More Brown Than Black Collaboration IPA is the best of both worlds

There's a great story behind this collaboration from Stone, Ninkasi and Alchemist. The proceeds of the brew are going to help victims of Hurricane Irene, which is near the Alchemist brewery. Ninkasi and Stone are two of my favorite breweries so I'm excited to see how the brain trust pulls off what sounds like a unique style and brew.

This collaboration is so knew that it's not even in the Stone book which I received for Xmas. It's still somehow photo-bombed the collab. There's a lot of sediment with the pour and the aroma has more citrus zest from the hops than you might expect with such a dark roast malt. The flavor has the sweet brown sugar and biscuit-ness of a brown ale and only a tinge of roasted bitterness. There's a whole lot of hop going on but the malt body hangs in there to balance it out. The mouthful finishes dry and quick, which makes me want more. Nearly black in color, this brew has the heart of a brown ale and the bitterness of a Ronin Samurai. Sorry, I'm watching 13 Warriors on Netflix streaming now and its awesomeness is bleeding into the post. It's pretty gory and cool. Anywho, THE ROCK rating. Great beer by great breweries for a great cause, go getcha self some More Brown Than Black!

Nogne Winter Ale makes me yearn for the Northern Lights

I started doing Krav Maga again yesterday after a 7 month relapse and in a cruel bit of voodoo magic, my body feels like it was hit for an hour instead of the heavy bag I was punching. I decided to start drinking new beers again on my days off as an incentive (like I really needed one) and today is the first in the timetable. I'm trying to drink as many winter beers as possible before the season runs out and will be doing a 21st Amendment winter warmer on Thursday as well.

Nogne has been good to me in the past and I feel it's one of those breweries everyone should know about, like The Bruery. It's from Norway and if you see a label carrying it's signature O, I cannot advocate enough you purchasing one. Their Imperial Stout received a Bad Boys rating back in September (http://www.beereveryday.com/2011/09/nogne-o-imperial-stout). I had a feeling that this brewery was the real deal, but will their Winter Ale prove me wrong?

This is ravenously good and it tastes like something Santa's elves would make. Crisp and spicy, a fireplace beer originating from a part of the world where it's mostly night during several months of the year. It warms the soul at 8.5% alcohol and incorporates flavors such as clove, licorice, raisin and cocoa nibs in a fantastically smooth way, like a bobsled track. COOL RUNNINGS!

Winter Warmers are generally a mixed bag, a complex bank heist that either happens according to plan or goes horribly wrong. This is definitely the former. With the later, the spice usually wears on you worse than watching the latest Dr. Pepper commercial:

Really not a fan of that commercial. An interesting insight that becomes muddled in the execution. Anywho, this Nogne Winter Ale is not as perfect as The Bruery's Two Turtle Doves but it's sublimely delicious and becomes addictive at first sip. What are the elves putting in the Norwegian water? BAD BOYS rating. 

An education in classic styles at the legendary Anchor Brewery

After spending yesterday handcuffed to a chair for a job fair / speed dating event for professionals, I was in need of some exploration. Luckily a friend I know through school had planned a tour of local Anchor Brewing, maker of Anchor Steam. Their tours are booked weeks in advance so I felt very fortunate to join Kaitlyn and her group.

Put that in your beer bible

The brewery has an incredibly rich history. Anchor has the distinction of being the first craft brewery in the U.S. Their brewery began in the late 1800's and has survived despite a number of disastrous events; the untimely deaths of their founding brewers, German immigrants, one of whom was thrown off a trolley and then run over, I kid you not; their brewery burned down 3 times in the early 1900's; they're the only San Francisco brewery out of 30 who was able to continue operating after the Great Depression; and in the 1960's they nearly went under due to the abundance of commercial mass-produced beers and an anemic number of years where their beers became sour soon after distributing.

They were saved by Fritz Maytag, son of the industrial giant who produced Maytag dryers, etc, and he updated the antiquated the equipment and installed strict cleaning procedures to insure there was no contamination during the brewing process, something every homebrewer now knows is vital but back in the 60's, apparently wasn't. Anchor Steam beer was back in action and soon Fritz decided that he wanted more in the way of styles. This is where Anchor Brewing goes down in the history books as the first Craft Brewery. It's hard to imagine nowadays a craft brewery only making one style of beer selling the shit out of it. Every brewery now usually has several different styles, a pale ale, IPA, a stout and usually a seasonal, but back then this was out of the box thinking.

