The Twelve Beers of Christmas 2013

The holidays are a great time to select your best beers from your cellar or fridge to share with your family, friends, or savor by yourself by the fireplace.  For the past few years I have enjoyed assembling a "Twelve Beers of Christmas" to enhance my holiday beer experiences all while giving me another good reason to acquire rare and highly rated beers during the year to save for this event.  The 2013 lineup is no exception.  These beers are all offerings that I have not yet tried giving me yet another reason to enjoy the season.  The tastings start on Christmas day, one of these exquisite beers per day, and goes twelve days, following the Twelve Days of Christmas festive tradition.  I give you my Twelve Beers of Christmas for 2013:


1. The Bruery Oude Tart

 

"Oude Tart is a Flemish-Style Red Ale aged in red wine barrels for 18 months. Pleasantly sour with hints of leather, dark fruit and toasty oak."

I'm very fond of this style and this is a great brewery so I know this will be epic.  Thank you Matt R for acquiring this one for me.

2. Engelszell Gregorius Trappistenbier 

"The Trappist monastery of Stift Engelszell is located in Engelhartszell, in the northern part of Upper Austria, on the Danube, in a valley with wooded hills.  This monastery has been a member of the International Trappist Association (ITA) since 2008.  In 2009 the ITA granted Stift Engelszell the right to use the 'Authentic Trappist Product' label on its Trappist liqueurs.  The Trappist community have launched a dark Trappist beer, the 'Gregorius' (9.7% ABV). This name refers to Dom Gregorius Eisvogel who was the abbot of Stift Engelszell Abbey for 25 years (1925-1950)."

This is the only "Authentic Trappist" brewery from which I have not tried at least one of their ales.  One of my beer goals for 2013 was to track down one ale from the remaining Trappist Monasteries that I have not tasted.  Mission accomplished. 


3. Williamsburg AleWerks Brewmasters Reserve Café Royale

AleWerks Brewmasters Reserve Café Royale

"We age a stronger version of our CoffeeHouse Stout in Virginia Gentlemen Bourbon Barrels for 3 months. This aging adds layers of complexity including notes of vanilla and Bourbon to this big coffee beer." 

This beer is from a beer trade with BeerPal Melanie Wiscount who attended my annual  Hootenanny in 2013 by riding down on her Harley-Davidson from Washington, D.C. with FoamDome.  Aged in Bourbon barrels; what's not to like?


4. AleSmith Decadence 2012

"Decadence is the ongoing anniversary ale from the amazing AleSmith, unquestionably one of America's top five breweries, and this 2012 is a real show-stopper: a Belgian-style Quad that serves up a completely hedonistic richness and velvet-like creaminess that just tastes special; a beer obviously brewed with consummate skill and obsessive care. The lush fruits and boozy notes present themselves powerfully and the brawny 12% ABV is absolutely undetectable. This is a masterful ale from a world-class brewery and a perfectly delicious treat!
Raisins, milk chocolate, burnt sugar, molasses, treacle, yeast-driven spices, and rum fruitcake notes make this a titanic, memorable limited ale!"

Really looking forward to this one.  This will be my first in the annual Decadence series.



5. 3 Fonteinen Intense Red Oude Kriek

"Intense Red is an artisanal, unsweetened, unfiltered old kriek. It contains a higher amount of cherries, making it slightly less sour than a traditional 3 Fonteinen kriek. The new beer is the result of a collaboration between 3 Fonteinen’s Armand DeBelder and Manu De Cort of PuPil, a creative marketing company in Halle."

3 Fonteinen Intense Red Oude Kriek

I simply love most kriek ales I've tried, especially the higher quality Belgian offerings.


