Day 351 Drink: Olde Mecklenburg Yule Bock

Charlotte's Olde Mecklenburg Brewery makes all of its beers adhering to the Reinheitsgebot. Like many brewers in Germany, the brewery produces seasonal beers, including a holiday brew. This year's Olde Mecklenburg Yule Bock sold out rapidly at the brewery taproom, but I was lucky to score a bottle at Total Wine.

Olde Mecklenburg Yule Bock pours an amber color with a thick lacing head. The beer has a biscuity malt aroma. The flavor has a nice caramel sweetness, bright and refreshing. There is a slight floral hop signature, but the malt is the star with this brew. A nice holiday beer.

Day 308 Drink: Olde Mecklenburg Bauern Bock

Olde Mecklenburg Brewery is a small craft brewery located to the south of Uptown Charlotte, N.C. The brewery makes classic German lagers, with an emphasis on freshness and the subtle balancing of malt and hops. The brewery always has two year round beers on draught -- a Bavaria-style lager and a Dusseldorf inspired alt -- in its beer hall-style tap room and is building a pretty respectable collection of seasonal brews.

Olde Mecklenburg Bauern Bock is the latest edition to this seasonal collection. A "country bock" the beer is meant to fit in the space between Mecktoberfest and Yule Bock on the brewery's menu. The 7.5 percent alcohol by volume beer pours a rich mahogany color with a thick tan head. The beer has an attractive malt nose. Bauern Bock is rich with plenty of malt, but not too sweet. There is a slight roasted grain note to the background which helps balance the beer. A very nice seasonal for Fall weather.

Day 290 Drink: Spaten Optimator

What can you say about a brewery that can trace its roots back to 1397? Plenty, since the brewery is one of the mainstays of the Munich brewing scene. The Spatt family gave the brewery its name when they took control in 1622. Spaten's fame was secured when, as the smallest brewery in Munich, Gabriel Sedlmayr, master brewer for the Bavarian Royal Court, acquired the brewery in 1807.

Spaten Optimator is a classic doppel bock. It pours a lovely amber brown color with a tan head and malty aroma. The 7.2 percent alcohol by volume brew has a nice roasted malt flavor with a delicious sweet finish. The beer is perfect for a chilly fall night.

Day 222 Drink: Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary Bock

Sierra Nevada is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year by releasing a series of four different beers that are collaborations between Ken Grossman and a brewing pioneer. The second beer in the series brings the Sierra Nevada CEO together with Charlie Papazian of the Brewers Association and beer writing legend Fred Eckhardt to make an Imperial Helles Bock.

Charlie, Fred & Ken's Bock is an 8.3 percent alcohol by volume beer that pours a bright brass color with a lacing white head. The beer has a nice malty aroma and the first sip carries the sweetness forward. The beer is medium bodied, but coating. The hops are subdued, which is true to the style with just a slight spice note at the finish.

Day 205 Drink: Troegenator Double Bock

Chris and John Trogner started Troegs Independent Craft Brewery in Pennsylvania in 1997. The brewery produces nine different beers on a regular basis and distributes then around the Mid-Atlantic and Great Lakes regions. The company has a tasting room in Harrisburg and recently announced plans for a facility in Hershey.

Troegenator is a multiple medal winner at the Great American Beer Festival. The brewery makes this beer throughout the year.

Troegenator is ruby colored with a thick white head. It has a malty aroma with a slightly toffee edge. This 8.2 percent alcohol by volume beer has a big malty flavor bed, hints of dried fruit and just a touch of roasted grain. There are a respectable level of hops that help balance things out, making this a great example of the style.

Day 110 Drink: Merkendorf Raucherator Doppelbock

Brauerei Hummel is located in Memmelsdorf-Merkendorf, Germany, 6 miles outside of the city of Bamberg where they know a thing or two about making smoke beer.

The brewery has been around since 1846 and operates a restaurant where you can taste fresh beer and eat Franconian-style meals. The brewery makes a range of beers, including rauch styles that have made the area famous among beer drinkers.

Merkendorf Raucherator Doppelbock is a mahogany colored 8.1 percent doppelbock. Sweet malty flavor, smooth with hints of peat.

Day 94 Drink: Samuel Adams Double Bock

Boston Beer Co. has a small brewing operation in the former Haffenreffer Brewery in the Jamaica Plain section of Boston, but most of its beer is turned out at breweries it has acquired in Cincinnati (the former Hudepohl-Schoenling Brewery) and outside of Allentown, Pa. (originally the F&M Schaefer Brewery). The legendary brewery got its start on Jim Koch's kitchen stove and now with all of the industry consolidation that has taken place, Boston Beer is now the largest American-owned brewer to actually have its own brewhouse.