Taproom at the brewery. The Christmas Ales are above. They have a different tree label every year drawn by a local artist, who is now 93 year old. THAT is the spirit of Craft Brewing. Maytag = Pioneer

He was also one of the first people to begin bottling beers, which turned out to be a bit of marketing genius. For the first time, people could take Anchor Steam home with them and introduce their friends to their favorite local brewery. In the 70's Fritz traveled to England to study the classics and returned to make several different styles, including the Liberty Ale, an IPA that is classical in style and considerably different than the coma inducing hopiness pioneered by West Coast breweries. 

The Liberty Ale is easy to drink, like a lager, but it's only 50 IPA's, which makes it easier to drink than a hop heavy pale ale like Sierra Nevada. The first sip yields a sweet and biscuit infused malt. A citrusy bitterness follows and appears for a moment, like a whiff of a woman's perfume as you walk down the street, and then disappears. Michael Jackson, legendary beer guru not the pop singer, pronounced this brew as his Island Beer. When I'm asked what my favorite beer from the year is, I usually treat the question as 'what would I drink if I had only one beer to drink for the rest of my life?' The question is similar to 'what would you drink if stranded on a desert island?' The questions are similar, however, Michael dives into his requirements much more pragmatically. It makes me rethink my approach to the 'favorite beer' question. His requirements take into question not only quality and sustained drinkability, but the percentage of alcohol (you can't drink high alcohol all the time on an island, you'd be drunk consistently) and what beer would you be able to drink under a glaring tropical sun? It's a serious question for a serious beer drinker, and he chose out of the thousands of beers, including the acclaimed Belgians, Anchor Liberty Beer. It's an incredibly well rounded yet complex pale colored brew. The malt, smell, bitterness and finish are inspired. I'm intrigued by the beer, but I'm not sure I could withstand a hoppy beer day after day. However, one cannot deny it's inspirational qualities. It's a classic of the style, a pinup model or coup de ville. While being one of the bad boys for Michael Jackson, this is THE ROCK rating for me. It's definitely a brew that should be on every beer drinker's bucket list. My Island beer would probably be German, something a bit more malty and easy to drink that's low in alcohol; perhaps a Franziskaner Hefeweizen or a Schneider Weisse.

What I found very unique about the brewery was the building it occupied. It was a former coffee bean roasting factor that Fritz bought back in the late 70's. The imposing outer walls gives way to a brick and mortar interior. There's only three kettles, a lauter ton, sparge system, and boil kettle that makes every batch of Anchor beer. I was surprised to find that a craft brewery which distributes to all 50 states (1 of 3) only uses one set of kettles to brew. They also use open top fermentation, which really surprised me. The freshly boiled wort is pumped into large vats where yeast is added. There is no blow off tube, and they instead pump fresh air into the room to keep the beer sanitary. The picture below is of the barrel room, which again is surprisingly small. Fritz must run a tight ship, it looks like to me there's not a lot of room for mistakes with such a large production quota and seemingly smallish brewing process.

The beer I was most excited to try was the barleywine, Old Foghorn. My brother introduced me to the brew in New York last year and while I was several beers into the night, I thought it was one of the best beers I'd sampled. I had already counted my beer for the day then so this is the tasting that will go down in the MIFB log.

The Old Foghorn is around 8% and it's sweet, crisp and smooth. There's a bit of frutiness, maybe apple or grape. There's also a thin layer of caramel and chocolate. As far as barleywines, this is on the lighter side of a very aggressive style. Again, this is an example of classic English style barleywine vs. bold American style. Another throwback that I will bestow a TRANSFORMERS rating. It's quite delicious, but I remember it being more complex. 

The above two beers were originally conceived in the 70's. One of Anchor's latest beers, brewed to celebrate the sale of Anchor Brewing to a larger distribution company in 2010 (who also makes SKYY vodka, another San Francisco origination), is Brekle's Brown ale. This might just be my favorite brown ale of the year, a style I generally eschew because of the typically nutty flavors. This style isn't syrupy like an English style brown ale such as Newcastle, but sweet and crisp and most importantly, distinctly satisfying. I'm looking forward to trying this away from a tap and in a bottle to see if it's as smooth. THE ROCK rating. 