6. Scaldis Noël

"It is the custom in Belgium custom to brew a beer a bit bolder and stronger as a holiday gift to loyal patrons. At 12.5% ABV, the little Scaldis Noël bottle contains one giant beer. It has a burnished ruby-copper color and a spicy aroma with notes of caramel and marzipan and peach. The taste is round, with hints of anise leading to a long warming finish. If it is snowing and you have a Yule-tide log—fire it up and sip a Scaldis Noël—Pieter Breughel couldn’t paint a more Belgian scene!"

Merry Christmas to me!


7. Central Waters Brewer's Reserve Bourbon Barrel Barleywine (2011)

"A barleywine ale aged for a full year on used bourbon barrels, this beer has flavors of dark fruits and wood, winner of the Gold Medal at the 2008 Great American Beer Festival."
  
PfoxyJohn, aka Beer Santa, gifted me this beer in 2011.  It is time to enjoy this puppy.  Thank you Mr. Pfister.  You are indeed Beer Santa.


8. Bells Third Coast Ale (2012)

"Third Coast Old Ale focuses on malt, offering notes of burnt caramel & other earthy malt flavors. Designed with vintage aging in mind, the malt aspect is matched to a heavy complement of hops. Sharply bitter at first, this will fold into the malt character over time and balance out the maltiness."

Another top rated beer acquired in a beer trade, this one with BeerPal kinger.



9. The Abyss (2012)

"A deep, dark Imperial Stout, The Abyss has almost immeasurable depth and complexity. Hints of molasses, licorice and other alluring flavors make it something not just to quaff, but contemplate.  As for the great "drink it now or let it age" debate, we stand clearly on the fence. Distinct and delicious on release, the flavors meld and fuse into an entirely different pleasure a year on."

The Abyss Interview video 

Another gift from PfoxyJohn. Huge thank you. 



10. Struise Pannepot

"In the early 1900s, the village of De Panne, close to the French border, was famous for two things — the ‘Pannepot,’or fishing boats, that could be seen along the coast, and the unique dark ale enjoyed by the local fishermen. Our Old Fisherman’s Ale is a tribute to these hardy sailors and their rich, flavorful brew.
Pannepot is an unfiltered, unpasteurized, bottle-conditioned dark ale with an intense, complex chocolate malt aroma, roasted accents, and subtle hints of spice."

One of the top beers in the world.  Surprise find.


11.  Bear Republic Big Bear Black Stout

"Big Bear is a big, black, stout you can really sink your teeth into. The bold, roasty, caramel malt flavor is balanced by Centennial and Cascade hops."

 

One of the best stouts in America. On my wish list for quite a while. 


12.  Dieu du Ciel Péché Mortel 

"Péché Mortel (French for "Mortal Sin") is an intensely black and dense beer with very pronounced roasted flavors. Fair trade coffee is infused during the brewing process, intensifying the bitterness of the beer and giving it a powerful coffee taste. Péché Mortel is brewed to be savored; we invite you to drink it in moderation."

This Canadian beer has also been on my wish list for quite a long time.  Purchased at Belmont Party Supply in Dayton, OH.  Ending my Twelve Beers of Christmas with this one because it has evaded me longer than any of the others.



These magnificent dozen are certain to greatly enhance my Christmas spirit.  No "Bah, humbug" from me.  I'm going to be like that Jolly Old Elf by the time my Twelve Beers of Christmas have been enjoyed.  Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a Joyous New Year to you all. 

Beer Love, PDX style

My buddy Travis, a great friend and beer brother, recently moved to Portland, OR.

"Lou," he says, "you have to come out and visit me!  I'm working at The Commons Brewery in Portland and could provide a place to stay and weekend beer tour..." 
No brainer.  So I plan, with our mutual friend, Wisconsin beer guru John, to meet in Portland Feb. 1-4 for suds and fellowship. Travis promises many brewery visits, great food, a cool vibe and a generally fun beer and food centric long weekend.

Arrived @ PDX around 3:30 pm PST Friday, Feb.1 to sunshine and mid 50s, and Travis ready to go to The Commons for his work shift that Friday evening with me in tow.  I'm game.  Friday afternoon/evening at a brewery? Yes, please.