Samuel Adams Double Bock has won the most Great American Beer Festival medals for the company of any of its brews. Part of the brewery’s Imperial Series, you can taste the half pound per bottle of Harrington Metcalfe and Caramel 60 malt that goes into the recipe. Double Bock is brewed using only first wort -- wort that has not been sparged in the lauter tun – delivering a very high gravity liquid. The beer is aged for more than four weeks which helps to intensify the flavors. The result is a classic German-style doppelbock.


Samuel Adams Double Bock pours a tarnished penny color with a relatively thin, but long-lasting tan head. There is an immediate sweet malty nose that lingers. You can certainly taste the alcohol, but the caramelized malt builds a silky mouth feel and long satisfying finish.

Day 73 Drink: Olde Mecklenburg Fruh Bock

The tiny Olde Mecklenburg Brewery in Charlotte, N.C., has two year round beers, Kolsner (a pilsner-kolsch hybrid) and Copper (an altbier). They also make seasonal brews that adhere to the Reinheitsgebot.

Olde Mecklenburg offers tours on Saturdays at 2 p.m., 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. The brewery is also taking part in the inaugural Charlotte Craft Beer Week, hosting a German Bier Fest on March 24th starting at 5 p.m.

For the Spring, Olde Mecklenburg has released Fruh Bock, which means early bock. The beer is 6 percent alcohol by volume. Fruh Bock is a nice golden color with a very full creamy white head. The beer has a good amount of malt that has a hint of fruit sweetness in the finish. The hops come in late to crisply balance off the brew.

Day 63 Drink: Thomas Creek Deep Water Dopplebock Lager

Thomas Creek Brewery is located in Greenville, S.C. Brewmaster Tom Davis turns out a group of six year-round brews, including amber ale, IPA, pilsner, porter, red ale and the dopplebock, and a n umber of seasonals.

Davis, who spent 20 years as a bartender, created Deep Water Dopplebock in 1984 as a homebrewer and worked on perfecting the recipe before finally brewing the dark lager commercially in 1999. However, it was not until the summer of 2007 when South Carolina legalized higher gravity beers – popping the cap on the 6.25% abv limits that had been in place – that Thomas Creek Brewery in Greenville could adjust the recipe and brew a true Dopplebock. It is one of the brews I contributed to 1001 Beers You Must Taste Before You Die, a new book being released this month.

Thomas Creek Deep Water Dopplebock Lager pours with a creamy tan head that laces the glass. Traditional dopplebock mahogany color that glows around the edges. A sweet malt aroma leads to a rich roasty flavor in this 7 percent alcohol by volume brew, with hints of cocoa and a substantial malty background.

Day 46 Drink: Schlenkerla Urbock

Schenkerla is a classic Bamber destination. We were lucky enough to visit and have a couple of pints with Matthias Trum in 2008. The brewery is recognized as the home of the traditional Bamberg smoke beer, which really is a throw back brew to the pre-1850s brewing style.

Tonight I had the chance to taste what was reported to be a 7-year-old bottle of Schenkerla Urbock. I trust the provenance of the bottle based on the other beers that were enjoyed along side of this brew. It was truly amazing.

It opened as a brownish brew with a tan head and a big smoked ham nose. The taste was much more subtle, but still unique. One Wisconsin taster said it was like smoked sturgeon. I cannot argue. A great beer from a great brewery in a great town.

Day 44 Drink: Sierra Nevada 2010 Glissade Golden Bock

Sierra Nevada Brewing can trace its roots back to 1980 and is often credited among the early west coast pioneers that introduced craft beer fans to the power of hops.

Sierra Nevada 2010 Glissade Golden Bock is a 6.4 percent alcohol by volume beer that uses a combination of German Magnum, Perle and German Spalter; Slovenian Aurora and Styrian hops, along with two-row Pale, Europils, Munich and Crystal malts. The beer is a crystal clear golden color with a firm white head. The flavor has a nice malty backbone with a good level of hops for balance. Very smooth and drinkable.

Tuesday Tasting: 14 Beers for the Season

Tuesday Tasting is a regular feature of Lyke2Drink that explores some of the best beers, wines and spirits on the market. This week we sample some seasonal treats from the beer world.

Whoever invented the idea of special beers for the holidays and winter season is owed a huge debt by generations of beer drinkers. The idea of a special treat for beer drinkers that is simultaneously a gift for the holidays, a great match for celebratory feasts and a way to ward off the cold weather is truly a Christmas miracle.

Just a few years ago these seasonals were relatively rare, but now most craft brewers offer either a holiday beer or a winter warmer -- some do both. Even though they are more common, they are no less special. I try to sample as many as possible each year. Some are old favorites, while a few first-timers join the fold each year.

