REVIEW: Ridgeway Lump of Coal & How the Grinch Stole Christmas

Alright, hope everybody had a great weekend. Were it not for sports, I sure would have. At least Navy came through for me. Well, beer will never let me down, right? Today we've got Lump of Coal; a stout from Ridgeway Brewing in South Stoke England. This one was bought for the name only. I figured it'd be one that I'd be able to come up with a pairing for. And pair we shall, with How the Grinch Stole Christmas! And hey! It's all online so everybody at home can play along!

REVIEW: Sixpoint Global Warmer & Die Hard

I'm excited about this one. A new beer from one of my all time favorite breweries and one of my all time favorite movies. I knew when I started this whole Christmas beer and movie pairing excursion that I had to check out Sixpoint's newest, Global Warmer, and Die Hard, what might be the definitive American action movie. At first blush, neither is easy to come up with a celluloid or brewed counterpart to. I think I've come up with something though. Let's get to it.

REVIEW: Bell's Winter White & White Christmas

Some of my parings this Christmas season have been a little weak. Friday's was a little thin, and I'm sure  it won't be the last. Today's is a little on the obvious side. Bell's Winter White and White Christmas. I looked at Bell's other seasonal beer last year, Christmas Ale, a very tasty Scottish ale. Check out my thoughts on that one here. Bell's seems to be determined to subvert the usual expectations for Christmas beers. Their Christmas Ale is a simple sessionable Scottish ale, and Winter White is a Belgian style witbier. None of the hearty, ABV heavy, spiced ales that we're used to this time of year. But if Winter White is half as tasty as their Christmas Ale, then it absolutely will not disappoint.

REVIEW: Hitachino Nest Commemorative Ale & The Office

Alright, today's Christmas pairing is admittedly, pretty tenuous but we'll get to that in a minute. First of all we've got Kiuchi Brewery's Hitachino Nest Commemorative Ale. My first beer here on the blog from Asia! In the first week of these Christmas pairing posts not only have i had beers from three different breweries, but from three different continents! Pretty cool. I'm not quite sure what to make of this beer, I know it's 8% ABV, and that it's brewed as a "festive ale" with vanilla beans, coriander, orange peel, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Sounds pretty good, right? And to pair with it, A Benihana Christmas from season three of The Office.

REVIEW: Samuel Smith's Winter Welcome Ale & Doctor Who

I'm slowly but surely getting back into the swing of posting here every other weekday. So, today we soldier on with the Christmas parings! This fine Wednesday I'm looking at Winter Welcome Ale, a winter warmer from Samuel Smith's. A brewer that has always seemed to me to be quintessentially British. I'm not sure if that's actually their actual perception within the UK but to me when I think of British beer a bottle of Taddy Porter immediately springs to mind. But today, in the spirit of the season, we have Winter Welcome Ale, and to pair with it, something as essentially British and as essentially Christmassy, the Doctor Who Christmas special, The Doctor, The Widow, and the Wardrobe!

REVIEW: The Bruery Autumn Maple

Alright, back to the fall seasonals after a brief respite. It's a bit different though. Instead of being brewed with pumpkins, The Bruery's Autumn Maple is brewed with yams. Throw those yams (17 pounds per barrel!) into the brew kettle along with cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, vanilla, molasses, and maple syrup and then fermented with a Belgian yeast and you've got a recipe to make me sit up and take notice. To the beer!

REVIEW: MadTree The Great PumpCan

So apparently brewers love Charlie Brown puns. This isn't even the last one you'll see on the blog this year. I've got another one waiting in the fridge. I suppose if you're going to go with a derivative name you could do a lot worse than referencing Charlie Brown. Plus, at least MadTree is putting their own spin on it. The great PumpCan is only available on draft as of yet, but cans will be coming at some point down the road. It's brewed with molasses, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and allspice and clocks in at 7.9% ABV and 18 IBUs. Let's get to it. To the beer!

REVIEW: Ayinger Oktober Fest-Märzen

So I've had plenty of Oktoberfest beers but surprisingly, none from Germany. The country from which the style originates. Let's not beat around the bush for one more moment. Ayinger Oktober Fest-Märzen, 5.8% ABV. To the beer!