Met lots of very nice locals while Travis poured pints, lots of good conversations.  That and GABF Award winning beer: The Commons Flemish Kiss.  Another Win for me.  I sampled ALL of The Commons fine brews Friday evening without over-indulging.  We waited for John to arrive, then off to some breweries and dinner.

l-r: The Commons owner/brewer Mike Wright, brewer Sean Burke, and my host Travis Sandoval

The Commons Board of Selections

These little medals don't just fall out of the sky!

More local guests outside the tasting room, waiting on the pretzel truck

First dinner at Lardo; Pork Heaven.  I had the Cubano sandwich, Dirty Fries (with fried pork belly bits!) and a Heater Allen Schwartz bier.  Boom!  The Dirty Fries were a huge hit with all of us.  Too much.  I'm full.  More places to visit.

Lardo Dirty Fries with fried pork belly bits

Next up, Base Camp Brewing, a very cool newer brewery with great branding.  Owner Justin Fay gave a late night impromptu tour of the entire facility.  Big, clean, vision.  I love their direction and branding.  They even have a S'more Stout with which they top with a roasted marshmallow to create ultimate S'more experience!  After Base Camp, we headed back to Travis' place to try just a couple of more bottles: Russian River's Redemption and Pliny The Elder.  Now to rest up for the full Saturday ahead.

Base Camp owner/brewmaster fashioned this one-of-a-kind "Growler" - quite awesome

Saturday we were up decently early to depart first to Deschutes Brewery & Public House in Downtown Portland.  Great place.  Sampled most everything on tap, ate a good lunch, then got a private tour of the brewing facility from Jason Barbee, which included a couple of experimental batches not available in the brewpub.

l-r: Travis, Wisconsin Beer Guru and good friend John "PfoxyJohn" Pfister, Deschutes brewer Jason Barbee

Another GABF medal, this one just hanging around in the Deschutes brew house.

Feeling great after Deschutes tour and many samples, off to Occidental Brewing for some decidedly German selections.  Straight up styling with seasonal offerings: a nice change of pace from all of the in-your-face, West Coast styles of many of Portland's breweries.  Scenic drive to arrive, which was an added bonus.  We sampled ALL of their beers then headed over to Upright Brewing, in the basement, down the elevator, on the corner.  Really.  Would have never found it if Travis wasn't driving.  John and I tried the BushWhacker Blend: a pear cider/saison blend aged in gin barrels.  Exquisite to say the least.  Loved their offerings and their styling.  Vinyl LPs spinning in the taproom; I spied Stevie Ray Vaughan's album "Couldn't Stand The Weather" and it gets played loud and proud so I got my Blues fix during my visit.  More samples here then off to Cascade Brewing Barrel House, renown for their sour ales.  Very impressive lineup here.  Many more samples tasted.   Wow, just wow.  Great place with fantastic beers. 

Some of the taps at Cascade.

Dinner time means another brewpub; this time we headed over to Burnside Brewing for dinner and just a few more samples.  More GABF award winning brews here too.  Ate dinner, tried some samples and picked up a bottle of Sweet Heat "a wheat ale with an addition of 200 pounds of Apricot puree, then dry hopped with imported Jamaican Scotch Bonnet peppers. Reminiscent of a Caribbean chutney, Sweet Heat has a subtle tartness from the fruit with a slight spiciness from the peppers which also adds a fruitiness to the aroma,"  also a 2012 GABF  Gold Medal winner in the Herb and Spice Beer category.  Booyah!

Time for re-hydration and sleep. Back to Travis and Brittany's for some shut eye then up Sunday for a much anticipated visit to Hair of the Dog Brewing and their selection of big beers, and met up with Brian Bailey, founder of BeerPal.com.   BeerPal is how Travis, John and I all met so we owe a debt of gratitude to Brian for that happening.  Hair of the Dog:  we got there as the doors opened for business on Super Bowl Sunday.  Nice and spacious tasting room with plenty of tap and bottle offerings.  These were big beers, as in high alcohol content so caution was needed.  I tried several vintages of Cherry Adam From The Wood (2009 and 2011) and dang near everything else they had to offer, but only shared samples as not to overwhelm my palette (nor pass out).  Bottles and swag purchased.   Good to go to next place.

