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.

Blue Hills Dunkelweizen Makes the Nice List

Style | ABV
Dunkelweizen | 6.90% ABV
“Wampatuck Winter Wheat” by Blue Hills Brewery
Brewed in Canton, Mass. (for me = SUP-ah fresh)

Now this is a wheat beer I can sink my teeth into this time of year. This 8th beer of xmas is everything I want a winter beer to be. Warming and friendly, not overfilling, but powerful and reminds me sip after sip – you are drinking craft beer.

This is a dark German Heffeweizen, better known as a Dunkelweissen (I learned that dunkel means dark in German) After a quick visit to the Blue Hills website (a brewery that is on my list to tour this winter) I learned that they brewed this with generous amounts of dark roasted malts, a grain bill that’s more than 60% wheat, German Noble hops and fermented it using a Bavarian yeast strain.

At 6.9% ABV, they describe it as a great balance between strength and grace, I’d have to agree. I grabbed this as a bomber from my local liquor store, but apparently you can get it on draught around here as well, which I am sure just kicks up the freshness and flavor.

The pour is a cloudy, maple color, darker that I imagined. I was thirsty and impatient, so the aggressive pour left me with a three finger white head. (Even now, I am halfway through the beer there is still a slight rim and some lacing on the glass)

The nose is fresh baked bread and malt, sprinkled with cocoa and burnt caramel.

The mouthfeel is on the heavier side of medium – (if that makes any sense), though not overly carbonated. It’s creamy and coats your tongue and wants to stay. I get a big bisquity taste with a spicy dark-dry finish. This is an easy drinking fireside winter brew for certain, my cheeks already feel flushed.

This beer has me craving salt, so I’d say a parmesan or asigo cheese would be great. Or let’s get crazy, a burger and fries. This beer screams pub food all the way. Nachos anyone?

Blue Hills – thanks for getting me out of my holiday beer drinking downward slope!
I’ll drink to that.

Sammy's up to no good, on the 9th Beer of Xmas...

Brewery: Boston Beer Company
Style: Sweet Stout
ABV: 9%

Ok, so perhaps the title of this post is slightly misleading. After yesterday's White Christmas review, it became clear to both my cousin and I that there are SO MANY styles out there. Sam Adams has been at this for quite sometime now and they have a WIDE variety of offerings... from Sam Adams Light to their Griffin's Bow Barleywine. Listen, the White Christmas could be EXACTLY what you want in a beer. Not too aggressive. Light flavors. Subtle spices. Refreshing. If you don't like it, then you're not necessarily "cray, cray" (as Katie's older brother Johnny likes to think). I've had the White Christmas. It's good. If you had the Sam Adams White Ale (which is usually released in the Spring), I find that it's very similar. I think the White Christmas would be a great go-to on Opening Day of the baseball season. But, I'm with Kate on this one.  It's just ehhh, especially with all of the big flavors out there this time of the year.  But the bottom line is: different people like different beers. So, if you read yesterday's post Bing Does Not Come With Every Bottle: White Christmas and you agree with Katie and I, don't turn your back on Sam Adams just yet. Owner, Jim Koch has another trick up his Santa sleeve.

[Enter Merry Mischief Stage RIGHT]

A few years ago, Jim Koch decided to branch out into the 22 oz market of the craft beer world.  They released several "big" beers to their already wide distribution:  Double IPAs, Barleywines, Baltic IPA, Imperial Reds, Imperial Pumpkins, Gose... and now that we've hit the holiday season, they've introduced another offering that pushes the envelope, Merry Mischief.  I think this would also be the first time I've ever had a gingerbread stout.  Leave it to one of the oldest craft breweries to teach me something new.

On the pour it's dark brown, almost black... when I held it up to the light, you could see some red hues coming through near the bottom of the glass.  The head is thick, fluffy - tan in color.

Whoa... major spices on this one.  Their website claims to have gingerbread, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and I'm getting ALL of that... in addition to some roastiness.  Lots of gingerbread upfront (makes sense, it's a gingerbread stout, Tone).  There's a little sweetness towards the end too.  Once you get your nose past the spice, there's a maltiness that's very inviting.

This beer tastes like Christmas to me.  It's thick, roasty, full of the flavors you got on the nose and has this warmth to it near the end.  It has a wonderfully balanced heat between the spices and the booze.

The carbonation on this one was pretty low which can be expected for a stout.  Smooth, sweet and very enjoyable.

