Corsendonk - Christmas Ale

Next up is Corsendonk Christmas Ale, a true product of Belgium, purchased at Vintage Estates.

The brewer uses roasted malts, hops, and yeast, spiced with coriander. It is a dark ale refermented in the bottle. It is 8.5% ABV.

Overall average rating: 8.4/10

This has a thick, solid head, and is a cloudy/unfiltered, dark rich brown color. As Chris pours this, he is smilking from ear to ear :) The aroma is of honey, a little cherry, nutmeg, and cinnamon. The taste has the same flavors as the aroma with a slight front tongue bite and a cinnamon bite at the back of the tongue.

Shawn- This has a creaminess that coats but doesn't linger on the palate. It has an amazing complexity - the more you taste it, the more flavors you pull from it. By the third or fourth sip, you can taste the Belgian yeast, 8.5/10.
Angela- This is very delicious and not overly spicy. It is a very good and drinkable Christmas ale, 8.25/10.
Chris- "I taste 'yum!'" Belgian Christmas ales are some of my favorite beers of all time. The lacing, sediment, overall complex flavor - they are one of the most enjoyable beers to have, 8.5/10.

Ridgeway Brewing - Insanely Bad Elf

For our next Christmas ale, we went overseas to Oxfordshire, U.K. to Ridgeway Brewing for their Insanely Bad Elf, purchased at Havana House.

"'My goodness,' muttered Claus, recalling his visit to the Institute, 'the restrictive outerwear, the padded room - even padded Christmas tree ornaments. Horrifying! Yet the little chap seems happier than he's ever been.' Claus took a thoughtful sip of a most warming red ale. 'Perhaps sanity is over-rated... Ho, ho, ho!'" This is 12.0% ABV.

Overall average rating: 5.7/10

It is a light straw color with a little amber hue to it. The aroma is of cherry, honey, a little cinnamon.. and alcohol. It's almost like smelling liquor. It tastes like a strong mixed drink. You can absolutely taste the strength of the alcohol in this.

Shawn- Considering the higher alcohol content, it's a little cough syrupy, almost like a simple syrup viscosity. The sweetness and alcohol stick everywhere in your mouth. I think it's a bad attempt to clone Mad Elf, 5.5/10.

Angela- Never before have I had a beer that reminded me so much of liquor. There is a slight cinnamon finish, but the thick syrupiness of it makes it too sweet, 5.75/10.

Chris- It reminds me of a honey liquour - almost like a light mead (Shawn and I agree). There's too much obvious alcohol in this, in my opinion, 5.75/10.

Abita - Christmas Ale

Our second Christmas ale is Abita Christmas Ale, purchased at the Cornersburg Party Shop.

"Each year at the Abita Brewery we craft a special dark ale for the holiday season. Each year the recipe changes so that Abita Christmas Ale is always the perfect gift." It's suggested to drink this spicy beer with traditional holiday flavors like gingerbread or spiced nuts, as well as either bleu cheese or Camembert.


Overall average rating: 6.1/10


This pours a translucent light red amber, lighter than the previous beer. This also has tons of egg white head with a lot of lacing. There is a lot of citrus hop in the aroma, with a little malt and honey as well. The hop finish in the taste is exactly like the aroma.


Shawn- Normally a Christmas ale from Louisiana would seem odd, but their Pecan Harvest was really good. The crisp bitterness of the hop in this beer is refreshing, however it doesn't have typical Christmas flavors in it. I'd classify this almost as a "red winter" more than a Christmas ale, 5.5/10.
Angela- This tastes exactly like the smell, so it's consistency is good. I actually detect an aroma of sweet potato as well as the hop. It's not my favorite Christmas ale, but I think it would go really well with Shawn's sweet potato curry soup (hint, hint), 6.25/10.
Chris- This tastes like a hoppy amber beer with a little honey added. It's not bad, it's just not that Christmasy. My rating is based on the smell/taste consistency, 6.5/10.

Penn Brewery - St. Nikolaus Bock Bier

After our trip to Market Garden Brewery, we dove right into the first of seventeen Christmas ale. Yes, seventeen. There are too many to narrow down to just a week's worth. First up, Penn Brewry St. Nikoluas Bock Bier purchased at the Cornersburg Party Shop.

"At the start of the 19th century, he was a tall, stern patriarch in bishop's robes. Today, he's a jolly globular sky-riding elf. Saint Nick may be a milk-and-cookies guy, but he knows what you want, and it's this St. Nikolaus Bock Bier. Rich, dark and full bodied, because it's brewed just like beers are brewed in Germany. With a blend of roasted barley malt and Bavarian Hallertau hops. It's fresher though, because we make it right here in Pennsylvania." This won a silver medal at the 2011 Great American Beer Festival and is 6.5% ABV.

Overall average rating: 5.0/10

It pours a translucent red amber color, with aromas of caramel, malt, nutmeg, honey, and slight cherry. The taste gives a full tongue bite, although it's light. There's a little honey and caramel in the finish, and there is no distinct hop flavor.

Shawn- I can't wrap my head around a beer with a great bouquet where none of those aromas make it into the flavors, 4.5/10.
Angela- I expected more flavor/richness based on the smell, so I am a bit disappointed, 5/10.
Chris- The problem is that it has an incredible smell, but the taste dies off. They could have done a lot more with this beer, 5.5/10.

