starting something new and presenting it right out of the fucking package, but beyond that up front introduction you need to start providing some content.  And let’s face it, content is not always as easy to come by as we might like it to be.

All that being said though, fuck it, here is post number two.

A popular theme it seems amongst a good number of craft breweries (and probably some not craft breweries as well) is to produce various seasonal beers which are compatible with palates and feelings of the specific time of year.  As such, here on December fucking 3rd 2009, we are beginning to see a lot of winter seasonal brews available in stores and on tap in bars.

Now I won’t lie to you all, in the past I have generally been more partial to summer and autumn (often Oktoberfest style) seasonal beers than to winter ones.  I think part of this reason is that winter seasonals in general tend to be more heavy in body with a lot of malty flavor, which was not what I originally really liked in beer (I was a bitter hoppy flavor guy originally).  Also something about how a lot of winter seasonals seemed to taste like Christmas rubbed me a little raw.  Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to sound like a fucking Scrooge here, it is just that the whole Christmas thing already seems so overly commercialized anyways and a lot of winter seasonals struck me as being just another bit in that vein).

Anyways, I have recently been putting aside some of my aversion towards winter beers and am glad that I have, because there is some fucking fabulous stuff out there right now which really can add some warmth (or at least a bit of intoxication) to your chilly winter.

I’ll start off with what I am drinking right now . . . AT THE FUCKING TIME OF THIS POSTING BITCHES! (See below image).

Drinking a beer like all real time and shit

The camera built into my laptop fucking sucks, but I promise you that this is a picture of me drinking a beer at the present time of this posting

That would be the Harpoon Winter Warmer folks and it tastes quite good having just come home from work about an hour ago.  The description on the neck label of this beer reads,

Brewed since 1988, the flavor of cinnamon and nutmeg in Harpoon Winter Warmer make this full-bodied, rich ale a classic holiday treat.  Enjoy!

1988?  Well shit, this stuff has been around for a time, in fact I believe if my math is correct it would have just turned legal drinking age itself were it a person (and for those of you playing the home game I was four years old when this beer was first brewed).  The cinnamon, nutmeg, and full-body are very obvious in this winter seasonal brew.  It is rather tasty, though still a little too Christmasy for me to want more than one at a time.  It is definitely about what I think of when I envision traditional Winter Warmer style brews. (Author’s Note: The Ramones’ “Merry Christmas (I Don’t Want to Fight Tonight)” just came on my play list, thought I should share ’cause of the relevance or some crap like that)

What else for winter seasonal brews?  While I can’t claim to know all that are out there allow me to mention a few others (two of which are also in my fridge right now) that you might be interested in checking out.

We’ll start with Samuel Adams Winter Lager.  Personally I feel that this is one of the least exceptional winter beers I have encountered.  That isn’t to say that it isn’t good, it is a pretty solid beer; drinkable with a consistent taste and hint of cinnamon and ginger. Really it kind of just strikes me as slightly more spiced version of the Sam Adams’ classic, the Boston Lager. All that being said, what I will give the Winter Lager credit for specifically (and most of Sam Adams’ beers in general for that matter) is that it is a reasonably tasty beverage which is also relatively affordable and can be found just about everywhere.  In that way you can pretty much always rely on Samuel Adams when you don’t feel like just drinking some kind of domestic.  And as another point to the Winter Lager is that fact that it is a lager style beer instead of an ale, which just strikes me as a little unique for a winter beer (though I think Magic Hat is currently producing a winter lager style beer too. I don’t know what it is though and haven’t tried it).  Anyway, once I finish up this Harpoon Winter Warmer I intend on cracking open one of my Samuel Adams Winter Lagers which I have now warming up a bit on my desk.

Next I will suggest Highland Brewing Co.’s Cold Mountain Winter Ale.  Now depending on where you are at in the world this might be a hard one to find, but fortunately for me Highland Brewing Co. is located just a bit north in Asheville, NC and so their beers are very common and available here in Greenville.  A few weeks ago was the first time I tried a Cold Mountain Winter Ale at the advice of Dan.  I’m sure glad that I have had the opportunity (and am further glad that I still have a 22oz bomber of it left in the fridge).  According to Dan, last year the batch of this beer was not nearly as tasty as it is this year.  This is likely because, as according to Highland, this is an “ever changing” brew.  Anyways, I will have to take Dan’s word about last year’s Cold Mountain Winter Ale. The ones I’ve drank this year however are superb with rich warm vanilla flavors that is just a delight to sit back and enjoy.  If I see more at the store over the next couple of weeks you can rest assured that I will be purchasing them.

Alright, for the last winter seasonal beer that I will talk about, and my personal favorite of these that I have mentioned (unfortunately also the only one I don’t have available right now), I don’t just suggest, but strongly recommend Sierra Nevada’s Celebration Ale.  Holy shit is this a good fucking beer!  I can’t decide whether it is a shame that it isn’t available year-round or if I should just be counting my blessing that I get to drink it on occasions at all.  This dry hopped ale has been described as the “best beer ever made in America” by Stan Sessor of The San Francisco Chronicle.  I won’t weigh in on that statement, just considering that there are a lot of American beers I have yet to try, but I will say that this has to be the best winter seasonal beer I’ve ever drank, and it ranks high up there in best craft beers in general (though personally I think that Sierra Nevada may haven beaten their own beer out with this year’s Harvest Ale, which was quite amazing).  Anyway, if you haven’t had a chance to try the Celebration Ale and you like winter seasonals (or beer in general) then I urge to go and get yourself at least a pint of it.

Alright, time to wrap this post up I think.  Again, I’ll say that I know that there are other winter seasonals out there that I haven’t tried or I’ve forgotten about.  I’d love to hear about them.  So leave me a comment if you have any suggestions.  And with that I will say happy fucking cold winter, in considering everything else about the chilly, if not freezing, season, it is nice to know there are some good beers available to drink (and possibly get drunk on if we are feeling too cold).

~General Lordisimo

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