Like I said earlier, I've never had a gingerbread stout so I really have no basis of comparison.  This is a solid offering for a limited time.  It's very spicy... heavy on the gingerbread, cloves, allspice.  I'll be all set to move on after about a month or so but BRAVO, Mr. Koch.  Note that it's not a LET'S GET A BUNCH OF MERRY MISCHIEFS AND HAVE OURSELVES A PARTY type beer.  You split one... maybe two bottles depending on the number of people you are with.  I also wouldn't try to set up a game of Mischief Beer Pong either.  That's sure to get you on the naughty list.  This is great for those holiday or family parties where you're not sure what to bring.  Mainly because it's nothing anyone's EVER tasted and it's PERFECT to share, before or after a meal with the strong flavors and high abv.

Overall: B+

http://www.samueladams.com

Bing Does Not Come With Every Bottle: White Christmas

White Christmas by Samuel Adams
Witbier 5.8% ABV

Our 10th beer of Christmas is new to the Sam Adams line up and brewed in 2012 -- White Christmas was suggested by one of our faithful Beer411 readers who also happens to be my brother. After tasting it, I know why he recommended this beer for our Xmas countdown; he loves witbiers. His go to brew is Blue Moon, year round.

For the Belgian white lover when the temperature drops, this beer seems to be the best of both worlds. The intent is to marry together the crisp, malt, wheat flavor of a witbier with the seasonal winter spices of clove and cinnamon to create a lighter seasonal ale, a departure from the heavy, coffee, chocolate, porters, stouts and ales that are around this time of year.

The label:
As crisp as the first snowfall of the year, this unfiltered white ale is blended with holiday spices including cinnamon, nutmeg, and orange peel. The familiar citrus and wheat characters of the ale are complemented by the warmth of the spices for a festive brew that’s perfect for the season.

I’ve seen this beer in the Sam Winter Seasonal Variety Pack and also as a solo sixer, so it’s pretty easy to find for those that are interested in wrapping their hands around this new brew. I grabbed a bottle of White Christmas at the Coolidge Corner Club House in Brookline. (You know, the place where the menu is 27 pages long and all the menu items are named after sports legends)

The Pour: A two finger fluffy white head settled on top of a cloudy, golden-yellow body

The Nose: Grassy and sweet with apricot and honey

The Taste: It’s a crisp and bubbly brew with a tart dry finish. Medium bodied. It has a well-balanced bready, malt flavor that is cut with citrus and orange. The beer overall is not as sweet as the nose would suggest, which is not a bad thing. My gripe with the White Christmas is that I am not sure it belongs in a holiday line up. The winter spices didn’t show up for me the way I thought they would. I checked out the reviews on BA to see what others were saying about it and I was surprised to read that some tasters thought the spice was too much. (hmmm?)

All in all, it was just ok for me, (sorry bro!). I felt like I was drinking a wheatier Magic Hat #9.

Like most wheat style ales, this beer would go great with any creamy, tart goat cheese. Sam also suggests cranberries or sweet desserts like cheesecake and tarts.

I’d say if you are like my brother and love Belgian whites, this holiday six pack might be the perfect gift for you.

On the 11th Beer of Xmas... Are we "Peaking" too early?

Brewery: Peak Organic

Style: Amber

ABV: 7%

IBUs: 22

Website: http://www.peakbrewing.com

Trust the people that know what they are talking about.

I've said it before... if you go to the meat counter at the supermarket, it's probably a good idea to ask the Butcher for recommendations. If you're at a restaurant, go ahead and ask the server what he or she would eat... or a bartender, ask what they like on draft... On the flipside, there are those individuals that could care less and aren't very helpful at all. If you encounter one of these unfortunate people, I advise you to steer clear. But, when you meet someone that's passionate about what they do... heed their advice.

If you find that you are passing through the Southington area, stop by Southington Wine and Spirits, located in the Walmart plaza on Queen Street. Ask for their beer manager, Joe Murphy, or "Murph" as most people call him. (A name that I know my co-blogger would appreciate.) Time after time, he's made some great suggestions for me... and this post is no different. I mentioned the blog and told me to give the Peak Organic Espresso Amber a try.

The website describes it as a robust amber ale brewed with locally roasted, organic fair trade espresso. Not sure if I've ever had a robust Amber. Robust porter, yes... but an amber?

I poured pretty aggressively and ended up with about two fingers of fluffy off-white head. It had a hazy amber color to it with some great lacing along the glass.

