An EPIC ending to another holiday season

Were you lucky enough to cellar a few of these?

It's the most wonderful time of the year... the final post of the Beer411 12 Beers of Christmas!!  Katie and I spoke several times throwing out ideas for how we would tie a bow on this year's countdown.  I didn't know if the timing would work out, but lucky for us... I found a local packy that JUST got it in stock.  Yup, you guessed it, good ol' Murph from Southington Wine and Spirits to the rescue.  The envelope please...

This year's 2012 Beer411 #1 Beer on the 12 Beers of Christmas is...

Stone Vertical Epic 12.12.12.

I've talked about the Vertical Epic series before, so here's a quick story.  Dating back to February 2nd, 2002 - Greg Koch and the folks at the Stone Brewery had the idea to release a beer when the calendar numbers lined up. 02.02.02, 03.03.03, 04.04.04... all the way to 12.12.12.  This year's offering signifies the unfortunate end to a fantastic series of beers.  Each one would consist of a different recipe ranging from Belgian styles to Chile beers.  Categorized as a Belgian Dark Strong Ale, the Vertical Epic 12.12.12 seemed to be a perfect fit to our Christmas countdown.  Luckily, I also had my co-blogger here to help me with Part Two of our DUAL review.  Well, they say that all good things come to an end... but will it end with a good thing?

Brewery: Stone Brewing Co.
Style: Belgian Dark Strong Ale
ABV: 9.0%
IBUs: 50
Website: StoneBrewing.com

The pour is dark and thick, with a large tan fluffy head.  I'd say about two fingers.  It looks so inviting, I wouldn't be opposed to using it as a pillow on Christmas Eve as visions of sugar plums dance in my head.

The nose on this beer just SCREAMS Christmas.  Malty, spicy... hints of clove, black licorice, molasses and mulled spice.  Kate asked me if I was familiar with a coffee shop in Boston that makes a really good pumpkin spice latte... that's what this reminded her of.  We also both picked up a chai tea scent as well.

We got a roasty one on our hands.  No surprise here.  Burnt caramel, dark fruits, marshmallow.  Kate hits the nail right on the head with her connection to smores.  It's not overly sweet though... I don't want to paint the wrong picture about this beer.  The level of spices make it enjoyably bitter with great roasty, malty characteristics.

The dry finish is exactly what I wanted with this.  With every sip you go on this delicious spice-tastic journey of awesomeness.  A little overly spiced to fit the Belgian Dark Strong ale profile... malty and subtlety sweet on the mouthfeel, but dry on the finish which brings up the question... Did that just happen?  So you go back in for another sip... and then the smile hits your face.  Yes... yes it did.  That. Just. Happened.

Overall: A+  (What else could I have given this beer?)

Pairings are a little tricky with so much going on... it really does stand on it's own.  But Kate and I both agreed that this would be fantastic with some curry.  The spices would fit very nicely with each other making it, without a doubt, an enjoyable experience.  Or as we're in the holiday season, you could try this beer with some light cookies.  Pizzelles or maybe ginger snaps... stay away from chocolate or heavy stuff if you are sipping this delicious treat.

So from all of us at Beer411... Thank you everyone for your continued support.  Between Facebook, Twitter, the BeerCoasters Podcast, the CT Beer Trail, Beer bloggers from around the US and so many other forms of communication, we have a lot to be grateful for.  I hope that in our research, Katie and I opened up your eyes (and your palettes) to something new.  That's one of the main reason we are here.  To help, to teach and to grow.  There is a lot that we've picked up over the last 3 years, and so much more that we are ready to learn.  THANK YOU ALL!!

Have a healthy and safe holiday... CHEERS!!

Brunch's New Side Kick: Founders Breakfast Stout

Founders Double Chocolate, Coffee, Oatmeal Breakfast Stout
ABV: 8.3I | IBUs: 60 | Availability: Sep – Feb

Christmas Brunch has never had a better partner.
Move over Bloody Mary, keep your mimosa to yourself and enter the Founders Breakfast Stout, our second beer of Christmas. This is a tag-team post for Beer411 from Connecticut.

