What beer are you drinking now? #1526

Its an excellent day to crack open a special brew or to sip on something that lends itself to a "low and slow" approach throughout the day (in the kitchen). Pfaffenhack by Nightshift:

 

Good morning BA, have a great Christmas Eve! I am driving out to my parents house later on today. Need to pack up some cellar goodies for the visit, and I should be good to go.

Awesome as usual. Flavors of grapefruit, tangerine, lemon zest, orange peel, light pepper, and pine hops; with some caramel, toasted bread malt sweetness; and floral/grassy hops earthiness. Moderate pine/citrus peel bitter finish. Medium bodied; balanced hop stickiness and grainy malt creaminess. Lightly resinous and increasingly drying, but never astringent. Very juicy and fresh on hop flavors. Love it every year. Cascade, Centennial, and Chinook classic hop team.


My go-to winter seasonal brown ale. Big robust flavors of caramel, toffee, chocolate, cocoa, toasted biscuit, and nutty malts; with some light herbal/floral/spicy hops; and a balanced roasted bittersweet finish. Nice medium bodied creamy/bready mouthfeel; with a touch of roast/hop stickiness and increasing dryness. Always love this stuff. It’s on the roasty side of the brown ale spectrum, but it's not overdone to the point that makes it feel like a porter. Just grabbed a full 6er this week.


Amazing DIPA!! Flavors of huge tangerine, grapefruit, pineapple, peach, apricot, mango, papaya, lemon zest, orange peel, light pepper, and pine hops; moderate honey, light caramel, and lightly toasted biscuit malt sweetness; and herbal, floral, grassy hop earthiness. Moderate pine, citrus rind, and peppery/spicy bitterness on the finish. Medium-plus bodied; balanced sticky/resinous hops and grainy/bready malt creaminess in the mouthfeel. Increasingly drying resin finish; minimal hop astringency. Just flat out incredible. Insanely bright and juicy on hops; nice malt backbone without being sweet. Nice mix of earthy, citrusy, and tropical hop varieties. Need to find a 6'er of this one. Grabbed a single this week.


This is tasting incredible after 22 months! Flavors of big cinnamon, cardamom, clove, black pepper, ginger, and herbal black tea; with balanced dark chocolate, cocoa, coffee, molasses, toffee, toasted dark bread, and light smoked/charred malts. Moderate roast/char and herbal/spice bitterness on the finish. Medium-full bodied; very creamy/silky with balanced sticky/chalky roast/spice notes in the mouthfeel. Increasingly drying roast/char/spice finish. Super smooth, minimal warming alcohol. Still really strong on the spices, but a bit more balanced with the base beer than when it was fresh. I loved it both then and now. I love chai spiced beers. This is still on the shelf around here, so I will be buying more to cellar for a couple more years. I already have 1 more I bought last week.


Cheers

 

Block 15 • Figgy Pudding Brandy Barrel Christmas Ale

 

The reason I bought this bottle of 'T Gaverhopke was because I was told it is a "slightly sour Quad". This sounded quite intriguing. However, while a very nice Quad indeed, I did not detect any sour notes. Not sure how fresh/aged this was so hard to tell whether the lack of sourness was related to my lack of palate sensitivity or the brew's age.

 

Awake before the rest of the household to finish wrapping presents, exercise and now enjoy a semi-festive brew.

 

Merry Christmas BA's!

Going to be consuming a nice variety of brews today, but starting off with this one and a nice omelet....yum!



From this Viking Sailor Boathouse, to all of yours.....

Happy Holidays!









Cheers to great beers!

 

Drinking Stone Enjoy By 12.25.16

 

Good morning BAs! It's warm and raining here in NW PA - a generally lovely day for this time of year - tomorrow's journey over the river and through the woods may indeed be interesting. With a little luck, we may get food prep done early today - Mrs. Lizard is already up and about, a highly unusual state of affairs!

Today's inventory reduction breakfast beer is:



This is a flavorful RIS that I pick up whenever I can find it - usually twice a year in TX.

 

Merry Christmas Eve BA! Hosting our version of a Griswold Family Christmas today! Bringing both sides together is always some good entertainment. Trimming up a 9 lb beef tenderloin for 1 course of the meal. Cheers!

 

Setting one out for Santa this morning:





Today's agenda includes baking cookies this afternoon at sister in law's, then Christmas Eve with nieces/nephews at brother in law's later. Me? I'm in charge of the beer

 

Good morning BA, lots of housework to do today to get ready for my daughter's birthday. This ought to help me along.



Cheers!

 

¡Feliz Navidad!




¡Fleas Navidog!


¡Próspero año y fleecy dog!

 

A bottle from last year that I found while going through some cases in the cave. Time for a little libation after a short morning run. The board is waxed and ready for some games with the family tonight. Have a merry Christmas Eve!

 

Barbeque sandwich for breakfast and something to wash it down . . .


Score 3.65
appearance: 3.5 | aroma: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

Nice light gold color with good cap and lacing.

Aroma announces with lightly smoked malt and mild spicy hops.

Taste is smoky (which is rather the idea) but it's a light smoke resting on a well made simple beer. The smoke is not objectionable but it's presence is undeniable and one has to accept that going in. There's enough hop presence to add a spicy touch and the flavor actually improves a bit as the beer warms up which for me is the mark of a well made brew.

Okay, let me start by saying I'm not a fan of rauchbier generally. Oh, they don't trigger a gag reflex or anything, rather I find them a juxtaposition of flavors that don't complement each other. I would simply prefer the smoke be in the sandwich meat rather than resting with the hops. The beer was easy to finish and I certainly wouldn't turn another one down but I won't be buying a six pack either.

 

while the pork belly is roasting in the oven

 

Hoping to see a beat down of the Jets today in person. Go Pats! Merry Christmas Eve!

 

Yuletide cheers BA's! I have it pretty easy today with the Xmas eve meal. I am going to do a simple roast beef and gravy. Cheers and Merry Christmas!