The smells on this beer were very pleasant. Caramel candy with a hint of coffee. Imagine the scent that you would get after pouring a little caramel flavored cream into your coffee.

Now the taste... Murph eluded to this when I picked this up a few days ago. You hear a lot about beers that include coffee, but rarely do you hear about espresso. Upfront, you get the sweetness. Amber, roasty, malty... similar to the topping of a creme brulee. Then, as the sweetness dissolves, that's when you get the espresso... not coffee. At first, it comes across as slightly bitter btw the espresso and the subtle hops used in the beer. However, the more you sip, the less you notice it.

One of the things I enjoy around the holidays is having black coffee with a sweet dessert. Normally people add creme and sugar to their coffee, but I don't feel like you have to in this case. The bitter notes in the java balance out the sweetness of the dessert. That's what this beer does with each sip. There's a lingering malty sweetness after each taste. This is probably why the bitterness disappears a little more with each sip. You're left with a that candied sugar taste which counteracts the bitter notes, taste after taste.

Pair this with some creme brulee and a roaring fire. Whoa mama.

Overall: B

Thanks to @KayTeeStinch for kicking off our Xmas countdown yesterday... stay tuned as we countdown all the way to #1!!

The 12th Beer of Christmas, not exactly a Lump of Coal

Happy Holidays Beer411 fans!

Tis’ the season to eat, drink and be merry and starting today we’ll be counting down the 12 beers of Christmas, taking the guess work out of selecting the perfect winter seasonal for your upcoming holiday dinner, ugly xmas sweater party or work gathering.

Tune in each weekday to learn about a new craft brew. We’ve chosen some New England favorites and are still accepting suggestions, so comment below and let us know what you’d like us to try. There are a lot of holiday brews out there that market toward seasonal lovers, but not all of them can make the nice list. We hope to weed out the subpar beers and save you from buying into the holiday hype.

Our first beer on tap is the, “Lump of Coal Dark Holiday Stout” (as the label states), Much More Than You Deserve for Christmas This Year… probably true.

It’s an English Ale Imported by the Shelton Brothers of Belchertown, Mass with an 8% ABV

As always, I love to read the bottle:
Yet another bummed out holiday? Lump of Coal Dark Holiday Stout is liquid consolation. It’s a deep, rich, sweetly rewarding stout to take the edge off of that grim family gathering, that cheerless annual festival of alienation. This brew is as dark as it gets, as black as the lump of coal you’ll be getting for Christmas. Because, let’s face it, you’ve been pretty bad this year.

The Pour: Dark, like soot. No light is getting though this sucker. A dark red amber rim peaks through near the top and above it rests a small creamy head that dissipates quickly.

The Nose: Smells like toffee with a dark chocolate mocha after waft. Definitely a sweet, burnt sugary nose.

The Taste: A medium bodied brew, a bit more carbonation for a stout than I expected. It tastes like smoke, then a creaminess coats the tongue with a bitter, dark chocolate, boozy finish. (hey ABV – what’s up?) It’s malty and toasty, everything a winter stout should be. It’d be a great fireside warm up brew.

I like it, but it’s nothing I haven’t had before. It’s kind of a “so what?” beer. Drinkable and rich, but holiday? No. I would say it’s just another stout. So I’ll give it a solid B.

This beer would go great with sweets – caramels, chocolates and also roasts and stews. I would also say any soft-ripened cheese, blue or washed-rind would be delicious with this beer. Stay away from bitter cheeses but anything with a salty, sweet, and creamy flavor would pair up nicely.

Had it and loved it? Tried something better? Tells us below. Cheers!

What are you waiting for?

From the depths of the internet... How you guys been?! I know it's been ages since we've talked last. Life has gotten a little bit in the way, but that's bound to happen from time to time. It's been a great few months in the CT beer community. New breweries have started popping up like Backeast and Half Full. Not to mention great new brew pubs like Dew Drop Inn (Derby) and Barley Vine (Bristol).

And in my world, I've FINALLY gotten myself on the home brew track. While I HAVE brewed with friends before, I'm always there just to help. You know, like when you helped your dad as a kid by holding the flashlight. You're not really doing anything, your just "observing". Well, this time - I took the lead. I ordered a very simple kit from NorthernBrewer.com for a Pumpkin Ale. They called it their Smashing Pumpkin Ale. I watched the video they posted and got some advice from friends, added my own roasted pumpkin puree... and as of a few days ago finally put it on tap at my house. Once it was carbed up it actually started tasting really good! It is still just a kit, far from the all-grain recipe.