Afterward, we headed over to the City Beer Store to finish off the beer drinking day with....wait for it...more beer. I was feeling buzzed after the 10am tour yet, still found it within me to drink two glasses of Russian River beer. Today I can say that I have the heart of a Craft Brewer enthusiast but a liver who hates me. Right now he's throwing darts at my brain for deciding to do this right before I depart to New Orleans tomorrow for my brother's bachelor party. Detox begins next week, but soon after I'll be back posting with beers I purchased at the City Beer Store. Thank you Kaitlyn for inviting me to join in on the fun! This brewery was unlike any other I've visited, with a rich history and classic beers that haven't changed for decades. Every beer they make is a classic style with incredible quality. Drink one today!

Squatters Outer Darkness is devilishly delicious

Our skiing group is heading to the fancy shmancy St. Regis hotel at the base of Deer Valley ski mountain on our final night here. It's built at the top of the hill and you have to take a tram from the base of the mountain up to the resort. This company knows how to build brand luxury by creating an event out of a hotel stay. All that's missing is blowing of trumpets upon your arrival. Once you ride up the tram, which can hold around 20 people at capacity, you are looking down at everyone. You feel like the king of a castle. 

Speaking of kings, apparently the creator of Papa John's owns the entire top floor of the hotel. We're in the presence of delivery pizza royalty! Hot damn, I've really made it. Once we're on the outside patio, the view only supports my perception that this is less of a hotel and more of a castle.

The temperature is about to dip below the freezing mark and I'm dying to order a hot toddie, but Sam suggests that I order an ice cold beer that fits the occasion and surroundings. My fingers are numb but as the old saying goes, when in Rome...drink a beer (*citation needed). 

With the sun setting behind us, I order an Outer Darkness. It's from a local brewery, Squatters and it's one of their premium beers that arrives in a 750ml bottle. 

 The label is unquestionably cool. It has the eyes of Sauron from Lord of the Rings. Nerd alert

Look how beautiful it pours! There's a surprisingly light roast aroma with a bit of licorice that arrives out of a fantastic toffee colored head. The glass is cold but at 10.5%, this liquid is warming me up almost as well as a hot toddie. And it pours like pure unadulterated motor oil. I love it. The menu says it's "one of the most intensely flavored beers a brewer can create." Will the beer live up to these bold words?

Licorice and an intense roasted malt greets my tongue, as well as some oak and molasses. The brew lives up to the words on the label. This isn't a rich beer, but the unique flavors are incredibly intense. I'm not sure I've had a beer where the flavor characters of molasses and licorice assault my palate like this. A small sip will leave you tasting the licorice long afterwards. It stays with you, like the smell of a teenager who uses too much Axe body spray. It reminds me of drinking a liquor with a strong character, like Jaegermeister or Fernet. David would really like this beer and I hope he ends up in Utah sometime to sample this devil. I pour nearly two full glasses for other people in the group to taste and everyone loves it, but it certainly is not for the faint hearted. This actually quite accurately describes the people sitting around the table pretty well; our skiing group is nothing but adventurous. Sorry Obi Wan Kenobi, this SkyWalker is going over to the darkside. BAD BOYS rating.

At sunset, a hotel employee comes out with a sword and a bottle of champagne. Apparently at the end of each day they saber a bottle of champagne. Talk about classy! Here is a video of the event and it's about 2 minutes long because the gentleman tells a fascinating story about the origin of sabering a bottle. Could you guess that Napoleon had something to do with it? What a pint sized badass.

Red Rock Secale is a lager first for me

We're at the the High West Brewery in Park City, Utah and while the food and whiskey/rye is fantastic, what's grabbing my attention is the beer at the end of the meal.

The whiskey distillers teamed with a local Utah brewer to age their Doppelbock Lager in Rye Whiskey Barrels for 6 months. I've never heard of a lager being aged in liquor barrels because they're usually big ales like a barleywine or imperial stout that can handle the addition of oak. I'm dying to try this.

The unique combination creates a fantastic beer. The Doppelbock is smooth with a strong toffee and a subtle caramel flavor. The whiskey barrel smooths out this brew and adds an extremely subtle oaky flavor. I had my doubts but wow, I've never had a lager with this level of complexity. Color me impressed. THE ROCK rating.