Here are 14 I've already managed to try this year:

Samuel Adams Winter Lager: Amber lager with a moderate tan head. The brew contains cinnamon and other spices, but these flavors are fairly muted. Still the beer has a nice healthy body and attractive malt character. A good beer to go with food.

Affligem Noel Christmas Ale: This beer is 9 percent alcohol by volume brew pours a warm brown color with a tan head. Nice caramel nose that opens to a rich flavor bed of fruits, and a slight touch of dark chocolate, brown sugar and even sweet breads in the finish.

Bateman's Rosey Nosey Christmas Ale: Amber color with a thin head. Slightly fruity nose with a classic British ale flavor profile.

Blue Moon 2009 Grand Cru: The good folks at MillerCoors made this one for the semi-rare "blue moon" making its appearance in the night sky right at the end of 2009. Cloudy yellow with a very nice creamy white head that stays put throughout. Slight citrus note with a flavor that finishes refreshingly dry.

Full Moon Winter Ale: Part of Blue Moon's seasonal line up, this 5.6 percent alcohol by volume brew was actually on draft at Bank of America Stadium, a welcome relief from watching the Carolina Panthers. Chestnut brown color and firm tan head. Mild malt aroma and a medium bodied brew. The brew is not as malty as the first sip might lead you to believe, with hops balancing out the overall flavor.

Highland Cold Mountain: This North Carolina winter warmer was tasted on draft and was brighter than I recall past vintages. This beer has a nice amber color and spiced flavor profile. It actually has an almost birch beer like finish that is there and gone.

Left Hand Fade to Black Foreign Stout: This 8.5 percent alcohol by volume beer is a dark black with slight ruby hues around the edges. Nice roasted notes with hints of licorice, coffee and smoke. Very nice.

Leinenkugel's Fireside Nut Brown: Copper colored brew with an off white head. This 4.9 percent alcohol by volume beer has a fairly light body and smooth character. Roasted malt influences mute out the hops.

New Belgium 2 Below Ale: Two Degrees Below is a nice golden-colored ale with a lacing white head. At 6.6 percent alcohol by volume it is a great fireside brew. The beer has a good level of hops, but it's overall mouthfeel is smooth and refreshing. Nice balancing roasted malt in the background.

Olde Mecklenberg Jule Bock: This small brewer in Charlotte bottled a limited run of this German-style bock for the Christmas season. A amber brown color it has a slightly malty nose and smooth, slightly sweet flavor profile.

Pike Auld Acquaintance Hoppy Holiday Ale: This 5 percent alcohol by volume ale is a light amber color. The beer has a nice malty nose and opens with a slightly spicy flavor with citrus notes. The beer is a little thinner than I remember it from the past, but it is refreshing.

Shiner Holiday Cheer: Brewed with peaches and Texas pecans this is a dunkelweizen that has been krausened. A 5.4 percent alcohol by volume brew, the peaches come through very nicely and give this brew a festive feel.

Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale: One of my all-time favorite brews from the folks in Chico. At 6.8 percent alcohol by volume the beer is relatively tame by today's big beer standards, but it is plenty powerful to meet the chill in the air. Great aromatic hops that linger throughout the flavor.

Winterhook Winter Ale: The folks at Redhook have created a glowing mahogany hued ale with a tan head that comes in at 5.9 alcohol by volume. Nice roasted malt character with a slightly nutty finish.

BrewDog Releases 32 Percent ABV Brew to Claim World's Strongest Beer Title

The title of world's strongest beer is now claimed by a brewer from northern Scotland.

BrewDog, located in Fraserburgh along the North Sea, has released Tactical Nuclear Penguin, which the brewery says weighs in at 32 percent alcohol by volume. At a near Scotch-like 64 proof, the beer replaces Germany's Schorschbock, which is a 31 percent alcohol by volume eisbock.

By way of comparison, Samuel Adams Utopias is 27 percent alcohol by volume and recognized as the strongest in the U.S.

To reach the high alcohol level the brewery stretched out the fermentation process using extremely low temperature. A 330 milliliter bottle of Tactical Nuclear Penguin will cost nearly $50. Don't worry about having to pick up a $300 six pack, since only 500 bottles have been produced.

BrewDog has had a number of running battles with government regulators since coming on the scene in 2007. They have used these fights to gain valuable publicity. The newest beer is a "cynical marketing ploy" according to Alcohol Scotland.

Tuesday Tasting: Seven Lucky Beers

Tuesday Tasting is a regular feature of Lyke2Drink that explores some of the best beers, wines and spirits on the market. This week we taste seven unique brews from around the United States.

Dogfish Head Sah'tea: The folks in Delaware must have worked a few long days coming up with the ingredients for this one. Black chai tea, rye, juniper berries, cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and black pepper. Wood-fired rocks caramelize the wort and a German weizen yeast is used in achieving a 9 percent alcohol by volume level. And somehow it all works. Cloudy gold color. The tea is clearly there and spice notes ring through. You should try this brew at least once.