Come on... don't give me that look. Let's focus on the positive. I'm here. You're here. There's a new post to read... giddy up.

So WHY am I back... well, I'm here today to give thanks. Last week, most of us celebrated the holiday that forces us to look around, take a step back and be thankful for what we have. Maybe you are looking forward to the food surrounding Thanksgiving... or it might be that you missed the traffic on the Mass Pike... or you just destroyed your Personal Best at the gym... or you just GOT to the gym... or you get to see some friends... For me... it's my FAMILY. We pile into one house for the holiday, visit, snack, love, laugh, play board games, watch football or a classic movie, make fun of each other, maybe even get on each other's nerves a bit, eat some more, then go out to eat, take a walk, or a run... and drink. And I wouldn't have it any other way. I say it every year, and every year I get reminded of how blessed I am.

That's great Tone... But, seriously, what does that have to do with me?

Well, I'm glad you asked.

Over the last year or so, I've been doing a great job cellaring some special beers in my basement. Some of my prized bottles are a Dogfish 120, Anchor Steam Merry Xmas/Happy New Year Ale from 2004 (along with '07, '08, '09, '10 & '11), and the New England Brewing Imperial Stout Trooper from 2008 (with the barrel on the label before they put the Groucho Marx glasses on the Storm Trooper). I'm not sure what I'm really waiting for, but over the years my stache has grown and grown.

Among these offerings was a bottle that my sister had gotten for me a few years ago. The Manchester Dubbel from the Marble Arch Pub (UK). It was before I really knew what beers or breweries to look for... but I knew it was special. There it sat in my cellar. Waiting for "the perfect time to open". Maybe a birthday, maybe a holiday... then it hit me. I was doing some reading on good beers to pair with Thanksgiving dinner from Dr. Bill Sysak. What goes good with turkey, stuffing, gravy, potatoes, squash, cranberry sauce, etc. The good doctor brings up some great options including saisons, strong ales, lambics, stouts... and dubbels. So there I was at Thanksgiving dinner... opening my bottle of the Manchester Dubbel. I shared it with my sister and we love it. Sooooooo good. And thanks to Dr. Sysak for a great suggestion.

Note: When I was taking the cork out, I nearly took my eye out with the amount of gas that had built up in this bottle. I didn't even take the cage off the cork and it just exploded off the ceiling. Then I read the first review of BeerAdvocate and it looks like I wasn't alone!

Another event that got me thinking on this topic was the Stone Vertical Epic Tasting that took place a week or two ago. Quick background check: Since 2002, Greg Koch, Steve Wagner, Mitch Steele and the masterminds behind the Stone Brewery have been developing a yearly release that they called the Vertical Epic. Each release fell on the Month and Day that reflected the year on the calendar. 02.02.02, 03.03.03, 04.04.04... and here we are this year, only about a week away from 12.12.12. Every release had a different recipe as well. Each beer was designed to age slightly so that they could achieve optimum deliciousness THIS year. Now, crazy beer geek heads like me can open each one and enjoy the fruits of their cellaring labor (not to mention, applaud each one for having the restrain NOT to open them before this year!). The guys from Stone did a live tasting which included Dr. Sysak, the Brothers Alstrom from Beer Advocate as well as the guys from New Brew Thursday.

A lot of people asked Greg... "What's next? Are you going to do another Vertical Epic series?" And his response was plain and simple, "No."

I thought to myself, we ask ourselves that a lot... What's next? What's coming up? Or we'll catch ourselves saying, "I can't WAIT until [insert event here]..." How about we just live in the the moment? Sit down with a few friends or maybe just one friend... and open a bottle of something fantastic.

As a craft beer enthusiast, I always have the tendency to wait until the perfect moment for that special brew. Now I'm not saying you should deplete your hard-earned cellared beers. It's always good to keep a few things on reserve. I'm only saying, don't be afraid to live in the moment. There will be more moments. There will be more delicious rare offerings. There will be more times to celebrate.

So the next time you're in the store and there's a beer that's a few bucks more... GO FOR IT. Don't settle for the bargain bin. Or if there's a nice dinner coming up with a few friends or family, or even if it's just a quiet night at home with a bud, dust off that saison that you're sitting on or that stout that's been aging for the last year. Why again are you saving that Double IPA? Carpe Diem. Seize the Day.