A quick trip to the World Wide Web reveals the story behind Founders; two passionate beer guys from Michigan threw caution and their well-paying jobs to the wind, took out giant loans and decided to brew the kind of beer that got them excited about beer in the first place: complex, in-your-face ales, with huge aromatics, bigger body, and tons of flavor. Like most businesses, it didn’t come without bumps (nearly declaring bankruptcy) but we are happy that they were able to find success through their passion. You can tell from the pour on this beer alone, that it was made with love.

The label:
The label features what appears to be an Irish lad enjoying his oatmeal … but that’s one Irishman to another – perhaps my Italian cousin would have a different interpretation. Copy on the bottle -- The coffee lover’s consummate beer. Brewed with an abundance of flaked oats, bitter and imported chocolates, and Sumatra and Kona coffee, this stout has an intense fresh-roasted java nose topped with a frothy, cinnamon-colored head that goes forever.

The pour:
A dark chocolaty pour with some amber peaking around the top and bottom of the glass. A one-finger, tan head rests on top, leaving a ring and lacing around the glass.

The nose:
Like I walked into an Italian café. A face-full of dark roasted coffee beans, chocolate, fresh baked bread, malts, vanilla and maybe a little anise and then alcohol. (If I had a biscotti I would dunk it in). My cousin likes black coffee… as he’s written. His hesitation for this beer is for those that aren’t coffee fans, but luckily for us, we are all in. The smell alone is getting us excited for the taste.

Taste:
It’s velvety and creamy, with a sharp roasted Sumatra flavor front and center -- following suit with the nose and heeding Tone’s warning, if you are not a fan of coffee, this brew will not be your favorite. A warming dark chocolate follows after the coffee, it’s bitter but balanced, leaving a dry coating on your tongue. Overall this beer is assertive, and complex, something that will wake you up in the morning. It's a filling, full bodied stout that, at 8% ABV, will stay with you and stick to you.

Pairing:
Breakfast, in general. Specifically, French toast, Cinnamon Rolls or banana bread.

3 French Hens? Not if Genghis has anything to say about it.

Brewery: Clown Shoes
Style: Porter
ABV: 7%
Website: ClownShoesBeer.com

Several months ago, CT was invaded by 4 fantastic breweries:  Green Flash, Founders, Six Point and Clown Shoes.  As I stated in my post on Wednesday, it's not only a great time to get involved in craft beer because of our local breweries, but distribution is getting better and better.  Beers that I only remember having in NY and MA and Maine, are NOW available, in most package stores.  My first impression of Clown Shoes was their Black IPA called Hoppy Feet.  Loved it.  When they first came to CT, I believe they offered about 6 beers.  A few weeks later, I went back to the package store and it turns out, they now offer 7... then 8... then 9... Their lineup continues to grow and I have yet to be disappointed.  That being said, it made perfect sense to give their Pecan Pie Porter, known as Genghis Pecan a try in our 12 Beers of Christmas countdown.

As expected... the color is very dark.  Usually, I can get some red hues along the sides of the glass with this kind of style, but not this guy.  Dark, dark, dark.  There's no light shining through this.  It had about two fingers of tan head which quickly subsided.  There was some sticky lacing as it ran along the sides of the glass.

On the nose, there's the expected candied pecan smell.  However, I feel like maybe these pecans were left on the stove too long.  There's a roasted, almost burnt smell.  I'm picking up a little marshmellow sweetness too.  Then a little malted milk balls and vanilla perhaps.

Surprisingly, there's not a whole lot of sweetness in the taste.  I would think that something called, "Pecan Pie Porter", would be.  The label reads that it's an "ale brewed with natural flavor" which I have to credit Clown Shoes.  They relied on the sweetness to come from the added brown sugar and roasted pecans.  Nothing artificial was included in this beer to give it an overly sweet flavor.

