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).
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