Duschutes The Abyss 2009 Reserve: This imperial stout has a "Best After Date" on the label, but I had to open the bottle and give it a try. This is one big, black, beautiful brew. At 11 percent alcohol by volume this beer is imposing in many ways. The beer is brewed with licorice and molasses, with a third aged in ex-Bourbon barrels. The whiskey comes through in just the right amount and there is certainly sweetness from the molasses. It would be interesting to taste this beer in a couple of years.

Life & Limb: Sometimes collaboration beers don't live up to expectations. That's not the case with this 10 percent alcohol by volume beer from Sierra Nevada and Dogfish Head. A beautiful brown color and wonderful hoppy nose. Both maple and birch syrups are used, and the malt really balances out the brew overall. The yeast is a blend of house varieties from both breweries. Good dark fruit notes that mark this as a sipping beer. The brewers also released a small beer -- 5 percent abv -- from the second runnings called Limb & Life.

Nogne O/Jolly Pumpkin/Stone Special Holiday Ale: A three-way collaboration that combines Michigan chestnuts, white sage from southern California and Norwegian juniper berries. Dark colored ale that has some holiday spice scents. The malts give this a nice heft and long lasting flavor profile.

Pike Entire Wood Aged Stout: Pours black as night with a tan head. Dark chocolate, roasty notes wrapped around a brew with attractive vanilla and Bourbon flavors. The hops in this one don't take a back seat. A very big brew.

Redhook Treblehook Barleywine: This limited edition brew pours a nice reddish brown color with a thin off white head. The dry hopping of this beer comes roaring through in the aroma and flavor, balanced by a good amount of malt. It drinks smoothly, especially for a 10.1 percent alcohol by volume beer.

Widmer Brothers Reserve Cherry Oak Doppelbock: This is a new beer that is part of the new "Brothers Reserve" series. Good looking brown bock with a firm tan head. If you are looking for big fruit, this is not your beer. However, I enjoyed the subtle nature of the dark sweet and red tart cherries. More of a background note than a lead element. The oak really serves to mellow out this beer. I found it opened after a few minutes and as it warmed I detected more body than originally showed itself.

Great American Beer Festival Medals Roll in for California, Colorado and Wisconsin Brewers

If you are a beer drinker in California, Colorado or Wisconsin there is pretty good chance that there is gold in your glass. Great American Beer Festival gold that is.

The three states have combined for a total of 1,116 medals since the Great American Beer Festival started handing out gold, silver and bronze awards in 1987. That's 37.6 percent of the medals handed out over the years by the professional judging panels.

Mike Wirth has worked with me during the last couple of months to pull together an interesting new infographic that helps paint a clear a picture of where the best beers and breweries are based across the United States. Mike happens to be my son-in-law and creates some interesting infographics that you can check out on his website.

Beer is a $101 billion business in the U.S. and GABF medals have been used as a marketing tool by brewers large and Receiving a GABF medal can help build a brand's reputation among beer fans.

Alaskan Smoked Porter with 17 GABF medals (7 gold, 5 silver and 5 bronze) is the most decorated American beer of all-time at the GABF, followed by New Belgium Abbey Style Ale (10) Genesee Cream Ale (10)and Samuel Adams Double Bock (9). Anheuser-Busch has won the most medals among American brewers.

While some states pile up the medals each year, West Virginia still has not had a brewery win a GABF honor. Oklahoma and North Dakota breweries have received just a single medal over the years.

The 2009 GABF kicks off exactly a month from today. It will be interesting to see if there are any breakout performances or if previous trends hold solid.

Tuesday Tasting: Six Great Beers of Wisconsin

Tuesday Tasting is a regular feature of Lyke2Drink that explores some of the best beers, wines and spirits on the market. This week we taste some fine beers from the Dairy State.

Milwaukee has long been considered America's brewing capital. Watering holes like the Sugar Maple, Centrall Cafe and Water Street Brewery certainly create the image of a place where people love their beer. I recently had the opportunity to visit the city and enjoy a few beers.

The first thing to know about beer from Wisconsin is that there is more to the story than just Milwaukee. Small towns and cities like New Glarus, Dallas and Amherst hold up their end of the beer bargain. There is a wealth of interesting beers from both a style and creativity point of view. Beer focused taverns and retailers usually have a solid selection of Midwestern craft brews, but my focus on the visit was to sample as much of Wisconsin as possible. I was glad that I did.

Central Waters Mud Puppy Porter: The brew from Amherst, Wisc., pours a dark chocolate color with a rocky tan head. Healthy amounts of roasted malt with a slight hop bitterness for balance. Smooth and refreshing.

