So, here it is Jan 23; I'm 23 beers in (plus some extras) and I am fairly confident I've had enough cinnamon, ginger and honey to put Winnie the Pooh in a seizure. Well, OK, maybe not the honey - I'm sure there are going to be a lot of good brews of honey through out the rest of this year (side note thought - should I include Meads in this? Are Meads Beer? Or something very special on their own - will have to investigate). But the other two, god save me! I'm sure if I line all the Christmas brews up side by side together and tasted them all to compare I would be able to notice all sorts of differences. Instead, separating them out I'm starting to feel like a Christmas tree being decorated with just another round ornament - nothing exciting just round and maybe a different color. Not to mention - Christmas is done - I don't want to think about Christmas for at least 9 more months.
But noooo... I had to go do something crazy like challenge myself to 365 different beers in 365 different days (Yes, I KNOW - this is a Leap Year and I'm working on what that "SPECIAL" beer should be - suggestions being taken on Facebook if you have any good ones). So, here I sit, 9:35pm on a Monday night. Just finished logging a bunch of hours for work that I was running behind on and settled in for my next beverage. I am sort of hungry so I'm hopeful this brew puts a fix to that craving. My wife just sat and enjoyed one of our favorite snacks in front of me and it really bummed me out - Sourdough Hard Pretzels and cream cheese. Don't knock it till you try it; I guess I will not be enjoying those till at least November 2013 at least till I get these braces off. Ok, so maybe I'm a little bitter but I'll survive.
Anyway, onto the Great Lakes - Christmas Ale; This beer actually states on the side of the bottle that it was a Gold Medal Winner in the World Beer Championships. I do not know if it was a special seasonal brew or Christmas Ale style or regular style of beer winner. Either way, I think it was well deserved. Though I'm sick of all these spices in my beer this one is quite enjoyable. This beer pours a nice copper brownish red. It has a nice head that coats the side of the glass as you drink it down like a white polar bear fur coat. The taste is a little sweet but some how they find a way to force the malty goodness to cut through so it tastes like a quality beer. Interesting enough I never seemed to remember liking Great Lakes Brewery beers but this challenge seems to be proving me wrong. There is a nice quality of hops that come through to balance out the sweet, the spice and the malty. This beer is nice and balanced. I could easily call this a nice session brew during the cold snowy wintery December night. Hell, if I had two or three more of these I may partake in a few more myself tonight. But alas I only have one. I guess I'll finish this down and decide whether I should:
A) drink a differnt beer,
B) find something to eat,
C) or just go to bed.
They all seem equally appealing for all types of good reasons! Anyway, have a great night and I'll be back tomorrow!
But noooo... I had to go do something crazy like challenge myself to 365 different beers in 365 different days (Yes, I KNOW - this is a Leap Year and I'm working on what that "SPECIAL" beer should be - suggestions being taken on Facebook if you have any good ones). So, here I sit, 9:35pm on a Monday night. Just finished logging a bunch of hours for work that I was running behind on and settled in for my next beverage. I am sort of hungry so I'm hopeful this brew puts a fix to that craving. My wife just sat and enjoyed one of our favorite snacks in front of me and it really bummed me out - Sourdough Hard Pretzels and cream cheese. Don't knock it till you try it; I guess I will not be enjoying those till at least November 2013 at least till I get these braces off. Ok, so maybe I'm a little bitter but I'll survive.
Anyway, onto the Great Lakes - Christmas Ale; This beer actually states on the side of the bottle that it was a Gold Medal Winner in the World Beer Championships. I do not know if it was a special seasonal brew or Christmas Ale style or regular style of beer winner. Either way, I think it was well deserved. Though I'm sick of all these spices in my beer this one is quite enjoyable. This beer pours a nice copper brownish red. It has a nice head that coats the side of the glass as you drink it down like a white polar bear fur coat. The taste is a little sweet but some how they find a way to force the malty goodness to cut through so it tastes like a quality beer. Interesting enough I never seemed to remember liking Great Lakes Brewery beers but this challenge seems to be proving me wrong. There is a nice quality of hops that come through to balance out the sweet, the spice and the malty. This beer is nice and balanced. I could easily call this a nice session brew during the cold snowy wintery December night. Hell, if I had two or three more of these I may partake in a few more myself tonight. But alas I only have one. I guess I'll finish this down and decide whether I should:
A) drink a differnt beer,
B) find something to eat,
C) or just go to bed.
They all seem equally appealing for all types of good reasons! Anyway, have a great night and I'll be back tomorrow!
