Day 357, Dec 23 / Yellow Snow IPA

Day 357 / December 23, 2011

Yellow Snow IPA

Rogue Brewery  /  Newport, OR

A

NG

P

G

VG

O

Frank Zappa was Wrong.

As I greeted guests for our Christmas Eve Eve dinner, I poured myself a Yellow Snow IPA from Rogue.  Yellow Snow was first introduced for the 2000 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

Good body, medium hoppiness for an IPA.  Good thing I had this first and somewhat remember it 3 days later… because it was followed by a champagne cocktail, more beer, and a few glasses of red wine with dinner.

By the way, one of my dinner guests was wearing an all-natural hangover prevention patch called Bytox, which releases B-vitamins into your bloodstream.  He claims it worked, but I have yet to try one myself.

Day 356, Dec 22 / Santa’s Swallie

Day 356 / December 22, 2011

Santa’s Swallie

The Inveralmond Brewery / Perth, Scotland

A

NG

P

G

VG

O

Merry Fuggles to You!

Another Christmas beer from the UK, this one from Scotland.  And this one is a Scottish Ale, style.  Surprising, huh?

A cloudy, amber ale, brewed with Fuggles hops with quite a bit of spiciness and sweetness, and a low alcohol content for a Christmas seasonal.

I drank this while I was making a batch of mincemeat tarts.  Weigh in, readers - do you like mincemeat?  Have you had mincemeat?

And “swallie” means “swallow” in Scottish dialect.

Day 355, Dec 21 / The Gift

Day 355 / December 21, 2011

The Gift

Starr Hill Brewing Company  / Crozet, VA

A

NG

P

G

VG

O

One Hellerbock.

Starr Hill’s winter seasonal is The Gift, a German Style Hellerbock. Most winter seasonal are darker, heavier beers, but this one is a lighter beer, but still full bodied.  This has a malty, slightly warming lager taste.  In fact, I picked up a six pack to enjoy after the run is over.

Day 354, Dec 20 / Gingerbread Ale

Day 354 / December 20, 2011

Gingerbread Ale

Bison Brewing  /  Berkeley, CA

A

NG

P

G

VG

O

Drink, drink, drink, as fast you can.  You can’t catch me, I’m the gingerbread man!

A rich, dark, spicy porter, flavored with ginger, nutmeg and cinnamon.  Good, but I’d rather have a cookie!

Day 353, Dec 19 / Old Jubilation Ale

Day 353 / December 19, 2011

Old Jubilation Ale

Avery Brewing Company / Boulder, CO

A

NG

P

G

VG

O

Better late than never!

I’m sure that, like me, you’ve been busy getting ready for the holidays.  Parties, shopping, gifts, entertaining, making Christmas CD’s, spending time with family and friends.  While all of that is very conducive to drinking good beer, it leaves little time for blogging.

So over the next two days, I promise to catch up on the last few days, and prepare for the end of this quest.

Last Monday’s beer was Avery’s Old Jubilation Ale is an Old English Style Ale, and pours a deep mahogany color.  While this ale tastes like it has spices and flavors, the taste is actually accomplished through a blend of five specialty malts.

The ale has a bit of a sweetness, and a higher (8.3%) alcohol content.  Pretty good, but I’d probably stop at one of these.