Tasting glasses at Hair of the Dog

After Hair of the Dog, we traveled to Gigantic Brewing.  In an industrial district, Gigantic had plenty to offer, including a taco truck parked outside to serve hungry patrons.  I got the Kiss The Goat Black Bock first; very nice.  Then Ume Umai Black Rice and Plum Beer, a different but tasty treat.  Now we were ready for late lunch, we piled into Travis' little car and head back out for more adventures.

Gigantic Kiss The Goat Black Bock

Quick trip to Belmont Station, one of Portland's finer bottle and tap shops, where I had an AleSmith Speedway Stout on tap and purchased a couple of bottles.  Then we walked down the block to the famous Horse Brass Pub for our lunch and some Super Bowl viewing.  Fish and Chips along with a Russian River Pliny The Elder draught for me.  Yes, Pliny The Elder on tap; a first for me as I've only had it from the bottle before.  Super Bowl and the Beyonce halftime show and we headed back to the Casa de Locos Revolucion Fuego for rest and recovery. 


Last call and I'm spent.  Great trip.  Travis and Brittany are the most gracious of hosts.  Meeting up with John is always a pleasure.  Any craft beer lover should take a trip to Portland.   It is beautiful, quirky, and full of excellent breweries and restaurants.  Everyone I met was extremely friendly and accommodating.  Travis has the best job in the world: he pours pints and helps out at a top notch nano brewery for great owners, and he's an even better friend and Beer Pal.  I will return to Portland sometime but for now I leave great memories and tired taste buds behind.

Until the next beer trip...

Interested to see all the of different beers that I tried in Portland?  Check out bluesandbarbq's Untappd list.  

Words in a pint glass...

I like to talk.  Because of that gift of gab I tend to also embellish what I write.  For the past few years, since really discovering craft beers, I have sampled lots of different brews and posted my beer reviews on BeerPal.com as user bluesandbarbq.  These elixirs moved me enough to respond with these words.  These are my favorites.




Buckeye Hippie IPA  
8/13/2010

Groovy, man. This dude pours a wicked amber with a pillowy cream head that maintains its cool self like a long slow stoner bender leaving some wicked lacing. Man, it smells like a dank pot of grapefruit hemp then some cool dude added some pine and a little peach then a little bit of sweetness. Wow man, the flavor is most outstanding, right on, with a bit of that grapefruity hempness bittering this spliff to a wicked stage of grooviness. Most righteous and heavy, man, heavy, but in the cool far out kinda way.

Epic Portamarillo
3/29/2012 

I'm a sucker for these weird beers: this one pours a dark leather brown/near-black with a nice beige head and big drapes of lacing throughout. Sweetly and light smoked roasted malt aroma, some chocolate, a near-citrus almost-port nose, nicely inviting. Porter flavor at first, but wait... what is that? Lightly smoked, yes. Pleasant light flavors of dark chocolate, yes. Something else... The Tamarillos! Like a hint of a sweet, rich Bloody Mary teasingly lingering in the taste, just a pinch, but it's there, smoky, sweet, rich and very tasty. This was a treat. I didn't know what to expect with this one but it works very well. Glad I got to try one.

Smoky Mountain Kilt-Tilter Scottish Ale  
6/27/2011

Very surprised to get this rarely-brewed local on tap @ Knoxville BrewFest! Nice deep brown amber pour with a tight creamy head that reduces to a constant ring, leaving copious amounts of lacing. Big malty aroma, sweet, doughy, nice presence of smoke and peat, with a big dose of caramel, hint of orange, cut by very earthy hops. Taste is malt-forward, caramelly, big and earthy, almost heavy, light smoke and peat, cut only slightly by earthy hops and alcohol. Pretty big Scottish ale, not sure of the ABV - should've asked. Nice effort. Very happy to finally try it as I thought it was a Sasquatch beer - seldom seen, only to be a legend, non-existent.