Furthermore Knot Stock Pale Ale: What do you say about a beer that was inspired by an oddly flavored Italian cookie. This amber gold beer pours with a thick off-white head. There is an immediate cracked peppercorn nose. An American pale ale, it delivers a coating mouth feel with a hefty amount of hop bitterness. The pepper opens more as the beer warms. Brewer Aran Madden got the idea for the beer while working at a Pittsburgh brewpub after tasting a black pepper cookie from the Enrico Biscotti Co.

New Glarus Raspberry Tart: I have enjoyed the bottle version of this beer several times and brought a few back to North Carolina for my wife, but this was the first time I had ever had the draught version. Wow, this great beer was even greater. Glowing red color with a pink head and an enticing fruit aroma. Tons of fresh raspberry flavor. Sweet, sour and packed with flavor. You won't drink this as a session beer, but you would be foolish to pass it up if you see it on tap.

Oscar's Chocolate Oatmeal Stout: From Sand Creek Brewing in Black River Falls, Wisc., this 4.5 percent alcohol by volume is rich and silky. It pours an very dark brown, with slight reddish hints around the edge. Solid head that lasts. Nice mocha notes in flavor bed with a good amount of roasted grain.

Sprecher Dopple Bock: This Milwaukee brew was poured from a large format cobalt blue bottle and had a big beer oaky flavor profile. Dark amber color, thin head with hints of dark skin fruit and a touch of unexpected sourness.

Viking Big Swede Swedish-Style Imperial Stout: This brew from Dallas, Wisc., pours thick black, producing a tan head. There is a roasted grain and oaky aroma. Deep dark chocolate notes with hints of dark berries, molasses, coffee and even a little Irish cream. A big beer that evolves over the course of a glass.

Tuesday Tasting: 18 Beers from the Cellar

Tuesday Tasting is a regular feature of Lyke2Drink that explores some of the best beers, wines and spirits on the market. This week we join a group of guys in pulling some great beers from the back of our refrigerator for a friendly tasting.

A few weeks back a group of beer fans gathered at the Grapevine in Fort Mill, S.C., with a simple set of guidelines. Bring two interesting beers (bomber-size bottles or larger)to share that you have either been storing for awhile or are extremely hard to find in the Charlotte, N.C., area. People reached pretty deep into their collections and everyone agreed it was one of the best non-festival collections of beer they had ever enjoyed.

Here are the tasting notes for the evening in the order the beers were consumed:

Troegs Troegenator: This Pennsylvania doppelbock is 8.2 percent alcohol by volume. Thin head and amber brown color. Nice caramelized malt flavor. Slight tang of fruit in the finish.

Dogfish Head Theobroma: This 9.0 percent alcohol by volume ale is brewed with honey, cocoa nibs, cocoa powder, ancho chile and ground annatto. It was created based on analysis of residue in pottery found in Honduras. There was a nice chocolate nose to this beer. Chocolate and honey base flavor, but balanced by the chili heat in a long aftertaste.

Rogue Captain Sig's Northwestern Ale: Nice firm head from this 6.2 percent alcohol by volume beer. Upfront hop nose. Strong hop character with a subtle hint of pine.

Three Floyds Alpha King: Glowing amber color and floral herbal nose. Hops surround your taste buds with this beer. Dry citrus peels and grapefruit in the finish.

Stone Double Bastard 2005: Starts with a firm head that slowly dissipates. Raisin nose. Good hop base that fades to fig, pineapple and pine notes.

Dogfish Head 120 Minute Imperial IPA: A 21 percent alcohol by volume heavyweight, the first nose on this beer is a little like spray paint. Tarnished bronze color. Maple syrup is forward, rich and round beer. Hops fight the way through and a balancing act dances across your tongue.

Three Floyds Dreadnaught Ale: Golden color and a thin head open the experience with this 9.5 percent alcohol by volume beer. Grapefruit nose and a clean, crisp hop bitterness.

Flying Dog Gonzo Imperial Porter: Chocolate colored head and dark reddish brown color. Slight maple nose in this 9.2 percent alcohol by volume beer. Nice chocolate notes and strong flavor.

Pugsley's Signature Series Shipyard Imperial Porter: Creamy tan head and almost toffee-like nose. Bittersweet chocolate flavor in background and nice malt notes. A bit thinner than expected.

Avery Samael's Oak Aged Ale 2007: This 14.9 percent alcohol by volume beer has a red color and a very thin head. Oak and malty nose. Wonderful figs, raisins and malt come through in the flavor.

Upstream Oak Aged Ebenezer: This ale was brewed in August 2007. Dark brown color, thick head and sweet nose. Sour burnt chocolate taste.