While I can't buy a bottle of the Secale home with me, I 'settle' for an 8 year bourbon. Life is good surrounded by friends like these.

Wasatch Polygamy Porter saves a busted ski day

I'm on my 3rd day of skiing at Deer Valley and my skis have been troubling me the entire time. They keep popping off for no reason on turns! Today they finally called it quits. I narrowly avoided a complete disaster when the entire binding cracked and broke off. Luckily it was on a small jump and not while I was busting it down a mountain.

Ski patrol came by and asked if I needed a toboggan ride down. Everyone in my group is giggling like a school girl at the thought of me riding down and all the pictures that could be shared on Facebook of my embarrassing situation. So I told ski patrol "No toboggan can hold me!" and then ski'd down on one leg like an unbalanced yoga pose.

Without skis I'm done for the day, so Sam and I head to the commissary for a beer. I'm hoping Wasatch's Polygamy Porter will save my day. Their label is a Mormon man surrounded by 7 wives and the slogan is right up my alley, "Why just have one?" Love me some beer humor.

The porter is a pretty basic porter. It has a bit of chocolate and a decent roastiness. There isn't much complexity but the mouthfeel is smooth and creamy. All of this is translating right now to a relatively uninteresting but still quite enjoyable brew. Plus it's way better than being in a toboggan. TRANSFORMERS rating.

Wasatch Hefeweizen is final round #3 at the brewpub

3rd beer of the night arrives with only 9 mins left in the OSU vs. Stanford game. Infamous Jamie, skiing in park city with her family and joining us in her furry animal- hating vest (just kidding, it's faux fur), is having the Hefeweizen which is rated pretty highly on beer advocate.

I ask Jaime for a description and she says it's citrus. I agree. It's a German style hefe and follows the style pretty straight. Yeasty with a bit of citrus flavor, but otherwise it's not as doughy as many hefe's are. Wasatch isn't winning any awards with these beers, but they're great pub beers. That's all you need for a post ski day right? TRANSFORMERS rating.

Wasatch Superior Ale is round number two at the brewpub

Oregon just won the Rose Bowl but round number two arrives as the beginning the one game I want to see the most this bowl season, Stanford vs. OSU.

The Wasatch Superior Ale is similar in mouthfeel but not in spice/spirit as the Christmas Ale.  The aroma is fairly hoppy and the body is balanced with a big body. Like this game, this beer is right on the edge for me. It's very drinkable, but there's nothing noteworthy.  I love watching Andrew Luck play and now live in San Francisco, but OSU should be in the Championship game and they have a great team...however, they are UT's enemies.... Maybe I'll just focus on what beer I should order third and hope for a great game to entertain me while drinking. ARMAGEDDON rating

Wasatch Christmas Ale is the first of three at the brewpub

Sam, Jamie and I are finishing an exciting Oregon vs. Wisconsin Rose Bowl game at the Wasatch brewpub on Main St in Park City. With two big games on tonight and time to kill before dinner, it looks like this will be the first of several new beers for the blog.

The Christmas Ale is a copper colored ale that's dry hopped with Cascade and Amarillo hops, which creates a wonderful piney and earthy aroma that's warming me up already. While it finishes slightly malty, overall it's well balanced. This has a bit of spice thanks to the hops but it's also easy to drink. TRANSFORMERS rating and I'm looking forward for round two with Jamie and Sam.

Carlsberg Elephant is the wealthy man's malt liquor

After I graduated college, I went with David on a 22 day whirlwind tour of 9 cities in Europe. Denmark was the only country I hadn't traveled to before and long before there was a passion for beer stirring inside, I decided it was a good idea to visit the Carlsberg brewery outside in Copenhagen. I didn't try the their Elephant beer because I was too enamoured with the beers available at the brewery which weren't avail in the states. This beast is 7.2% and my guess is this is going to be too malty and alcohol infused for me. Let me start my scientific method though to confirm. Bottle to lips and tilt:

When I'm not enjoying Carlsberg Elephant, I drink martinis by my Elk Horns.

It actually has a surprising bite too it, but my early thesis is correct. The Elephant is big and boozy without a character to it. It's not sour malty like many of its European brethren because the alcohol cuts through. It is A LOT of alcohol, yikes. As I stare into the fireplace with a corncob pipe in hand, my conclusion is to call this a rich man's malt liquor. THE ISLAND rating.