Highland Jack Daniel Barrel Aged Gaelic Ale
7/9/2012

On tap @ Knoxville BrewFest 2012. Holy Shit this is good - amber pour, white head with lacing. Nice and fairly strong Jack Daniel aroma, whiskey and malty and hint of smoke and charcoal and.. then hops, more malts. Taste is a beautiful blend of Highland's Gaelic Ale and Angel's share of Jack Daniel shining through, creating drool, whiskey, malts, whiskey, malts, hops, whiskey and malts and hops and caramel and... Holy Shit this is good. Wow. Just WOW. Wish y'all coulda tried it too! (I'm gonna steal a keg of it for the Hootenanny!)


Foothills Sexual Chocolate Imperial Stout  
2/22/2012

My White Whale. The Holy Grail. Atlantis in a Bottle. It is rare that I will pay this much for ANY beer. But I did. It has been on my wishlist since I created a wishlist. Finally. 2011 version. Near thick mahogany black pour with a very tight tall tan head and massive lacing. Rich chocolatey and roasted malts aroma, all kinds of chocolates: Dark Cocoa Nibs, Hersheys Chocolate Syrup, Lindt Milk Chocolte Truffles... Bam - a lot of chocolate in the nose, then a touch of anise or licorce, slight but it's there, and a hint of brine - can't place it but it's like sea salt air, and a hint of smoke. Flavor is hugely Chocolate forward too, which one would expect from a beer with this name, all of the same flavors which the nose eminates, Rich, creamy, some semi-sweet, slight bitter, silky sweet - really a chocolate explosion that is most welcome, then again a very slight anise and brine which deminishes the taste only slightly in my opinion. Overall, a great beer, maybe the best brewed in the South. It is definitely one of the most hyped and for what it's worth, it lives up to the hype, not surpassing, not falling short, just right. It is Sexual Chocolate and now it is off of my wish list and I have sipped it from the Chalice of the Nectar of the Gods.

Three Floyds Dark Lord Imperial Stout
12/21/2011

Upon the Winter Solstice I summon the Dark Lord (2011)... handed over to me in secrecy, cloak and dagger stuff indeed, by Code Name: kinger. From my Wish List too: I couldn't resist the pagan-ness of drinking this one on this day. Rich thick mahogany black pour, very tight tan head, spotty little devilish lacing. Scents of very ripe rich fruits - plums, molasses, dark decedent chocolates, inviting hint of black coffee and some leather, a touch of smoke and evil black licorice, a little mystical vanilla. Taste is equally evil and hedonistic: BIG rich roasted malts, dark chocolate, ripe plums and other sweet ripe fruits, sweet cherries, black licorice, a hint of smoke, vanilla and molasses; big sweet heavy stuff this one is. Super Worthy. Oh Cory the King, I give my thanks unto thee for this spiritual elixir. I submit.

Dogfish Head Miles Davis' Bitches Brew
12/19/2011

Cool Daddio Big PfoxyJohn brought this Wish List groovy load of goodness to my bad self. Way dark-as-an-African night pour with a smooth tall head, man, and some tight lacing. Most excellent and righteous aromas of the sweetness of Tupelo Honey, like far out, and some back bass of toasted malt goodness, all serving the better good of pleasing my nose; makes me want to do a Pharaoh's Dance. Then this bad ass brew hit my tongue: yeah man, it is right on! good dose of honey sweet like a sweet Gibson guitar jazz lick, then those beautiful roasted malts and molasses with a bitter Miles himself would be proud of. This is one righteous ass brew. Smooth as early Miles Davis' albums, different as the ground the man broke in jazz, all of this whilst fully enjoying Miles Davis Bitches Brew (Legacy Edition) - Miles Runs The Voodoo Down.. and it is in this bottle and now my glass. Yes. I dig this; it is Sanctuary.