There's a bitterness to this beer that could possibly be off-putting.  Again, I enjoy black coffee, so I don't mind it.  There's a malty sweetness that defuses the bitterness ever so slightly, but it's definitely present.  One thing that I enjoy about this is the smooth dry finish.  The high level of carbonation make the taste in this beer almost disappear moments after you have it.  Every sip builds up and goes away just like the last one.  Sometimes a beer will build off of the last sip... not this one.

Overall: B

I like this beer... But it's somewhat forgettable.  It's more bitter than sweet on the taste, and has a roastiness on the finish that dissipates very quickly.  Here's my issue.  If I'm going to spend anything over $8 for a 22 oz bomber, I'd like for it to be something I want to come back to. Don't get me wrong, I don't dislike this beer, but with all of the full bodied ones out there this holiday season, I'll probably try something else next time.  I really like a lot of what Clown Shoes does, too.  Hoppy Feet, PIMP (collab), Muffin Top... all great beers.  This isn't one of their best... good, not great.

Pairings, pairings, pairings... One of my parents' friends stopped by earlier this evening and dropped off some delicious baklava. That works very well with this beer because there's hardly any sweetness on it.

Get all of your holiday shopping in this wkd!! Stay tuned for #2 and #1 on our countdown as @KayTeeStinch and myself get together for our FINAL reviews next week!!

...You know... if the world doesn't end n' stuff.

Heart of Darkness Brings out the Grinch in Kayteestinch

Clearly, Ghost is not impressed with Magic Hat's Heart of Darkness.

Magic Hat's Heart of Darkness

English Stout | 5.70% ABV

I’m a mean one … Kayteestinch.

I am just going to jump in - the three words I would use to describe this pint are as follows and I quote; stink, stank, stunk. (Ok, ok enough Seussisms) BUT seriously, who in whoville is drinking this and thinking it's good?

Apparently, I am alone in my thinking because a slew of folks on Beer Advocate loved it. I am a stout lover too, but our 4th beer of Xmas, the Heart of Darkness by Magic Hat, will remain in my “icebox” until I can find someone to take them off my hands.

From the label:
Our inky-black stout has a smooth, round palate with a dreamlike undercurrent of bittersweet chocolate. This dense liquid-silk summons hope from hibernation and balances winter's endless white snows with a rich swirl of creamy black rapture.

The Pour:
Heart of Darkness is an appropriate name for this brew. This stout pours jet black – no light at all is getting through this. A thin tan head dissipated into a flaky brown lace on the glass.

The Nose:
Oats and roasted malts followed by a smoky mocha aroma

The Taste:
It just tastes burnt, as if I tossed a handful of roasted malts into my mouth and chewed them – then tossed a piece of 90% cocoa chocolate in there too. Bitter, sharp and dry. Not my cup of beer at all. It has a milky finish that coats your tongue and sadly it’s unenjoyable. This is a filling pint too, heavy on the mouth-feel and low in carbonation, typical for a stout.

As a Magic Hat fan, I am sad that I couldn’t champion this brew. But I won’t let this review put me in a Grinchy mood this season. Remember, the holidays are in our grasp, so long as we have good beer to clasp (had to).

At #5, We're heading Back East for a local Winter treat

Brewery: Back East Brewing Co.
Style: Amber
ABV: 5.0%
Website: http://backeastbrewing.com

Rule #1:
If you want to bring the RIGHT gift to a holiday gathering, everyone will like you if you bring craft beer.

Rule #2:
If you want to bring the RIGHT gift to a holiday gathering, AND look that much cooler make sure you bring LOCAL beer.

If you've been living under a rock these past 12 months, let me bring you up to speed...

It's a GREAT time to live in Connecticut and be a fan of craft beer.

The current CT Beer scene continues to get stronger and stronger: Hooker, New England Brewing, WilliBrew, City Steam, Calvary, Southport Brewing, just to name a few... Each place seems to be coming out with new amazing styles... oh, we only have like 10 new breweries that popped up within the last year: Two Roads, Half Full, Broad Brook Brewing, Relic Brewing, Beer'd Brewing, Firefly... and Bloomfield's newest brewtastic resident, Back East.