Wasatch The Devastator isn't the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man of Destroyers

The beer label has a charging ram with with flames racing behind it, burning up what looks like a European chapel and a domed government building. I thought the Ram would devastate some sheep, not downtown Munich. But hey, when in Utah...(insert Mormon joke here)

After helping Eunich the Forlorn Elk with a sip, I pour the rest out for myself. We're vacationing in Deer Valley, Utah and I spent the day skiing and the afternoon has been spent watching the highly anticipated Broncos vs. Chiefs, with Kyle Orton Vs. Tebow, a game with with soap opera-isq drama. Orton was on the Broncos earlier this year until he was fired and replaced by the love him/hate him Tim Tebow. Now it's a showdown. 

Sitting beside a roaring fireplace with a bag of chips and cold beer is doing my aching body good. This game has been everything but Devestating, so I'm hoping this double bock will double the excitement. Come on Fireball Ram! 

Upon closer inspection, it actually appears that the ram has terrible gas and there were no survivors. 

This 8% doppelbock is a Shiner Bock with a ferocious bite. It has a big malt body with a bit of nut and toffee. Although it's relatively smooth until the end, it finishes with a tongue slap. There's an unusual sweetness to it that dissipates with the bite. For a bock, this is pretty intense, the wasatch brew pub brewers don't talk a cheap game. Unlike Tebow, the brewers decided to bring it. This intense brew would pair well with red meat or game, especially with elk beside a roaring fire. Ron Burgondy would do it. ARMAGEDDON rating. 

Boulevard Sixth Glass Quadruple isn't as sweet as Kangaroos

I'm at my brother's house the night before the other half of the family takes off for Utah. I'm able to check out my Christmas gift to Warren, a Kangaroo skin for his new house, which I'm sure his fiance will be thrilled about. Several years ago my brother gave me a prized gift after spending a semester abroad, a Kangaroo testicle beer opener. It's a gift I treasure greatly for it's uniqueness, ball puns, awkward situations and general hilariousness. It was featured in several posts last year:

I took a trip to Sydney in September and decided it was imperative to return the favor. Days before I left Warren closed the deal on a house in Houston and a housewarming present was in order. Before any PETA followers stop reading the blog, let me say that these pelts are sold at any novelty market in Aussieland and Roos are as prevalent and detrimental to crops as deer are in the states. This pelt is plush and majestic and I'm excited to see where Warren puts it, and then which closet his fiance eventually throws it in.

Doesn't it look like a furry stingray to you?

Anywho, onto beer. I have the final entry from the anticipated Boulevard Brewing from Kansas City. It's receiving a Texan homecoming at Warren's house.

Mr. Armadillo asks what the hell you're looking at, buster.

The Quadruple pours a huge head and is way over carbonated. There's a fine brown sugar quality but otherwise it's surprisingly un-complex. I expect more from a quad but you also can't tell that it's 10.5%. Not complex but drinkable, a nice dessert to a wonderful evening with brother. TRANSFORMERS rating.

We Are Back!

It's been a couple months since we last posted, but David and I are getting back in the game! I could give excuses about our absence, like I was working constantly at advertising grad school or David was making it happen...

Like a boss, except he doesn't send faxes anymore. A boss doesn't do that, only college interns...once they learn what the hell a facsimile is. Kids probably think it's a type of emoticon.  If video killed the radio star, everything else killed the fax machine. Well, they had a good 15 years.

Anywho, the point is 2012 is a new year and we're going to continue where we left off; exploring new beers hoping to inspire people to experience craft beer they've never heard of before. The twist is, David and I are no longer living together. There were no divorce lawyers involved, although I did end up with the beer brewing kit (sadly sitting in storage).

I now live in San Francisco and David in Los Angeles. Even though we're only separated by a 5 hour drive, thanks to the odd character of beer distribution, we'll be tasting a wider selection of beer and probably creating more of an online conversation with each other and you, the community. I hope our 3 month sabbatical didn't turn you away from Milk Is For Babies, because there's a great deal more in store.

I for one am going to publish a few back-dated entries that I've written but for one reason or another, haven't posted, including the final beer in the beer every day year, beer 400. We'll still be drinking and writing, usually at the same time, just not each day. We hope you tune in and let your friends know!