Southern Tier Imperial Choklat Stout
3/3/2012  

Bottle brought to me by local beer buddy Sam.I.Am. - WISH LIST item! Heavy black pour with an extremely tight near perfect tan head, massive lacing. Chocolate aroma. Chocolate aroma. Chocolate aroma. Taste and aroma are of Dark chocolates, Hershey's Chocolate Syrup, Belgian chocolate, Godiva chocolate liqueur, milk chocolate, cocoa nibs, semi-sweet chocolate, Lindt chocolate, Mayan chocolate. Maybe a little java, but definitely chocolate... and roasted malts. Then there is a bit of chocolate in the end. Imperial Choklat. Yes it is. Willie Wonka had something to do with this beer I'm certain. I never thought I'd hear my wife say, "That's almost too much chocolate!"
But it's not.

Dogfish Head Hellhound On My Ale  
6/23/2011

This Hellhound Blues Ale is courtesy of kinger, who sent me this knowing I coveted it. Not the first Blues inspired beer ever brewed but certainly the most ballyhooed. When I first read about DFH and Sony honoring Robert Johnson, I knew that this beer was a "must have" item for me. The Beer: Clear bright amber pour with a very tight white head and lazy lacing throughout. Decent carbonation present. Citrus hops and light lemon zest aroma with a clean almost floral scent, offset by some earthy malts and a near heavy mouthfeel. The lemon zest becomes more prevalent as it warms but still not overwhelming and nicely refreshing. Taste is citrus and lemon hops upfront, hugely so, great bitter linger only cut a bit by the malts. Hellhound did not disappoint. It was as I expected; nothing more, nothing less. Fairly simple like the earthy Delta Blues that Robert Johnson purveys. Music hauntingly playing in my background: Cross Road Blues and Hellhound On My Trail - Robert Johnson - hell, I'm listening to the entire box set of King of the Delta Blues right now! Letting this beer take me to another place and time... a dusty highway crossroads in the middle of the Mississippi Delta, just outside Clarksdale. It's near midnight and a lonely figure in the distance is walking the road carrying a guitar case, silhouetted by what little moon is present. Lighting crashes in the distance. The smell of rain and the heavy humidity is all around me lingering in the Southern night air. Dogs barking near me, chasing the soul carrying that guitar case...

Good People Snake Handler Double IPA  
7/24/2011

East Tennessee and northeastern Alabama have a history of fundamentalist Christian churches with a penchant for practicing Snake Handling. This venomous Southern Bastard comes directly from the fargingbastige himself, hand-delivered like Mason jars of Moonshine, in Dixie Growlers - Two 1/2 gallon plastic milk jugs. Curtis, I am proud of you for keeping this Southern Tradition of Clandestine yet gentlemanly observation of an age-old Tradition. This sinful elixir pours a gentle almost clear light brown from said jugs, with an ample and frothy almost white head and copious amounts of delicate lacing. Decadent aromas of ample pine and grapefruit hops - big - with a good malt presence to calm the serpent. Taste is wickedly beautiful with a huge hops presence upfront like Fire and Brimstone - cuttingly bitter at first - grapefruit, pine and Damnation, offset nicely by the calming Angel of malt sweetness. This slithering serpent is only to be handled by the most experienced Deacons and Purveyors of The Good Word. Yay and verily I say unto you, go forth and turn the water into Imperial IPAs. And it was so. Amen.

_____

Most craft beer drinkers are great folks.  Many of these beers were gifts or ones received in trades; from PfoxyJohn, kinger, slowrunner77, fargingbastige, Sam.I.Am. - all of them beer buddies from across the country.  It is always good to share with your friends.  Enjoy and next time... write it down if so moved.