Spruced farmhouse ale
750ml bottle, 10.7% abv
Ale Apothecary, Bend, Oregon
Pours dark straw in color. Aroma is fruity and pungent. Flavor is fruity with light malt and some great mildly sour funk. Finishes surprisingly crisp for the strength.
Tasty!
Of course it's Samichlaus.
Sorry to see the end of the calendar, but looking forward to enjoying the ones I haven't opened yet. Thanks again for the great gift, Tracie!
I cant believe its Christmas Eve already.
Delirium Noël
Belgian Christmas Ale
Huyghe Brewery, Melle/Ghent, Belgium
Flat Tail Third Anniversary Ale
This is from my least favorite local brewery, so we will see if they can surprise me with a decent beer.
New fermenter setup, with glycol chiller in place. Just need to finish all the plumbing and insulation.
MOA Imperial Stout, aged in pinot noir barrels.
I think I've had this one before and if I remember correctly, it was decent.
Belgian Christmas ale, 10.5% abv, 750ml bottle
Brewery Het Anker, Mechelen, Belgium
Pours dark brown with light head.
Aroma is slightly chalky, with lots of dark fruit and candy notes.
Flavor is lightly sweet and quite malty with a big hit of black licorice.
Mouthfeel is rich and creamy with some nice warmth.
Finish is on the warm and sweet side, but not overly so.
A very tasty big classic Christmas ale.
Apoth Sahati
Mixed fermentation ale brewed with spruce boughs and aged in wine barrels.
Sounds interesting...
Organic farmhouse golden ale
Lodgsen Farmhouse Ales, Hood River, Oregon
750ml bottle, 8% abv
Pours yellow gold and somewhat cloudy with a fluffy white head that dissipates to a thin lingering layer that can be refreshed with a quick swirl.
Aroma is lightly pungent and grassy. Pleasant spicy hints come out a bit later.
Flavor is spicy and light, with moderate malt and some good funk.
Mouthfeel is creamy and a bit astringent with a big hit of bitterness in the very dry finish.
Overall a delicious brew.
Imperial stout brewed with spices and aged in bourbon barrels
Crux Fermentation Project, Bend, Oregon
12oz bottle, 11.5% abv
Requires a stout (no pun intended) corkscrew to remove the cork under the traditional bottle cap. After opening, pours thick and black (heyo!) With a thin dark tan head that dissipates quickly.
Aroma is spicy with ginger and molasses, a hint of bourbon and some woody barrel hints.
Flavor is quite similar to the aroma, delightfully spicy and malty, with complex flavors that mingle pleasantly.
Mouthfeel is moderately thick and warming but in no way overpoweringly rich.
Finishes amazingly crisp and clean.
Overall a really nice big barrel aged stout by some people who know what they're doing.
Aberrant organic farmhouse golden ale, Lodgsen Farmhouse Brewing, Hood River, Oregon
12oz bottle, 5.5% abv.
Pours black with a light tan head.
Aroma is mostly spruce and spices. Flavor is similarly tree like with a crisp light malt finish.
A dry, spicy and tasty holiday beer that's quite different from other beers I've had this season.
This is tasty. Big malt favor with lots of dark fruit, licorice, and molasses. Warm but clean finish too. Nice.
Not much information on the low tech label.
Pours dark and slightly murky with a light head.
Aroma is strongly woody and alcoholic., with some fruity malt in the background.
Flavor is similar with a big woody presence being prominent and a bunch of warmth.
Mouthful is round and warm, but the finish is pleasantly clean and crisp.
Overall: big and tasty.
Black smoked saison.
Collaboration between Stone, Evil Twin, and Stillwater Artisanal breweries.
12 oz bottle
6.8% about
Pours black with a light head.
Aroma is smokey with some traditional saison spiciness.
Flavor is surprisingly mild, with light malt roastiness, a hint of smoke and a tiny bit of spice.
Mouthfeel is crisp and light, with a pleasant creaminess. It finishes with some lingering bitterness and astringency.
Overall a nice crisp drinkable beer, that is a noticeable departure from the big beers I've had so far in the calendar.
Adam From The Wood
Breakside Brewery, Portland
I've only had a couple beers from this new brewery, so I'm especially intrigued to see what this one is like.
Shmaltz Brewing, Saratoga Springs, NY. 22 oz bottle, 13% abv. 2009 bottle.
Pours dark and opaque, with a light tannish-brown head.
Aroma is rich and malty with dark fruit and sherry notes.
Flavor is intensely rich and complex, with chocolate, toffee, coffee, and roasty malt.
Mouthfeel is thick and warming, but finishes surprisingly crisp and balanced.
There's a lot going on with this beer, and it could easily be too much. Instead, it's really tasty and is aged just about perfectly after four years.
Yum!
Last of the Stone vertical series. I actually had one of these not long ago and it was quite good.
Not sure what style this is, as the label is sparse on details. Belgian dark strong perhaps? Maybe I'll look it up... yep. 11.6 oz bottle, 9% abv, brewed by De Dolle Brouwers, Esen, Belgium.
It pours dark amber to brown, with a light lingering head. Aroma is malty and fruity with a nice hint of spice. Flavor is fruity rich and warming with some nice light roast and some candi sugar. The finish is also a bit warm, but has a cleaning bitterness and is nicely balanced.
Really, really tasty overall.
7.25 inches and it's still coming down a bit. They closed the University and sent everyone home. Haven't seen weather like this here for a long time. Very pretty.
Update to add:this fun animated snow falling photo.
Oerbier (?)
All I can really tell is it's from Belgium, is 9% and was bottled February 2011.
He"Brew Jewbelation Bar Mitzvah: 13 malts,13 hops, 13%.
This should be interesting.
This is strong, with a big fruity presence in both the nose and flavor. There is a hint of sourness to help dry it out, and a bit of bitterness as well. Still balanced on the sweet side, but warm and not cloying.
Stafford and I are doubling our brewing capacity to 30 gallons. This is the new sparge water vessel that just showed up.
As you can see, it will also come in handy if we need to resort to cannibalism after the zombie apocalypse.
The Bruery: 5 Golden Rings
Belgique style golden ale brewed with pineapple and spices