Market Garden Brewery - Viking Pale Ale

Our final beer at the Market Garden Brewery is the Viking Pale Ale. It was a new brew, so there is no description on the beer menu. It is 5.5% ABV.


Overall average rating: 5.0/10


This is a light amber/yellow beer with citrusy hop and wheat aromas. The taste gives flavors of citrusy hop, wheat, and malt, with a side tongue bite and back of the tongue lingering.


Shawn- It's crisp and refreshing with a hop finish, which is a bit overpowering, 6/10.
Angela- It has a little too much of a hoppy bite for me personally, but I think it's crisp and refreshing as well, 5.5/10.
Chris- The only reason I'm rating this lower is because it is more of an IPA than a true pale ale. It's an excellent beer that I would drink on a hot summer day - delicious flavor!, 6.5/10.

Repeal Day!!

Shawn and I were able to score some last minute tickets to The Brotherhood of Appreciating Repeal Day's annual event at The Corinthian in Sharon, PA. People dress in costume, there's a live band, good food, and a ton of beer. It's a really good time, and I highly recommend it to everyone.


Highlights

• We were excited to have Hoppin' Frog's Frosted Frog Christmas Ale for the first time this year - so delicious. They're B.O.R.I.S. Crusher Oatmeal Imperial Stout was also really tasty.
• Dogfish Head's Chicory Stout is always a delicious choice if you like coffee flavors.
• Atwater - Vanilla Java Porter. Wow. Tastes just like an iced coffee. It has a thin mouthfeel for a porter, but this was really, really good. And it was a brewery we hadn't heard of before.

Last year, my favorite beer of the night was a homebrewed porter. This year, our favorites were also homebrews. Gregg Wormley from The Pumphouse Homebrew Shop in Struthers, Ohio, had a really good coffee porter (are you sensing a trend in the beers we tried? haha). He likes hops and roast together, and this beer is a really good balance of the two.


We also met two really cool guys - Colin Mann and Jeremy Palermo - who brought some amazing homebrews with them. These were so good, they tasted like beers ready to be bottled and sold commercially, not just two guys playing around with flavors and ingredients. They had four beers: Bourbon Barrel Porter, Red Scare Smokescreen, "The Glorious Lord Mirtock's Breakfast Stout," and Strangely Supernatural Fall Brown Ale.


Bourbon Barrel Porter- I am not a huge fan of bourbon barrel beers. This reminds me of a light Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale, but I enjoy the flavor. Shawn found this to be very silky with a light, delicate bourbon finish - very well done, in his opinion.
Red Scare Smokescreen- This was a very good beer - very smooth with a subtle smokiness. Very drinkable, very well done.
Breakfast Stout- It "smells like happiness" and is something I could wake up and drink. It is dark and roasty with a nice hop finish - a really good balance. This is a really fantastic beer.
Fall Brown Ale- I have in my notes two words: holy amazing. The aroma is truly that of fall - it instantly makes you think of colorful, crunchy leaves. There are cinnamon overtones, but it's smooth. The more you drink of it, the more it develops. Really well done.




All in all, it was another fun time. Food, drinks, dancing.. costumes next year..? :)

Prohibition has ended!!

Happy Repeal Day everyone! Make sure to celebrate :)

Market Garden Brewery - Wallace Tavern Scotch Ale

"Tradition never tasted so good!"

Our eleventh beer is the Wallace Tavern Scotch Ale, which is 6.5% ABV.


"The Scots love their malt, whether it be in whiskey or in beer, and our Scotch Ale follows suit- with plenty of deep, caramelized malt flavor that makes this beer oh-so-smooth. Named for Cleveland's Wallace House Tavern, opened in 1809."


Overall average rating: 8.0/10


This deep red beer gives off aromas of coffee, chocolate, caramelized malt, and a little wheat. When drinking, you taste chocolate, caramel, coffee, malt, and molasses. Yum.


Shawn- This is a nice, medium-bodied beer with coffee overtones and chocolate undertones. It is very drinkable on a cold day, 8/10.
Angela- Chocolate, caramel, coffee..yum. How can you go wrong?! It reminds me of eating a dark chocolate bar, 8.5/10.
Chris- In terms of a Scotch ale, I expected it to be much maltier, but it is an excellent beer, 7.5/10.

Market Garden Brewery - Progress Pilsner

"crisp and clean!"

Our tenth beer from Market Garden is the Progress Pilsner, which is 5.5% ABV.


"Inspired by the Pilsners of the Rhine region, this lager is a tribute to the spicy, crisp and clean character of German noble hops and has just the right malt body to balance. Named aptly for the Cleveland slogan 'Progress & Prosperity'."


Overall average rating: 6.3/10


This straw yellow beer gives off aromas of citrus, wheat, and barley. There is a front tongue bite, with flavors wheat, barley, and a light malt in the taste.


Shawn- This is clean, refreshing, and delicious with great drinkability, 7/10.
Angela- This beer has an interesting flavor, and I think would be a good beer to drink with appetizers, 6/10.
Chris- This is a very bitey pilsner, which is not what I expected. I would drink this again cold (reminder: we were brought all 12 beers at once, so they have been getting warmer as they've sat out), 6/10.