Let's talk freshness for a second here... It goes without saying at this point that a beer will probably taste better if you find it on draft versus in a bottle.  If you are REALLY driven, you can drive straight to the brewery to get a growler fill right at the place where it's BREWED!  But if you can't get there, your next best option is to seek out a local offering at a package store.  Think about it... this stuff was brewed within our beautiful state so it hasn't had that far to travel.  This is a great option to get some of CT's finest and freshest beer.  Most of Back East's lineup comes in growlers too, so they are GREAT for sharing.

Two cousins by the name of Edward Fabrycki, Jr. and Tony Karlowicz (Southington pride!), have both demonstrated a tremendous passion in the world of craft beer over the last few years.  It wasn't until recently, they opened their doors in Bloomfield.  While they are fairly new to the scene, they have quickly made a name for themselves. They offer 4 year round styles: Misty Mountain IPA, Golden Ale, Back East Ale** and Porter**. (**2012 GIBF Medal Winners!!) They also have an Imperial line which includes a delicious stout and a IPA (coming soon!).  In addition they offer two seasonal styles: Octoberfest and Winterfest. When I heard that they were making a Winter style, I knew that this would be on my list of things to look forward to.

There website reads:

Back East Winterfest is a deep chestnut-colored ale brewed with a touch of cinnamon and local honey. Its rich flavor and subtle spices make it a perfect choice for all of the seasons’ festivities.

On the pour, it has a dark amber, almost leather shade to it with about a finger of off white carbonation.

The nose is pleasant... not as spicy as I expected a Winter ale to be. I LOVE how they not only brewed this about 25 minutes away, but they also introduced local honey into this recipe. As if a beer couldn't get any MORE local.

While I am used to the bigger beers, I could drink this again and again. Totally sessionable. Mild roastiness, subtle spices, honey sweetness... Not filling in the least. A great local option.

Overall: B+. One of our goals with this whole countdown is to teach and expand the mind of people that decide to give it a read. Too many people these days stay in their comfort zone...

Oh, it's Winter time? I'll grab a Sam Winter Lager.

Now while there's nothing wrong with that option, there are SO many more choices out there.  LISTEN folks, there is no BETTER time than RIGHT NOW to branch out and try something new.  Imagine if you showed up to a party with a growler of delicious local beer... you're instantly a rockstar. And with Back East just introducing this style a few weeks ago, chances are people haven't had this yet. So lead the way and show them the path to drinking local (cause local is FRESH! Right, BeerCoasters?).

As far as pairings go, I would love to have this with some maple glazed chicken wings. As I mentioned earlier, this beer is subtle so bringing in some flavors that would complement the cinnamon spice and local honey is a great choice.

I hope @KayTeeStinch is proud that I FINALLY found a Winter beer that was 5% since I tend to review the higher ABV beers this time of year. And as far as Back East Brewing goes, I plan on stopping by for a tour sometime over the holiday. If you are in the area, I suggest you do too!!

...And tell them that Tony @ Beer411 sent you!!

Lock Me In With a Keg of Cabin Fever

Berkshire Brewing Company, Cabin Fever Ale
6.3% Alcohol by volume (ABV)
20 International Bitterness Units (IBU)

Here’s another brewery I need to tour: The Berkshire Brewing Company.
BBC are the genius creators behind our delicious sixth beer of Christmas, the cabin fever ale.

Located in South Deerfield, Mass., (meaning another sup-Ah fresh beer for me) BBC was launched in 1994 by a pair of homebrewers. The website states that they churn out 580 barrels (17,980 gallons) of fresh beer each week that is unfiltered, unpasteurized and contains no chemical additives or preservatives. Currently BBC brews nine styles of beer year round and seven seasonals.

I was late on my Beer411 homework and ran into my local liquor store tonight trying to find something different. I unfortunately don’t have the relationship Tone has with his local shop. I’d say it’s the small town versus city effect, but I think it’s just because the people that own the store on my street aren’t friendly.

I spotted a bomber of Cabin Fever Ale where the label features a picture of two dudes (the brewers?) toasting behind a frosted window and thought this could hit the spot on this rainy, cold, night (wishing it was snow).

