Lazarus First Noel

I'm almost done working my way through my holiday line up of beer that i've been saving, and now i've got brews to write about for weeks.  I was lucky enough to snag a bottle of Lazarus Brewing's 2018 version of First Noel, a winter wild ale brewed with 2 strands of Brettanomyces and refermented with figs, and it was delicious.  The 8.5% brew pours gold with a minimal and quickly dissipating head and smells of apple, oak, fig, and a little bit of funk.  The flavor is similar to the aroma, fruit notes and funky sour notes abounding.  It made for an excellent Christmas Eve wind down.

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Fremont B-Bomb Bourbon Abominable Winter Ale

My habit of amassing bottles of beer to consume at the end of the year over the holidays yields all kinds of goodies that i'm then spending weeks to catch up on and write about.  Over Christmas of 2017, an amazing friend of mine was visiting from Washington state and delivered a veritable smorgasbord of fantastic brews from the Pacific Northwest.  One of those was the B-Bomb Bourbon Abominable Winter Ale from Fremont Brewing.  Keeping it stowed away in a cupboard for a year was a challenge, as i desperately wanted to try the thing, but i'm glad i did, as it was the perfect brew to spend Christmas Eve with after the kids had gone to bed and we'd finished wrapping and putting out the presents.  This wonderful 14% ABV brew pours a dark brownish black with a light tan head and smells of oak, bourbon, spices, vanilla, coffee, and maybe even a little bit of tobacco.  The flavor is a warming mix of caramel, vanilla, roasted malt, oak, spice, and booze.  I should drink one of these every Christmas.

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Whitestone Melted Snowman Winter Warmer

Generally speaking, having kids means New Year's Eve is spent at home...on the sofa...often struggling to stay awake before midnight.  And i'm okay with that.  I am perfectly content to sit and watch a movie with my wife, winter brew in hand, fire burning, and then call it a night.  BUT, it's still nice to get out every now and then...sans kids.  Yesterday while my older son was being entertained with some of his aunts and my younger one was napping at home with a grandmother, the wife and i made it out of the house for a couple of hours to ring in the new year at around 4PM.  It was great, the crowds super manageable, football still on the TV, ice and snow not yet on the ground, and the wonderful and delicious Melted Snowman Winter Warmer from Whitestone Brewery in Cedar Park, Texas.  The beer pours a dark brown with subtle hints of amber and a nice, frothy white head.  Aromas of roasted malt, nutmeg, and cinnamon abound, while subtle caramel and coffee notes combine with the aforementioned spices in a smooth, 7.4% ABV brew.  Sweet and roasty, this is one i'm going to want to revisit before the heat returns.  Happy New Year!

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4th Tap Yule Cat Winter Amber

I probably don't give Austin's 4th Tap Brewing nearly enough love and enthusiasm as i probably should.  Aside from having an awesome taproom space, the brewery has as close to perfect a record on beer releases as one could possible hope for.  And their latest holiday offering is no different.  The Yule Cat Winter Amber comes in swinging at 7.2% ABV, pouring a brownish-reddish hue with a bubbly white head and smelling of malts, mulling spices, and nutmeg.  The flavor is a mix of sweet and bitter, malt and holiday spices at the forefront with some subtle oak notes on the back end.  It's delicious and surprisingly smooth, something i'll probably be stocking up on for the winter months ahead.

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Real Ale Phoenixx Winter Ale

I am a fan of winter ales, the blend of malts, hops, and spices the perfect libation for a chilly day.  Real Ale's Phoenixx Winter Ale is a spicier, seasonal take on a tradition ESB (English Strong Bitter), and it is a tasty concoction indeed.  Pouring a reddish amber, the beer smells of hops with some notes of toffee in the mix.  The flavor is a swirl of toffee, caramel, malt, spice, and hops set to 7.2% ABV, but pretty smooth nonetheless.  This was a great beer to sip on all day at Christmas, and i expect it to endure the rest of the winter.

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Cigar City Sugar Plum

I made a visit to Tampa Bay over the weekend to visit with an old friend, catch a football game, and of course drink some local beers.  I don't usually think of craft beer when i think of Florida, but Tampa's Cigar City Brewing totally won me over with their excellent brews and comfy, relaxed atmosphere.  While there, i was able to try a handful of different beers, all of which were great, but i think my favorite was the Sugar Plum, a winter ale brewed with coffee, chocolate, and plums.  It's hard to describe the Sugar Plum.  It's one of the most complex brews i've ever had the pleasure of imbibing.  Pouring amber with a white head and stellar lacing, the coffee and chocolate notes are heavily prevalent in the aroma.  Upon drinking, the beer hits you first with those same coffee and chocolate notes, followed by the sweetness from the plums, and finally a kind of spicy, bitter finish like you would get with a winter or Christmas ale.  Each taste got better and better.  At 7% ABV, i would have kept drinking these all night, but there were other avenues to explore, and eventually places close for the night.  I would have stayed if they'd let me.

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