Avery The Czar Imperial Russian Stout solves a mystery

It's two days after Christmas and my great aunt has shed mystery within the house. The man trapped within the painting in the living room turns out to be Uncle Jedediah. The parental units hung it up because the person was family, but they couldn't remember who it was. Apparently Aunt Sara told us that he was used when she was growing up up to scare the children into eating their vegetables. To me he looks like a distinguished Russian Tsar.

Avery's Czar is 55 IBU's throws down with 10.57% alcohol. There's a subtle and well balanced coffee and chocolate roastyness in the smell. The mouth is subtle as well, the chocolate and coffee and roast blending together for an up front sweetness and dry finish that results in a balanced complexity.  This isn't kingly, like an AleSmith Speedway Stout, but it still deserves royalty. The Prince? Well as it warms up the alcohol comes through with a sharpness. How about a Duke? Not The Duke, John Wayne, but maybe a Duke of Westchester. Duke of Greeley? This beer has changed slightly, like what I know of Greeley. One of David and I's close friends Dan is from Greeley Colorado, the state where Avery is also based. When I first met Dan he told me there wasn't much to the city, but I found out later from my cousins that Greely is actually known for its enormous amount of shit. It's the fertilazer capital of America. Nonetheless, this beer and my friend Dan, better known as Danimal, is way above that shit. THE ROCK rating.

For dessert, I'm watching a Band of Brothers episode, enjoying some a Christmas gift from my parent's wine tasting friends, from a Chocolate store in Napa. Chocolate and an imperial russian stout pair deliciously together. Chomp, gulp!

Sierra Nevada Beer Camp Juniper Black Ale is a boozy dessert

On the heels of the Beer Camp Weizenboch comes an 8% Juniper Black ale that sounds very enticing. Both these beers are high in alcohol for their style and I'm convinced that these people at beer camp just want to get drunk on the good stuff. And I have to say...good for you!

This is delicious as hell (happy berfday Jesus, sorry). There is a smooth roast with only a small but tasty spicy bite to it thanks to the juniper. It's especially amazing with the ice cream and pairs like a like a liquid syrup. . I'd say it's THE ROCK rating. This is a beer I would like to gather more of and share with my friends.

Sierra Nevada Beer Camp Weizenbock is a homebrewer's dream come true

Merry Christmas! I awoke from a Brandy Alexander induced 5 hour post Christmas power nap. Oops. Somebody got a little sauced at Christmas. Happens to the best of us. I even missed the Lakers losing, which makes me sad that I missed that.  But thankfully I have a holdout from the summer to get me back into the Christmas drinking spirit.

This is a holdout from the summer months that I bought and held onto. The Sierra Nevada Beer Camp is a really great idea and epitomizes the spirit of Craft Beer - collaboration, passion for beer and creating unique products. Applicants send in a video on why they should be invited to the Sierra Nevada brewery one weekend in August. The winners are formed into a small team and together they brainstorm a beer recipe and brew it that weekend. It sounds like a wonderful, dream come true experience for any home brewer and if I hadn't been behind on my application for the Miami Ad School, I would have applied. Now you'll know what I'll be doing this June!

The Weizenbock is a surprising 6.8%, a bit high for the style but on par with the Weihenstephaner Vitus.  The aroma is incredibly sweet and quite yeasty. The pour leaves the brew cloudy from the unfiltered wheat flakes. Their are flavors of apple and other citrus. This would've been a deeelightful summer beer on the porch, but it goes just as well with me Ma's roast beast (beef) on Christmas. Happy holidays everyone. TRANSFORMERS rating.

Saint Arnold Stout and Sailing Santa are not inspiring a miracle on 34th street

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, except for a chubby mouse, because I was out delivering gifts to family friends, who then graciously invited me in to drink their beer and eat their cheese. Warm houses and friends and round bellies, that is the Christmas spirit. The Hamels, who I'll be skiing with next week and whose wedding I went to last year (the reference below on the napkin), offered me a brew I had seen on local shelves but had not acquired.

