Wells & Young's Banana Bread Beer

Nobody makes ales like the Brits make ales.  Wells & Young's Banana Bread Beer is no exception.  At first, it feels like it might be a little intense, but to that i say "Hogwash!"  The beer is a golden pale with a nice frothy head, and the aroma of banana bread is immediately evident upon pouring.  And, it's the first thing you taste too.  The first swig of beer is booming with banana flavor that becomes a little more subtle as you drink a little bit more.  After the initial "bananarama," the caramel flavors and the hints of spicy hops take hold to make it a more complete brew.  All in all, it's a wonderful change of pace from your usual ale, and definitely an Autumn brew.

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Deschutes Jubelale

So maybe it's not even Halloween yet, and maybe i'm getting too early of a head start on some of the winter beers that are beginning to pop up all over town, but what the hell?  It gets to be about 70 degrees around here, and people start wearing sweaters and scarves, so why not imbibe some holiday tonics?  Oregon's Deschutes Brewery never disappoints with their annual Jubelale, a robust malty and spicy winter ale.  The initial taste feels heavier than the actual brew, like a nice cocoa (sans the chocolate flavor), but then the subtle hops kick in around the malts, and the beer settles down into a nice, smooth ale.  You could probably drink this year round, but it goes best with a nip in the air.

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Saint Arnold's Oktoberfest

Like i wasn't going to talk about an Oktoberfest brew before the month was up.  And so we have an offering from Houston's Saint Arnold Brewing Company that is pretty tasty.  Coppery in color, sweet in aroma, and at first taste, the sweet malts drown out the hops to give the beer a slight caramel flavor.  The hops are there though, just under the surface.  All in all, the Oktoberfest is a refreshing brew that's remarkably (dangerously) easy to drink.  I recommend pairing it with a sausage or two.

(That last sentence was in no way intended as a sexual pun...perverts.)

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Adelbert's Flyin' Monk

Oh Austin, and your penchant for local breweries.  So many have popped up over the last five years, and they continue to do so, and i hope that's a steady trend.  I've mentioned Adelbert's before, a brewery of interesting beers with interesting names (all based on a story told by the brew master's deceased brother).  I am a fan.  And my new favorite is the the Flyin' Monk, a dark Belgian-style quadruple ale that's fermented with oak rum chips.  Those chips make all the difference.  They give the beer a hint of hard alcohol aroma.  It's almost like a nice, smooth scotch.  At first taste, you get the feel of the liquor flavors, but they're paired with an easy sweetness that makes the beer far easier to drink than it should be.  It's delicious.  The Flyin' Monk is a perfect post-meal beer, although it would go great with a fruit or cheese plate, and with a 10.9% ABV, one bomber will do you.

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