The Label:
Cabin Fever is a well-balanced, medium bodied ale brewed to sustain you over the long New England winter. Its rich malt profile is reminiscent of an English Pale Ale, while the spicy and fruity hop finish, from German Tettnang hops, gives it a warming and welcoming feeling to bring you back in from the cold. Copper-amber in color, this offering is available all winter long.

The Pour:
A foggy, amber brown ale and big tan head

The Nose:
It’s bready and malty – I am getting a nice spice (clove & nutmeg?) it kind of feels like I put my face into a gingerbread loaf. It’s a sweet, vanilla delight.

The Taste:
Follows suit with the nose. It’s a creamy, medium to full bodied ale with nice carbonation. It’s warming with cinnamon, malt and clove and leaves a dry hoppy bite at the end. It’s smooth and drinkable and the alcohol creeps up in the end that makes you feel cozy. This is a great winter brew and I could see myself kicking back with more than one of these and sharing with friends. Really tasty stuff here.

Pairings:
Anything with a sweet vanilla presence would be great with this beer. To be honest, I am craving a gingerbread muffin or cookie. I think all of the bitter hops and malts would counter nicely with a sugary sweet slice of pecan pie, or pumpkin.

Overall, I really love this brew. If you are local and love bold flavors you won’t be disappointed, look for it on tap and in a 22 oz or growler. BBC Cabin Fever makes the "Nice List" for this blogger. Enjoy!

Widmer's Brrrfect Beer for the Countdown

Brewery: Widmer Brothers Brewing Co.
Style: Winter Warmer
ABV: 9.4%
Website: http://widmerbrothers.com/

Lucky Number 7. I walked into the package store several days ago completely expecting to follow in the steps of my fellow blogger. Meaning, most of my posts revolve around high gravity beers, so I thought it was time to dial it back a bit. On Friday, Katie's post was a wheat beer... a delicious 6.4% offering. A little higher in abv than most people are used to, but nevertheless, fairly "average" level when compared to the 8% & 9% beers that we write about on occasion. Needless to say, I failed.

I remember seeing the Widmer Bros Brrrbon on the shelf last year, but I already had my beers picked out, so I never got around to it. But my new friend Mike, the beer manager from Locascio Liquors in Prospect, CT, was so adamant that this was a fantastic choice, he offered up the 2011 version that he had personally kept in his store cooler since last year. Anyone with that kind of drive to age a beer, appreciates the contents. How could I say "NO"? I decided on the 2012 version, since I really had no basis of comparison. Later that night, I ended up at a GREAT brew pub called the Ginger Man in Norwalk... Would you believe it... there it was, the Widmer Bros Brrrbon on draft. Knowing that a post was in my near future, I ordered one. Our server then tells us that, it was SO popular, they unfortunately ran out. Ok. #1, Mike from Locascio was a huge fan... then #2 I go one of the most popular brew pubs in CT and they've run out? Now I KNOW I've made a good choice.

On the pour, I get a nice dark orange color, almost burnt. Cloudy. It had about two fingers of off white head with sticky lacing along the sides of the glass.

The beer is called "Brrrbon" so I can imagine what I'm going to get on the nose. Hmmm... not as much bourbon as I thought, but I do get some. There's roastiness along with subtle vanilla, caramel... and some oakiness from the barrel aging as well.

Yum... this is a tasty, tasty beer. Clearly the bourbon is present here. I'm getting a pleasant dark brown sugar sweetness that balances with the maltiness.

You would think that with the caramel and sweetness up front, those flavors would linger more. But this beer is surprisingly dry on the finish. There's a slight hop bitterness that's there too.

Overall: A-

Much like my other reviews, this beer may not be for everyone. It's got bourbon characteristics, it's 9.4% and has some hop bitterness on the finish. If you're looking for something simpler, I would suggest the Brrrbon Winter Warmer that they also have this season. It's dialed back slightly at 7.2%, and is a little more session-able. However, between the two Widmer offerings, I would choose the one I'm reviewing here.

Fear not, Beer411 family... it's win-win here. The Widmer Bros will not steer you wrong.