The Saint Arnold brewery is for the moment, the only local Houston brewery, and we visited it around this time last year (St. Arnold Brewery Tour). From what I can gather the Stout is one of their newer additions and a departure from their typically German style of brewing. It's billed as a seasonal 'Winter Stout' and clocks in at 5.6% alcohol. There is subtle roast aroma and the body is light, giving credence to debunking the myth that all dark beers are heavy. Only Guinness tastes heavy people, and it still has fewer calories than Bud Light (give or take). This Stout has flavors of coffee and a hint of chocolate, but otherwise this is more of a beer to consume rather than enjoy because it lacks a robust character. If I'm out at a bar this week and it's on tap, I'll enjoy ordering it, but don't go out of your way. ARMAGEDDON rating.

This is the first entry I will have posted since drinking a beer every day for 400 days. Since I'm no longer drinking on the straight and narrow, I can drink on the far and wide, which makes for a poor saying but a truthful fortune; i.e., drinking multiples of large beers in one day will make me F-A-T like Jolly Saint Nick.

Speaking of, leave it to me to only just now decorate the Christmas tree with my personal ornaments the night before Christmas. Fortunately, I have found just the man to help me get far and wide tonight.

Sailing, surfing, Santa does it all. Saint Arnold is also attempting some dexterity with their Sailing Santa, which is a blend of their fantastic Elissa IPA and their delightful Christmas Ale. What rating will the Sailing Santa receive for Christmas?

Well, Santa likes to party with a heartwarming 7%. The IPA really shows through with grapefruit and citrus flavors following a subdued hoppy bitterness. This combines with an unfortunately light spice from the Christmas ale. I'm not feeling the greatness of an inspired blend here. What made the Elissa IPA so fantastic was the clean, razor like bitterness of the hops. And the spice in the Christmas Ale, like Rudolph's Red nose, was the star of the show. Here, St. Arnold has combined the two only to mute the best characteristics of each.

Like the stout, Sailing Santa is a fine drinking beer, but why drink a dull combination when you can drink a smaller bottle of each, right? Maybe use a straw and can mix them together in your mouth? That doesn't make sense but neither does a surfing Santa. Board shorts in the Arctic? Come on! Where's his dry suit? ARMAGEDDON rating and Merry Christmas to all. 

The Bruery 4 Calling Birds spices up my last night in San Francisco

I partied hard last night to celebrate the end of school at a Christmas themed party, where there was Maker's Mark and Fernet on tap, which is David's wet dream, but arrrgh. I hate it. Fernet is the worst. The hipsters up in San Fran love it with ginger ale, but I still can't handle the licorice and spiced fused concoction. Spice seems to be the theme of week though.

Today I turned in my portfolio, outlining several campaigns I helped create over the last three months during school. The lead campaign in my portfolio was actually a personal one, this blog. It was really interesting looking back on the year and why I initially began the blog. The retrospective has my wheels turning. I finished an epic year of beer every day, now what happens? How do I approach writing the blog now? My goal last year was simply to finish the year, and after beer 365, I decided to continue until the round number of 400. 3 months have passed without a post. This is the beginning of a new era, the renewal of my exploration of craft beer. What is my goal now? I have ideas but will hone in on something more specific in the new year.

Until then, I return to my favorite brewery and one of its most epic beer series, The Bruery's 12 Days of Christmas. This year it's 4 Calling Birds. A Partridge and a Pear Tree was before my time with The Bruery, 2 Turtle Doves was a tour de force, 3 French Hens was a powerful dark belgian strong ale, but how will 4 Calling Birds deliver?

An astronaut playing the banjo is my portfolio cover. It seems odd but it says what it needs to.  For instance, Space is awesome and I'm a nerd. Deep stuff.

4 Calling Birds is an 11% dark ale brewed with gingerbread like spice. You can age it for 8 years but I couldn't let a Christmas go past without at least trying it. In the Christmas spirit, I want to say I'm thankful for having a completed portfolio, to be enjoying my favorite craft brewery, not being a student any longer, and seeing my family tomorrow in Houston. I appreciate the indulgence of Christmas like spices here, but after a half a glass down, I'm not thankful for the spicy qualities, which are overwhelming.

A couple more sips gulps later and the brew still isn't integrating with the spices well. This is an example of The Bruery doing what they do well, a dark strong belgian ale, like their Cuadruple (made with agave), but the spices could definitely be more subtle. The Two Turtle Doves was orgasmic, it was so complex. This year they went more Christmasy and less belgian, and the result is a 'spirited' brew. With the robustness of this spice, this is a beer to share with others and not alone, but I'll finish it all the same. The Bruery rocks, unfortunately, this is not The Rock. TRANSFORMERS rating.