Deschutes 2009 Reserve Mirror Mirror Oak Aged Barleywine: Nice firm head and red color. Slight bubblegum nose and a nice malty flavor, touch of fruitiness with good woody notes showing through.

Firestone 11th Anniversary Ale 2007: Reddish brown color and brown bread nose. Sweet, enticing flavor with rounded malt, cinnamon, fudge and dates.

Bell's Expedition Stout 2007: Thick head with a black purple color. Roasty goodness from the start. Rich and thick brew that has a touch of espresso in the finish.

Stone Russian Imperial Stout 2004: Malt house nose with a touch of chocolate. Dark black color. Rich flavor of chocolate, mocha and dark skin berries.

Rogue Imperial Stout 2006: Thick, chocolate colored head. Bitter notes up front that rolls forward with a thick mocha flavor. Hint of roasted malt.

Founders KBS: This "Kentucky Breakfast Stout" is 11.2 percent alcohol by volume and has a used coffee grounds aroma. There is a ton a cereal notes, coffee, vanilla and wood.

Three Floyds Dark Lord Russian Imperial Stout 2008: The head leaves this beer pretty quickly. It is a thick black color with red around the edges. Amazing combinations of flavors. Molasses, cocoa, malt and dark berries. Chewy, coating and long lasting.

Tuesday Tasting: Ten More Seasonal Beers

Tuesday Tasting is a regular feature of Lyke2Drink that explores some of the best beers, wines and spirits on the market. This week we dive back into the seasonal beer pool for a few more Christmas Ales and Winter Warmers.

The seasonal beers are out in force this time of year and I have been able to taste ten more during the last couple of weeks. I was lucky earlier today to show up at The Flying Saucer in Charlotte after some final Christmas gift shopping at the exact time they were tapping 2006 and 2007 kegs of Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale to go along with a 2008 keg they had on draught.

Sierra Nevada 2006 Celebration Ale: This brew was a bit cloudy, but it had a very smooth flavor. The hop character has mellowed and the beer has a bit of a creamy flavor profile.

Sierra Nevada 2007 Celebration Ale: This vintage also poured cloudy, so it might have something to do with the kegs having just been moved around to be tapped. The 2007 had more hop bitterness, but overall this was a smooth beer. Perhaps a slight pine tinge to the end of the flavor.

Sierra Nevada 2008 Celebration Ale: Clear amber color, with a nice floral aroma. Nice crisp hop flavor that stays throughout.

Bad Elf Winter's Ale: From the Ridgeway Brewing Co. in the United Kingdom, this 6.0 percent alcohol by volume beer is a light golden color. Good hop crispness without being overpowering.

Harpoon Winter Warmer: A nice rich bodied beer with plenty of malt and a blend of nutmeg and cinnamon to pull off the holiday feel. Good to go with a holiday meal.

Mendocino Winter Seasonal Imperial IPA: A true hop monster, this 7.5 percent beer delivers a memorable IPA experience. This maybe just a one or two bottle experience because of the huge flavor profile.

Rogue Yellow Snow: This beer pours a nice orange copper color. Floral and herbal nose. Good hop character with touches of citrus. The bomber bottle is great to share with a friend.

Samuel Adams Winter Lager: I had this in the bottle and on draught during the last week. The bottle is pretty much a straight forward German-style bock. A nice beer, but not a big holiday offering. The tap version is maltier and has some nutmeg and cinnamon notes. If you get the option go with the draught.

Samuel Smith's Winter Welcome: I don't recall this beer being so light in color in previous years. I also don't recall the brewery using a brown bottle in the past. Is this a recipe switch? The beer had a thin head, but it hung around. The beer had a light hop character with some malt notes coming through. On the lighter side of what I would expect for a winter beer.

Victory Storm King Imperial Stout: OK, I know this dark giant of a beer is available year round, but I'm convinced this should be a winter seasonal. I was lucky enough to enjoy it on draught, where the head was a chocolate brown and remained thick. Weighing in at 9.1 percent alcohol by volume, the brew has substantial amounts of roasted malt flavor and good hop character to balance the experience. This is a great winter warmer, even if you can buy it during the summer.

Tuesday Tasting: The Twelve Beers of Christmas

Tuesday Tasting is a regular feature of Lyke2Drink that explores some of the best beers, wines and spirits on the market. This week we taste 12 seasonal brews that roll out just in time for the holidays.

Normally, I would have been quite satisfied heading into the holiday season enjoying the collection of unique beers gathered for our family Thanksgiving celebration. The list was long and ranged from continental lagers to American pumpkin ales. The sampling included Samuel Adams Chocolate Bock (finished on cocoa nibs harvested in northern Bolivia), Dogfish Head Theobroma (honey, ancho chiles, ground annatto, Soconusco cocoa nibs and cocoa powder) and New Holland Pilgram's Dole Wheat Wine (offering up plenty of flavor and spunk). But the week also served as one of the best launching pads I can remember to one of my favorite beer season: the annual release of Christmas ales and winter beers.

