Post-xmas beer wrapup

Merry holidays and happy solstice. Bill O'Reilly can go fuck himself with the whole "war on christmas" crap.

Anyway, the advent beer calendar is over, and it was amazing.

The last few beers were:

Shmaltz brewing, He'brew, Jewbelation Twelve, twelfth anniversary holiday ale -- 22oz bottle, 12%abv. 12 malts, 12 hops, 12%abv. They probably should've put this in a 12 oz bottle, to be consistent, but the 22oz bottle was definitely pleasant. A very nice, strong ale. Almost too strong, but good flavor. The 12s could've been a bit much, it probably would've been just fine with four of everything, but it works.

Deschutes Brewing Company, The Abyss, 2007 release -- 22oz bottle, 11%abv. This is a just plain amazing beer. I've actually been saving one of these 2007 editions since last xmas, so I haven't opened this one yet. I'll probably wait for a special occasion, but now that I have two bottles, it's going to be harder to hold onto them both.

Mikkeller, Santa's Little Helper 2008 -- 750ml bottle, 11%abv. This was a pleasant surprise. For a young, strong beer, it was pleasantly crisp and dry, but with great flavor. Highly recommended.

Castle Brewery Eggenberg, Samichlaus Bier, 2007 bottling -- This is "the definitive" xmas beer. 14%abv, 11.2fl oz bottle. The strongest lager in the world. Aged 10+ months before it's bottled, it's still worth holding onto like you would a wine. I've had previous year's bottles, so I'll see if I can hang onto this one for a while to let it mature a bit. It can be a bit overwhelming when it's "young" but it's still good.

Oh, and my home brewed English brown ale (recipe several posts below) is in the keg, and some bottles have gone out to folks for the holidays. It turned out quite well, good malt flavor, dry and crisp, with just the right amount of hoppiness. I was a bit worried about the hops, since I'm using my homegrown hops that I don't know the exact acid content of, but they seem to be right where they should be for the somewhat-subtle style.

Overall the advent beer calendar was a great gift, and was hugely enjoyable. Thanks Trace!

Again, happy holidays, and may all your beers be yummy.