Bruery Black Tuesday and Melange #3 complete my life

I'm in Los Angeles for the weekend after booking spur of the moment tickets last week. My portfolio for ad school is due Wednesday and I wanted to get out of town and have my mind off it for a bit, so I'm back in the town I've called home for the last 9 years. We hear from Karl that there's an incredibly special beer pouring at The Bruery Provisions store, and of course that's the one place we don't really need an excuse to visit in the first place. Is it true that Black Tuesday is pouring here? Will we be too late?!

Black Tuesday, as you can read on the label below, is an Imperial Stout Aged in Bourbon Barrels. It's over 18% alcohol and it's been a Holy Grail for David and I for years now.

Every year the Bruery creates the opportunity to purchase a bottle of the brew online on a Tuesday and pick it up at the Bruery a week later. They sell out quickly and the website frequently crashes, so we've never been able to buy a bottle. But apparently The Bruery has made more this year. It's one of the highest rated beers on Beeradvocate, I believe, and it should be. Look at the price of the bottles on eBay:

Anyway, so we arrive and they not only have the Black Tuesday on tap, but the special edition Melange #3 which is 15.5% is also available. I'm stoked! These are beers off my bucket list. 

So the Melange #3 is a blend of three bourbon barrel aged strong ales. White Oak Sap is a wheat wine, especially made for the Melange, is combined with The Bruery anniversary series old ale (I believe the Cuir) and the imperial stout, Black Tuesday. Talk about the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. It's the beer on the left in the picture. It has an incredibly complex palate with chocolate, dark fruits, oak, vanilla and rich toffee. I mean, wow, so smooth. You can barely taste the alcohol too. It's one of those beers I could drink every day for the rest of my life. For $8 we are poured 4 oz of the Melange and 2oz of the Black Tuesday, on the right.

The Black Tuesday is aged in bourbon barrels for over a year and it has rich caramel, toasted malt, vanilla, and anise as some of the flavors. What's amazing is not only the complexity, but how well hidden the alcohol is. This is the 3rd beer I've tasted that's 18% and you can barely taste the alcohol. The other two were made by Dogfish Head, and the alcohol comes through like a hammer. Here it's a feather pillow. If the Melange is a beer I could wish to drink everyday, the Black Tuesday is my Friday night after work and special events drink. It's too powerful and too amazing to be drunk everyday, there needs to be an occasion, albeit a weekly occasion to drink this. What I love about the Bruery is they could make a living off making these two beers, but they're innovators and would become bored only making two beers. But God I wish they would. If these and a Bruery Mischief are the only beers in my beer closet for the rest of my life, I would survive.

After only drinking 6 oz of beer, both of us have a weird buzz going on. It's a very heady, kind of high, buzz because while we sipped these, the sips were incredibly potent and hit us all at once. Wild to be buzzed on half a can of beer. I must be feeling goofy because for these beers, I'd rather not be buzzed and continue drinking their complexity. But you can't always get what you want, right?

These beers were on my bucket list and I feel so incredibly appreciative towards life after drinking something this fantastic. Sounds a little sappy but true, it's pure greatness. The Black Tuesday has a 98 out of 100 rating on beer advocate: B.A. Black Tuesday. Like Spinal Tap's drummers, I'm a bit worried about spontaneous combustion right now. BAD BOYS rating to both, obviously. Thank you David for driving down here.

Staropramen Czech Pilsner at the Amsterdam Cafe

I'm taking a break from my studies in San Francisco to check out a bar that I'm sure will become one of my favorites. Only 2 blocks away, the Amsterdam Cafe has over 20 beers on rotating taps with another 350 bottles in the refrigerators behind the bar. It's a sight to behold. There's a few beers that are $3 on Mondays and I take the only one I haven't tried yet, a Czech Pilsner.

The Staropramen is a fine drinking beer, although you get a bit of that sour malt that accompanies many of the cheaper foreign beers who brave the atlantic cross, but it's a dry and relatively crisp drinking beer that's perfectly fine for rolling solo to a bar during a the Monday Night Football game. THE ISLAND rating.