Things got started on Thanksgiving eve with a meeting of the Charlotte Beer Club at the Common Market, a neighborhood spot in Charlotte, N.C., that has one of the best selections of beer in a compact space anywhere in the U.S. The best way to think of this place is as a general store for beer. If they don't have it, you likely don't need to drink it.

The Common Market usually has a couple of very nice beers available on draught and then the Beer Club members will also buy larger format bottles and pass them around to try. I started with a Cold Mountain, went to a N'Ice Chouffe and then had verticals of Anchor and Scaldis holiday offerings

Highland Cold Mountain Winter Ale: This was a very nice reddish brown ale on tap. It has a good malty base and some background spices coming through in the flavor. It actually got better as it warmed in the glass. I had a hard time determining the exact spices coming through in this beer and it was obviously a blend of several. My best guess is that it may have some cinnamon and all spice in the mix. A solid effort from this North Carolina brewery.

N'Ice Chouffe: I traded some Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier from Bamberg with a Charlotte Beer Club regular for a healthy pour of this dark Belgian ale. This is a wonderful malty, fruity brew that is spiced for the season. I quickly identified the vanilla used in flavoring the beer, but several of us just could not put our finger on the second primary spice in the flavor profile. According to Don Russell's new book "Christmas Beer: The Cheeriest, Tastiest and Most Unusual Holiday Brews" its thyme. Thanks Don, mystery solved.

Next, the Common Market sampled 2006, 2007 and 2008 vintages of Scaldis Noel and Anchor's Our Special Ale.

Scaldis Noel 2006: This brew has mellowed with age. Gone is some of the sweetness and fruit, but in its place is a warming flavor that has a slightly tangy note at the start. The bottle we tried poured fairly cloudy.

Scaldis Noel 2007: A very nice beer, even though it appeared that yeast was suspended in the glass. Mild fruity notes. Good level of warmth. After tasting the three years I felt like this beer was meant to be laid down for at least one year.

Scaldis Noel 2008: Sweet, fruity and young. Nice red copper color and a decent head. It is unfiltered in the large format bottles, which explains the cloudy nature of the older vintages. This is an 11 percent alcohol by volume beer, but it drinks nice and smooth.

Anchor Our Special Ale 2006: This beer is just starting to mellow slightly, but few would guess it had already been in the bottle for two years. Dark brown color, thin head. Touches of citrus and spice in the flavor profile. If you have a magnum of this beer, you can certainly hold it for a year or two more if you store it properly, but it drinks nicely now.

Anchor Our Special Ale 2007: Still very lively in the magnum size bottles being used at this tasting. Brown-red in color and good head. I was at the brewery last fall while this vintage was being bottled. Interesting spice nose, with perhaps a hint of juniper coming through. Good balance of malt and hops.

Anchor Our Special Ale 2008: This is the 34th year that Anchor has been making its Christmas ale and I think this is one of the best I've had from the San Francisco brewery. Nice mahogany color. Great malty nose. Hits of hops and spices blended to make this a great beer to serve with a holiday meal. It could easily replace any red wine you might be thinking of serving to guests.

The following brews were tasted over the weekend and were all from bottles:

Bell's Christmas Ale: This ale is made with 100 percent Michigan barley and is bottle fermented. It pours slightly cloudy amber in color with a nice tan head. There is a nice fruity base to the beer, with hints of toffee. I'd suggest this beer as a before dinner aperitif.

Rogue Santa's Private Reserve: Nice red color. Head starts very strong and thins a bit. It has a heathery nose. There is a good level of hops throughout -- this is obviously a Rogue ale.

Winter's Bourbon Cask Ale: From Anheuser-Busch, this was an amber colored beer with a light fluffy head. There was a slight hint of vanilla in the flavor, but if you are a big fan of oak aged beers, you will not find the hint of whiskey you might expect from the name of this beer. This is not a bad tasting beer, but it is on the lighter side for a winter brew.

Corsendonk Christmas Ale: A dark Belgian ale that provided a moderate head, which stayed throughout. This beer opened nicely as it warmed a bit. The nose offers some spice notes and a hint of toffee sweetness. I detected figs, biscuit cookies and brown sugar in the malty flavor with some slight balancing bitter notes.

Munich: The Good, the Bad and the Malty

We arrived at our hotel in Munich during the middle of the taping of what we were told was “German Idol," so we were among fresh hopeful faces and cameras during our stay. We were filled with as much anticipation as the contestants because of another young face -- our youngest daughter, Brhea, would be joining us for this leg of our journey.

