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I am a big fan of Duvel’s barrel-aged program. And the next one is a very unique choice. Going the historical route with Brazilian cachaça from Brazil. Sorta like a rum relative.
Duvel snagged over 400 oak cachaça barrels for their cellars and after 8 months of aging achieved what they say is Duvel but with a “lively fruit punch, which then expands festively with notes of oak, dried nuts and vanilla.”
If I do see the Duvel Barrel Aged, The Brasil Rum Edition. You know I will pick it up.
We head to the Midwest and Boulevard Brewing for their holiday Brewhouse One offering….
“Barrel-aged for 11 months in Tomcat Gin barrels, then rested on fresh juniper berries for 3 months, this quintessential holiday ale features crisp holiday spices with clean spruce essence. In addition to the pine and juniper, the wintry spice character is abundant, with hints of allspice, clove, and stonefruit esters, with light berry notes on the finish. All in all, at 9% ABV, it’s the perfect beer to bring to a party!”
Each year Craft Beer & Brewing magazine publishes their Best of Issue. I have gone through it and plucked three breweries out of it to highlight this month, starting in Utah with Templin Family Brewing.
Here are my taster tray choices….
Natürlich Pilsner – “A tale as old as time. The malt bill presents subtle notes of crisp bread and peanut brittle. The hops pop with notes of grassy, white peach. 10 Weeks in the foeder give this a substantial oak presence.”
Beechwood Rauch Bier – “This Bamberg specialty is made with beechwood Rauch malts and Bavarian lager yeast. A silver medalist from the 2019 GABF, this beer balances sweet and savory malt finishes.”
Lingonberry Berliner Weisse – “American-style kettle-sour with lingonberry puree. Sour, tart, slightly sweet finish. (What does a lingonberry taste like, you ask? Think Cranberry, but slightly more bitter.”
Cold Foam Nitro Oat Stout – “Double oat dry stout. Creamy texture. Subtle roast character. Named after the brewers favorite pick me up in the morning. Cold Foam Fridays are a weekly ritual.”
Good to see one of my favorite breweries both bringing holiday cheer and bringing back in a new form, the infamous Wookey Jack.
“Wookey wonderland? We’re sippin’ in it! The Wookey has come in from the cold, and it’s fully reimagined for the season. Arctic Wookey is our classic black rye IPA reimagined with abominable amounts of flavor courtesy of a dank and resinous hop profile takes it to frigid new heights. It’s as black and cold as your blessed heart.”
Party Beer Co. made a tea IPA that I quite enjoyed and they have now teamed with LAMILL Coffee for a Coffee Stout that is made with a hint of sweet Tahitian vanilla bean, Catpuccino. Saw this a bit late but look for it in your local beer shoppes. A bit of a L.A. beer latte.
Even Los Angeles gets a bit cold in the winter. Usually don’t need jackets but we do want some warmth. And something comfortable. Enter Backwoods Brewing.
“The warm notes of cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla in this winter ale will keep you Comfy Womfy allseason long”
I saw this quote about a weird as hell brand offshoot from Modelo called Shyft, and I could feel the anger rising. “a first-of-its-kind, patented, flavor-shifting” flavored malt beverage that’s “designed to hit different taste buds at different times.”
First, the idiot who decided that vowels were replaceable need to have all the vowels removed from their name permanently. It is well past annoying at this point.
Second, the focus group that gave the thumbs up to Shyft as a name should also have all vowels removed from their names permanently. This is why America can’t have good things.
Rant complete.
Why Modelo isn’t spending their money on say paying employees more or plant upgrades or more Damian Lillard commercials is beyond me. But the sugar-ification of America must march forward until everything we eat is either sugar, salt or Pepper X.
Leave the flavor changing to candy and keep it out of beverages. Not needed.
An Irish-American spin on a holiday ale comes to us from the Guinness Open Gate in Baltimore.
“This seasonal brown ale is brewed with whole nutmeg, cinnamon sticks, and hand-scraped vanilla beans. The malty base brings out the caramel notes, and hints of baking spice give it a robust but balanced finish.”
If you want to get my wife’s podcast attention, there are two topics that will succeed. One is cults. Second is scams. And the Ringer Podcast Network has one of the latter, The Wedding Scammer. A seven part series hosted by Justin Sayles about a character that you just can’t make up. And a shit ton of aliases.
And what is good about this series is that Sayles is in on the whole true crime podcast tropes. You get a peek behind the curtain and see how it came together while you also get the story. You will rip through this in no time, it is that engrossing.
I would look for beers from all of the cities and states that the villain of the piece has moved through. Los Angeles, Oakland, Houston, New York and rural Pennsylvania too. Have a different style for each of the different names used.
To Eugene, Oregon for a barrel-aged peppermint stout from Oakshire Brewing.
“Imperial Stout aged in Kentucky Bourbon, Rye Whiskey, and Port Barrels. Conditioned on Peppermint Bark Candy, Peppermint Stick, and Cocoa Nibs. Selected from the same barrels as Hellshire X, the base matured for 22 months in Blanton’s Bourbon, Rittenhouse Rye Whiskey, and American Port barrels. We blended the barrels onto Peruvian cocoa nibs and peppermint sticks. We finished it with peppermint bark candy from Eugene’s Euphoria Chocolate Company.”