Spencer Trappist Holiday Ale

Christmas has come and gone again, and as per usual, i enjoyed a bevy of wonderful brews through all of the family and presents and food and chaos.  Enter the Trappist Holiday Ale from Spencer Brewery.  Everything that comes from Spencer is top quality and delicious, and their holiday ale is no different.  The 9% ABV brew pours a dark, reddish color with a foamy white head and smells of dark fruit, bread, and Christmas spices.  The flavor follows the nose with some notes of caramel and ginger in a medium body brew.  It's like somebody liquified a Christmas cookie, added some alcohol, and then mixed it to perfection.  Just a really solid beer all around and a wonderful libation for the holiday season.  Get on this one quick before you have to wait another year.

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Well gang, i think i may be putting this beer blog to rest here very soon.  Ten years on, i don't think there's anything left for me to say that i haven't already said a dozen times before.  It's been a fun decade though, and just by researching all these wonderful beers i've consumed each and every week, i've learned a lot about all of the different processes and ingredients and more that goes into these beverages i love so much.  I'm going to keep drinking them.  And i'm going to continue to visit every brewery i can get to.  Craft beer has never been an easy endeavor, these last two years in particular, but it will always have all the support i can give it.  I'll be back next week with one last entry to kick off a new year that is hopefully better than the ones that have preceded it.

Cheers!

Clown Shoes Pumpkin Sombrero

I am full on into pumpkin beer season these days, and my taste for the weekend came from Massachusetts' Clown Shoes Brewing.  The 7% ABV Mexican stout pours black with an off-white head and smells of pumpkin, spices, and roasted malts.  The flavor is an earthy mix of said roasted malts and pumpkin with notes of nutmeg and cinnamon.  It's a Fall brew, and Fall is here...kinda, so drink up while watching your team lose on Saturday, or watching your other team win on Sunday.

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The Monkster Mash Pumpkin Ale

Pumpkin ale season is in full effect, and really has been for a few weeks now.  One of the latest i've been able to get my grubby little hands on is the The Monkster Mash, and 5.2% ABV pumpkin ale from Spencer Trappist Brewery in Spencer, Massachusetts.  The beer pours an orange-ish gold with a white, quickly dissipating head and smells of pumpkin and pumpkin spices (naturally).  The flavor is slightly more pumpkin than spice, but pretty nicely balanced with maybe a hint of caramel.  All in all, a nice clean pumpkin brew.

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Mystic Luminous Ruins

As it turns out, when i was in Washington last month, i also drank a lot of beer not from the Pacific Northwest.  My old friend up there is a fellow beer nerd, so naturally we imbibed brews from all over the country.  One of the more delightful and summery concoctions came from Massachusetts' Mystic Brewery, with their very limited Luminous Ruins, a dry hopped sour farmhouse ale.  The beer pours a hazy and bubbly gold with a thick white head and smells of citrus, orange, grass, yeast, and just a little bit of funk.  The flavor is fruity and tart with some subtle hop hints and finishes crisp and dry.  All in all, it's quite a refreshing little 4.3% ABV brew, that unfortunately was only brewed once.

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The Good, The Bad, and The Unidragon

Last week, an old friend and fellow beer enthusiast came into Austin to visit and to attend the Flying Saucer's annual Beerfeast event.  After an afternoon spent in the sun imbibing beer after beer, sample after sample, the fest was capped off with a little 14% ABV brew from Massachusetts' Clown Shoes Brewery, the lovely titled The Good, The Bad, and The Unidragon.  A Russian Imperial Stout, this beer is dark and black with a brown head and lacing that never leaves the side of the glass.  Aromas and flavors of roasted malt, some dark fruit notes, chocolate, toffee, and alcohol are abundant, but for as strong and intense as the beer is, it actually goes down quite smoothly.  Maybe a little too smoothly.  It's really an amazing beverage, and currently only available here in Texas.  We are special.

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Clown Shoes Pecan Pie Porter

With all the cold weather hanging around central Texas of late, i've been jonesing for darker beers.  And the Pecan Pie Porter from Clown Shoes Brewery out of Massachusetts is a pretty tasty treat to scratch that itch.  This 8% ABV brew pours dark, dark brown with a foamy, tan head, emitting aromas of malts, brown sugar, and plenty of pecans.  The pecans are evident in the taste as well, but not overpowering, blending in well with an additional nuttiness, hints of molasses, and maybe even some dark fruit notes.  I really liked this beer, and it was a wonderful elixir for a chilly evening.

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Clown Shoes Vampire Slayer

Aside from having an excellent brewery and beer name, Clown Shoes Brewery's Vampire Slayer is a very tasty Imperial American Stout.  The beer is a dark brownish black that starts with a nice tan head that dissipates very quickly.  The initial aroma is one of coffee, dark chocolate, dark fruit, and raisins, all of which are represented very nicely with the flavor of the beer.  The hops are there to give it just enough kick that i almost detect a little citrus flavor, though that may just be the alcohol as this brew chimes in at a whopping 10% ABV.  The Slayer is a great beer, perfect for after work, or after dinner, and i recommend using a glass you can sift it in to keep the aromas and tastes booming.  Well done.

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Harpoon Chocolate Stout

I've been known to imbibe a dessert beer on occasion around here, something to enjoy before or after a meal.  This led me to the Chocolate Stout from Massachusetts' Harpoon Brewery, about as apt a name for a beer as you will ever come across.  Like a good stout, the carbonation is light, but the head frothy, and the beer is dark and malty.  The first thing i noticed upon the pour was the almost overwhelming aroma of chocolate, like a big candy bar.  And on first taste, the chocolate flavor is just as overwhelming as the smell.  It's a bitter chocolate flavor like you would get from a dark chocolate, heavy on the cocoa, light on the sugar.  The immense chocolaty flavor soon dissipates a little to bring in the more subtle malts.  Once you get past the initial shock of the first taste, the beer is quite enjoyably, a good bitter stout that still tastes like dessert.

Note:  This is not for everybody.

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