Today’s Christmas offering is a Dubbel. Not a style you see in the wild often, let alone as a winter beer.
Single Digit is from Smuttynose Brewing and is described as “a full-bodied, amber beer brewed with a special Trappist ale yeast. Stylistically reminiscent of a Belgian Abbey Double, it features fruity aromas and flavor, balanced by spicy Sterling hops. Warming, mellow & pleasantly complex…”
Review – Smuttynose Big Beer Series – Rhye IPA
This is a rhino of a beer from Smuttynose (which now has a presence here in Los Angeles despite being in the rebuilding phase of their brewery). Pours a dark orange and a bit foamy. Takes some time to settle. Big piney hop presence up front in the aroma. Then the rye really takes over in the taste. But the hops aren’t second fiddle. More of a co-conspirator. A bit of an alcohol aroma as I make a second pass through it. Certainly more west than east coast. Ways heavily on the tongue.
So, it’s mid-October and the books and music are being shoved to the side for college football as I root for in order:
1. Linfield College – my alma mater which needs one more win in 5 to secure another winning season. But they have higher goals. Rising higher than # 2 in the country for Division 3.
2. Oregon State – my dad’s school and despite wearing orange and black have the best uniforms of the two state schools. Mostly because a certain other team wears highlighter yellow or other strange combos of silver, yellow and green.