Southern Tier 2XMAS Ale

So maybe this is a few days late, but it's still the holiday season, and i'm still enjoying all the Christmas beers i can get my grubby little hands on.  The 2XMAS Ale comes to us from New York's Southern Tier Brewery, and is a holiday treat indeed.  The beer pours a lovely amber with a bubbly, off-white head and smells of spices and fruits, almost like what you would get in a spiced cider.  The flavor consists of figs, orange, clover, and some back end hops to keep things from getting too terribly sweet.  This is a great brew to drink while sitting around the house with family, and at 8% ABV, you might as well get comfortable.

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Charlie Foxtrot Imperial Berliner Weisse

This is the first brew i've tried from Texian Brewing Company out of Richmond, Texas...and holy cow is it sour.  The Charlie Foxtrot is an Imperial Berliner Weissbier, and is a tasty treat for any of your sour beer lovers out there.  The brew pours nice and gold with a white and quickly dissipating head, aromas of wheat and citrus prevailing.  Did i mention it was sour?  The taste is a blend of the aforementioned wheat and yeast and whole lot of dry sourness.  In some ways, it's reminiscent of a dry champagne, but the wheat flavors let you know you've definitely got a beer on your hands.  At 7.5% ABV, the beer knows what it's doing, and i'd recommend it for anyone wanting to try something a little different from your regular wheat beers.

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Ruta Maya Dark

The Ruta Maya Dark is a schwarzbier from Michigan's Atwater Brewery that blends plenty of coffee into their beer...and their not kidding around.  The coffee notes are very, very prevalent in this one, but mix well with the roasted malts to give off a pleasing aroma and taste.  The beer is similar to coffee porters, though lighter, smoother, and with much less of a bitter back bite.  Easy to drink, and a great starter beer for a novice beginning to experiment with different flavors.

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Real Ale Brewer's Cut Oyster Stout

Apparently it's weird and wonderful stout month for me, with the latest being the latest release from Real Ale's Brewer's Cut series, the eye-catching Oyster Stout.  And it's good.  I'll admit, i was expecting there to be a bigger oyster kick in the flavor, but this dark brew feels more like a traditional stout than anything else.  The roasted malts are evident in the aroma and the taste with a slight briny note on the back end.  Hints of coffee can be found throughout as well, sometimes giving the beer a porter-like taste.  All in all, an interesting beer from a great brewery.

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Pretzel Stout

Looking for something a little different?  Look no further than the Pretzel Stout from Martin House Brewing in Fort Worth.  This dark black stout pours thick and smells like roasted malts with hints of chocolate and coffee.  Tastewise, the brew is roasty and bitter, with flourishes of coffee and some salt and bread notes from the crushed sourdough pretzels that the beer is brewed with.  It's a nice mix.  And if you're drinking this in a bar, you're going to want something salty anyway, so why not?  The beer weighs in at 6.5% ABV, and is a nice change of pace.

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