Category: Holiday Beer

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Review – Bourbon County Stout (2013 vs 2015)

OK, so it not a battle when it involves two great beers. But let’s take a look at my thoughts on the 2013 and the 2015 versions of the original Bourbon County Stouts from Goose Island.
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2013
The most notable part of my first sips of the 2013 is a biting sharpness in the middle. I was expecting a beer mellower and heavier.  And this BCS is both heavy and light with hot chocolate notes. As it warms the heat starts to show more throughout the taste instead of that spike in the middle. This stout is very dry. The Bourbon is tucked in there but not oppressive it is more 1/3 of the pie.

2015
The latest version starts with that same sharpness as the 2013 with more vanilla to it as opposed to chocolate. That vanilla fades though into more raisin notes that I associate with Quads and Belgians. Seems less complex than the 2013. And again the bourbon is just a member of the team and not the star.

These are my thoughts as I sipped from both beers.  The take-away is that these beers are extremely similar.  The shared DNA is obviously there but to each individual palate the flavors with the biggest bounce might differ from mine.

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Holiday Ale # 7 – Last Snow

Funky Budha Last Snow
The Funky Buddha of snow and snowmen are the fourth beer in our Holiday Ale Series.

“Last Snow Coconut & Coffee Porter is an ode to that special time in Florida where the needle dips just south of 75 – even for the briefest of moments. This rich, creamy porter is layered with coconut and freshly-roasted coffee for a taste that recalls a winter wonderland – even if, in our state, that’s just a state of mind.”

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Holiday Ale # 5 – Spiced Pear Shandy

We go a little off the beaten snow path for the 5th beer of Holiday Ale season….
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A Weiss beer based Shandy from Leinenkugel’s.

“A shandy is a beer mixed with a little something extra, and our new Leinenkugel’s Spiced Pear Shandy is our refreshing winter beer inspired by the season. Made from a mix of our traditional Weiss beer and pear and spice flavors, our Spiced Pear Shandy has a balanced spiced pear taste with notes of cinnamon and nutmeg.”

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Holiday Ale # 4 – Cyber Monday

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A little more mercantile than merry but also democratic. That is how Mobcraft in Wisconsin rolls when they brew. And this time to honor of internet buying they have a barrel aged cherry accented stout to help you get through the checkout process.

“Cyber Monday is a smooth, full bodied, black as night stout with plenty of bourbon on the nose and hints of tart cherry. It’s heavy mouthfeel leads into distinct flavors of whisky and cherry that ends with a nice long toasty finish. This Russian Imperial Stout with cherries was aged for 10 months in 12 year bourbon barrels.”

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Holiday Ale # 2 – Snow & Tell

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Two on the list is the punny named beer from Boulevard.

“A perfect winter beer for curling up by the fireplace, this malt blanket features prominent toffee and caramel notes with just a hint of smoked malt. A subtle spiciness is provided by hopping with Magnum, Chinook and Styrian Goldings.”

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Holiday Ale # 1 – 8 Maids-A-Milking

Bruery 8
We start with the holiday season off with the 8th in the series from The Bruery. If you had to guess a style for each line of the song, this would have been the easiest to get right.

“8 Maids-a-Milking is the 8th beer in our “12 Days of Christmas” series, and we’d be udderly crazy to release anything but a milk stout. So we made an imperial milk stout to stand up to whatever Old Man Winter throws our way from now through 2019 with the final release of our series. 8 Maids-a-Milking is brewed with lactose, which is commonly referred to as milk sugar. It’s the only type of sugar that is unfermentable by yeast, which adds more perceptible creaminess and sweetness to the finished beer. This mouthfeel and sweetness is complemented by robust layers of milk chocolate, subtle spice accents from our house Belgian yeast and roasty, cafe elements indicative of our take on the style. Celebrate the seasons with the best of both worlds: enjoy some now, and lay a few down for up to 4 years to be enjoyed upon the release of 12 Drummers Drumming.”

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Stumped

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Count L.A. as a lucky outpost in Double Mountain Brewery distribution.  Getting their fresh hop offerings and seasonals like Pale Death is great .  And hopefully there will be a supply of Gypsy Stumper soon. Brewed “a minimalist approach” and Pilsner and Vienna malts with Mosaic, Simcoe, Challenger, and Centennial hops intertwined.