REVIEW: Heavy Seas The Great'ER Pumpkin

More pumpkin beer! For whatever reason I find myself particularly excited about trying new pumpkin ales this year. Fall Hornin' last week, Heavy Seas' The Great'ER Pumpkin today, and hopefully some more in the coming weeks. Today's is special in that it's bourbon barrel aged. Sounds terrific right? Also, I'm always a fan of a good Peanuts reference. To the beer!

REVIEW: Anderson Valley Fall Hornn'

The first pumpkin ale of the year! A truly momentous occasion. Some people don't love the pumpkin beers. Loyal readers will know that I am not one of those people. Today we've got a brand new fall seasonal from Anderson Valley, Fall Hornin'. A 6% ABV 20 IBU beer brewed with pumpkin and spices. Let's get to it. To the beer!

Fall Hornin' is appropriately autumnal in color. It pours a quite clear deep chestnut ruby hue topped by a layer of off-white head. Quite pretty.  

Spicy notes of cinnamon, ginger, allspice and a bit of nutmeg are contrasted by a sweet graham cracker maltiness. Sweet, spicy, very inviting. 

Fall Hornin' is medium bodied with a wonderful creaminess. The flavors mimic the nose fairly closely. Robust graham crackers sweetness is joined by notes of cinnamon and nutmeg. Sweet touches of vanilla come in before an earthy, spicy, balancing bitterness on the finish. 

This is one hell of a good pumpkin ale. Hearty, drinkable, spicy, and just all around excellent. This is one to keep your refrigerator stocked with all through the fall months. 

HD

REVIEW: Anchor Bigleaf Maple Red

The MLB post season is just around the corner, football is in full swing and this weekend there was a veritable chill in the air. That can only mean one thing, it's time for some fall seasonals. We begin this year's batch with a new one from Anchor. Bigleaf Maple Red a 6% ABV ale brewed with caramel and pale malts, Nelson Sauvin, Citra, and Cascade hops, and a little bit of maple syrup. To the beer!

REVIEW: Founders All Day IPA

Long time readers of the blog will remember that this isn't the first time that I've taken a look at this beer. Way back during last years Cincinnati beer week I had this at a very cool pint night event at the Cock & Bull in Hyde Park. I wrote out some quick thoughts, but I really like this beer and it deserves its own proper post. So here we go with Founders' All Day IPA, a 4.7% ABV 42 IBU session IPA. To the beer!

REVIEW: Bell's Oarsman Ale

More spring beer! The weather has cooled off since, but a couple of days ago it was downright hot. The weather had me craving something lighter and refreshing. So I turned to a bottle from one of the best. Oarsman Ale from Bell's, a sessionable Berliner weissbier. I didn't quite care for the first Berliner weissber that I had here on this blog, Dogfish Head's Festina Peche. But this is Bell's and I'm willing to give anything they brew a shot. Let's get to it. To the beer!

REVIEW: Dogfish Head Aprihop

So I've been pretty stubbornly avoiding the spring seasonals. Part of that is the ridiculous nature of the timing of many of these beers. Many summer beers have been on the shelves for weeks now. That is a topic that's been talked to death though. I think the main reason I haven't been partaking in many spring seasonals is that up until quite recently it hasn't felt anything like spring. But now that the weather has improved and the trees are starting to get green and the Reds are off to a 5 - 3 start it seems like it's finally time to crack open a few spring beers. Enter Aprihop from Dogfish Head, a 7.0% ABV 50 IBO IPA that's brewed with, you guessed it, Apricots! I'm also drinking Aprihop out of Dogfish's new IPA glass. It's supposed to accentuate hop aromas and maintain a good head. Whatever this glass does I think we can all agree it looks pretty rad. To the beer!