Brhea is a senior at Loyola University in Chicago and is studying this semester in Rome. She is writing an interesting travel blog – Lyke2Travel – that has some great photography.

While in Munich we got back on a beer theme and managed to visit several of the famed beer halls in the old section of the city, plus have a couple of beers at other spots along the way. Munich is in many ways like Beer Disneyland. There are plenty of fun and great things about Disney theme parks. There are also things that can tend to not to be so great. No matter your opinion of the experience, you soon realize that Disney does one thing very well – it attracts people and coverts them into paying customers. That's Munich, where beer halls take up major chunks of prime real estate and seat hundreds -- in some cases thousands -- of thirsty locals and tourists.

As you walk the streets of Munich, you will pass by the likes of Ayingers, Paulaner, Schneider Weisse and Hacker Pschorr, among others. All have a steady stream of customers to their unique combination of restaurant and beer marketing operation. We managed to stop at three for meals and we batted .667 in the experience.

Hofbrauhaus at Platzl 9: This is a massive complex of rooms and experiences. We opted not to join the crowd heading for the buffet and "Bavarian experience" show and we did not go to the beer hall you usually see on travel shows where the band urges you at regular intervals to lift your glass for a drink. Instead, we headed for a second story restaurant. After first being told they were completely full -- even though a third or more of the tables were empty and stayed that way during our dinner -- we were seated near groups of Germans that were out for a night on the town or who had earlier attended the Bayern Munich 3-1 win over Arminia Bielefeld.

The experience at Hofbrauhaus was amazingly bad except for the fact that my wife and I had the chance to have dinner with our daughter for the first time in a couple of months. I'm fairly sure the waiter got our beer order wrong. We asked for the Oktoberfest, but the beer we were served tasted kind of light to me for a festival brew. Our bill said we were charged 13.80 Euro for two mass (liter mugs) of "Hell."

The food was a disappointment. Food arrived in a random fashion, a dish here, a plate there. Some people had food, others did not. Some food never showed. Most of the food was not very hot. The creamed mushrooms over dumplings were industrial foodservice at best. The spatzle with cheese was so so. My wurstlteller plate of sausages, mashed potatoes and sauerkraut made me feel about as far away from the heart of Munich as possible. It was the weakest meal I had during my time in Germany. Better yet was the fact that my wife's order of a pork knuckle never arrived. We watched plate after plate fly by with dozens of good looking pieces of pork, but our waiter apparently could never snag one from the kitchen. After more than an hour we waved him off and asked for the check. The waiter blamed the chef, but since his tip was automatically built into the bill he did not have to worry. He brought out the check and, as I was about to pay he said, "Sorry, I made error." He returned with an updated check that had 1.20 Euro added on for two glasses of tap water we asked for while cooling our heels waiting for the food. That was a nice touch.

Augustiner-Bräustuben at Orlandostrasse 5: This place shares a corner with the Hofbrauhaus, but is miles away in beer, food and service quality. Brhea and I went to this place for a father-daughter lunch and each ordered the haxenteller, which is two types of pork knuckle. This time the pork arrived and it was great, particularly the roasted version. The service was friendly and efficient.

I sampled three beers while at Augustiner. The Augustiner Brau Dunkel is a mahogany brown with a nice malty nose. The flavor was nicely balanced, with more than a hint of roasted malt. The Weissbier was a big hit. Cloudy, amber gold color with the aroma of banana and a classic wheat beer flavor. The Oktoberfest is golden yellow brew with a proud light bodied head. This brew had the great malty character that I'd expect from a Munich Oktoberfest.

Fortified from a great meal we went out to the square and took photographs before meeting up with Sandy.

Spatenhaus an der Oper at Residenzstrasse 12 across from the Bavarian Opera House: We found our way to Spatenhaus after jumping off the "hop on, hop off" Gray Line tour of Munich. It turned out to be a good find and our best meal in Munich.

The food was fantastic. We all ended up ordering the same dishes, which is something we usually don't do. We shared a rocket salad (mixed greens) and then had pumpkin soup that was some of the best I recall ever having. Rich flavor, garnished with sour cream and roasted pumpkin seeds. We enjoyed the wiener schnitzel, which was served in very ample portions.

The beer was as good as the food, maybe better. The Franziskaner Weissbier had an interesting, almost bubble gum nose. The cloudy orange gold color was beautiful and the flavor had good notes of banana, clove and other spices. My favorite beer was the rich and malty Lowenbrau Triumphator Dopplebock. This is a dark and thick brew. It was loaded with plenty of dark beer character and obviously packed a punch. Perfect for a cool, misty Bavarian evening.

The next time in Munich I would certainly visit Spatenhaus and Augustiner. I'd avoid Hofbrauhaus and instead try one of the many other beer hall options.