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Let’s stay in the UK for another day have a real low abv (3.4%) candied orange pale ale from Cloudwater Brew Co.
“One of our favorite hops here at the brewery is Loral, with its luscious orange flavours that sit oh-so wonderfully in our core beer Happy. We don’t see this hop get used enough for our liking so we’ve brought back this rebrew of Happy Christmas, a beer that is jam packed full of Loral and leans into the seasonal notes of the festive season!”
Santa is bringing comfort and joy from McMinnville, Oregon with this first beer in the BSP seasonal beer advent calendar from Golden Valley Brewery.
“Our infamous Tannen Bomb has been aging a full year in whiskey barrels, adding complexity and contributing bold aromas of vanilla, toasted oak, and tobacco leaf.
The Tannen Bomb is brewed specially to bring warmth and cheer to the wet winter clime of the great Northwest, Tannen Bomb features rich notes of toffee, caramel, and fruit, balanced by a generous dose of locally grown hops.”
Collaborations x 3 this month as we travel around the Golden State from San Diego to Los Angeles to Sacramento via new hops and old recipes.
MacLeod / Tomm Carroll Oat Malt Stout – 4.6% – “this sub-style, which was made with malted oats (along with malted barley), not oat flakes or oatmeal, was first brewed by Maclay & Co., LTD of Alloa, Scotland around 1894.”
Smog City / Pizza Port PC Load Letter White IPA – 6.5% – “Packed with a rock-solid punch of grapefruit and zesty yuzu, juicy hits of peach and apricot, and a smooth herbal backbone, it’s the ultimate cure for a case of the Mondays.”
Urban Roots / Societe Fun Fare IPA – 7.1% – “stacked with Krush, Krush Cryo, Krush Dynaboost, Citra, and Nectaron hops, so expect your taste buds to be flying first class.”
Docent Brewing is in a classic brewery spot in an industrial park in San Juan Capistrano but they have done it up real well.
The space is bright and big with multiple seating areas both inside and out. And if you pick outside you will probably see bikers and runners on the paths outside that stretch all the way into the mission part of town.
I made a mistake or misheard and when I ordered the taster tray , I was asked if a quarter pour or half pour was wanted. I said half. That came out as 8 ounces each and not the 4 or 5 and one of them I picked was the barrel-aged 13% stout.
I went with a pale, Black IPA, Red IPA along with the aforementioned stout. Later I had a second pale and that style seems to be their sweet spot. Both Life Coach and Double Nickels were zippy and bright with citrusy notes. The Momo red was my third place choice.
So a bit of an above average mixed bag. The nearby Inn at the Mission had some more Docent beers on tap so I indulged with the Super Tonic Coffee Stout which was quite good too.
Both places that I drank at had great (different) atmospheres. But Docent worked well in both.
The corporate beer crew love a good piece of misdirection. Like a Vegas magician, they want you to look anywhere but AT the beer and Christmas is a time of magic so of course Miller Lite is selling…
….the limited-edition keg stand sells for $49.99 and is the latest addition to the Miller Lite holiday lineup, and shows that they would much rather market then buy good ingredients and improve their beer.
Needed? – Unless you want an intervention on the 26th of December, not. But at least it is better than an ugly Christmas sweater.
I have been slowly piling up gifts for Christmas 2022 but if you are a last minute shopper or have people to shop for across the country, you might want to consider sending a brewery gift card.
MacLeods here in LA is the most recent casualty but I have read closure posts on other beer blogs as well.
Who knows what 2023 will hold but many breweries are still struggling with post-pandemic and then inflation and are still digging out and could use a little extra. So where you can, purchase spend some Xmas money on future beer.
We go a little tart with this Christmas entry from New Realm Brewing in Georgia. Tart’s Content is a Berliner Weisse with traditional holiday flavors to spice up the season.
I like me some Christmas and I really need it this year but I would never think to listen to a Christmas based podcast. But, if you want to get really meta and listen to a podcast about other podcasts and those podcasts are Christmas themed then the aptly named Christmas Podcasts Podcast will give you your fill of Santa.
Obviously two California Ur Holiday seasonals should be the choice here. Get an Anchor and a Sierra Nevada Christmas beer and find some cheer in a very bad year.
Following up on yesterday’s duo, is a pair from Dayton, Ohio and Warped Wing Brewery. The spiced lager sounds great to me but the Dopplebock will be great as our SoCal weather coldens up a bit.
A double dip of Sam Adams Christmas cheer in the shape of Old Fezziwig and Chocolate Bock in shiny new cans for 2020. Not in large supply though. But there is their Winter Lager to have.