REVIEW: 21st Amendment Sneak Attack

So I've been looking at a lot of big hearty stouts lately. It's sort of the time though. It's awfully cold and big malty beers like that are prefect for cold windy nights like that. I love a good stout, that much should be apparent. But at a certain point, one stout after another can get a bit tiring. Apparently I'm not the only one who thinks that way because 21st Amendment has just released, in the dead of winter, Sneak Attack. A belgian style saison brewed with cardamom. Plenty of info about the creation of the beer, including the story behind the name and the can art, both of this are tremendous by the way, can be found here. Recommended reading. To the beer!

REVIW: Sixpoint Diesel

Alright. Christmas is finally over. And along with it, hopefully this wonky schedule as well. Sorry about the lack of a post yesterday and the lateness of this one. The three posts on Christmas and then a busy day yesterday threw everything off. So Today's post is the one that I had planned to go with yesterday, and then tomorrow we'll be back to regularly scheduled programming. Hopefully. So anyways, Christmas is over, so gone are the spiced winter warmers, but the cold is still here in a big way. That has me hankering for a stout. Enter Diesel from one of my favorites, Sixpoint. In the grand Sixpoint tradition, Diesel bucks traditional style guidelines. For all intents and purposes diesel is a stout, but theres also a lot of black IPA inside that beautiful can as well. Sounds quite delicious. One last Christmas related tidbit, that beautiful Sixpiont tap handle in the background of the photo up there? That was a very thoughtful and incredibly cool Christmas gift from my lovely girlfriend,m Meredith. Thanks again, Mere! To the beer!

REVIEW: Country Boy 3 Hos

Another Christmas post! So this morning's beer was somewhat of a disappointment. But Christmas presents are like that sometimes. Sometimes a gift doesn't fit, sometimes it's the wrong color, sometimes it's just downright lame. I can assure you that this beer is the exact opposite. I was in Lexington last weekend and made it a point to make a trip to Country Boy's tap room. I had read on twitter that they had recently released their. new Christmas ale, and knowing that it would likely make for a good post for the blog, i brought my growler along. I know i've said it before, but if you go to Lexington and leave without checking out Country Boy then you are a damn fool. Every time I go in there I am incredibly impressed by the quality and creativity of their beers. And as you will soon see, 3 Hos is no exception. To the beer!

REVIEW: Affligem Noël

Well, here we are. The last of the Christmas beers. This has been a whole lot of fun. I'll be sad to see them go. But that's half of the magic of Christmas, it's always over before you're ready to be over, At least I'm going out with an interesting one, Affligem N oël, A Belgian style Strong Dark Ale. I don't know the first thing about this beer, but going from a complete judging-a-book-by-it's-cover type place, I'm pretty excited. To the beer!

REVIEW: Listermann White Death

Merry Christmas!! I know Christmas falls on a Tuesday and Tuesday isn't one of my usual days to post content on here. But in the spirit of the season here is my gift to you, my dear readers, extra content! I'll be honest, as much as I do appreciate all of you folks who do check in here and check out my rambling thoughts on beer, and I really do, it's awesome. But this is just as much for me as it is for you guys. I have had too much fun talking about Christmas beers and I'm not quite ready to give them up just yet. So, you guys get more stuff to read and I get to drink and talk about more Christmas ales. It's a win win for everybody. A Christmas miracle! As I sit here writing this it's currently Christmas Eve and I'm watching It's A Wonderful Life and drinking a beer. Life doesn't get much better. Adding to the lovely evening is the fact that the beer I'm currently drinking comes from Listermann. Careful followers of this blog will recognize that name as the name of the shop I get my homebrew supplies from. The beer is called White Death and is brewed with Saigon cinnamon and fermented in Kentucky bourbon barrels. Now that sounds right up my alley. To the beer!

REVIEW: Samuel Adams Merry Mischief

Merry Christmas Eve, folks! The season of Christmas beers is almost at an end but not quite yet. And I'm going out with a cool one. This one was actually the first Christmas beer I bought this year. It was back in like October. That's no time to be drinking a Christmas ale, but my fondness for Sam Adams' limited releases ought to be well documented by now. And a gingerbread stout?? Come on! How am I not going to buy that? Also, I like to see a Christmas ale full of seasonal spices built on top of a big hearty stout. I'm excited about this one. To the beer!