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.

Brewing Up a Christmas Miracle

The good folks at Rock Bottom Brewery & Restaurants around the country have a great holiday tradition of partnering with local charities and feeding people down on their luck a good hot meal on Christmas day.

Last year they hosted 10 of the "Miracle" events their locations and ended up feeding 6,200 people, including the homeless, people out of work and those with no other place to go.

With the economy being what it is, the need this Christmas was even greater and Rock Bottom with the help of volunteers helped out in communities across the country. Check out the news reports of events in Minneapolis and Boulder. No one was turned away and everyone had a chance to celebrate the holiday.

Boulder SourFest Planned for February 27th

In the July issue of All About Beer Magazine my inaugural "Next Beer" column asked the question "is sour the new bitter?" The premise of the column is to look at trends popping up across the brewing world that might soon end up in a glass in your hand.

It's clear that some hop heads are looking for the next sensory experience. Sour beers have been a staple of classic Belgian brewers ands a wave of American breweries now have barrels quietly aging in the corners of brewhouses.

The trend has caught the attention of the folks at Avery Brewing, and they have announced plans to host the Boulder SourFest on Feb. 27 from Noon to 5 p.m. in the Avery barrel-aging room in Boulder, Colo.

The goal is to have at least 35 different sour brews from breweries across the United States pouring ale at the event. Sour ales get their flavor profile from Lactobacillus, Brettanomyces or Pediococcus yeast. Avery is promising that many of the brewers responsible for these beers will be on hand.

Tickets for the event, priced at $35, will go on sale on Dec. 22nd on the Avery Brewing website.

English Whisky About to Hit the Market

It's been more than a century since the last distillery in England sold a whisky. On Wednesday that streak will end.

St. George's Distillery by the River Thet in eastern England has been aging whisky for three years and will release the first bottles this week. Three years is the required aging time to officially become a whisky and the spirit eclipsed that mark in ex-Jim Beam Bourbon barrels in late November.

The people behind this whisky have been growing malt for Scottish distillers and decided in 2005 to establish a distillery. They coaxed a former Laphroaig distiller -- Iain Henderson -- out of retirement. It was a big deal in 2007 when Prince Charles showed up to officially open the distillery.

The English Whisky Co. will market peated and plain whiskies. Initial shipments are being sent to Japan, Singapore, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Canada. The company hopes to open the United States marketing during 2010.

Pork and Liquor

The $787 billion economic stimulus that President Barack Obama and the Democrat controlled Congress put in place was criticized earlier this week by Republican Sens. John McCain and Tom Coburn for having at least 100 wasteful projects.

Even though the Congressional Budget Office estimates the stimulus helped to create 1.6 million jobs, the two lawmakers said that at least $7 billion of the $217 billion already spent was either wasted and mismanaged.

Among the projects McCain and Coburn singled out as a poor use of taxpayer funds was a $390,000 State University of New York at Buffalo study of young adults who drink malt liquor and smoke marijuana, and a $219,000 study by the National Institutes of Health looking into whether female college students are more likely to have sex after drinking.

Tuesday Tasting: Three Whiskeys Worth Sipping

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 great whiskeys that are perfect for holiday giving.

No matter what your spirit preference is, the holidays are an exciting time. Special gift packs, rare bottlings and vintage offerings abound. This is especially true for fans of Scotch and Bourbon. The Lyke2Drink offices have had some very nice samples arrive in recent weeks. These are bottles that you might want for yourself, but they make truly exceptional gifts for friends and business associates.

Lagavulin 1993 Distillers Edition: I've long been a fan of this Islay distillery. The smoky peat found in the "standard" Lagavulin 16 year old is just as intense in this 86 proof special bottling. This Scotch is double-matured in Pedro Ximenez Sherry wood casks, which gives the single malt a touch of fruitiness to go along with the sea spray and vanilla notes. This one has a very long finish. It retails for $110 a bottle.

Evan Williams Single Barrel 2000 Vintage Bourbon: This whiskey is a vanilla bomb. At 86.6 proof this one has been aging in Bardstown since March 2000. A very smooth, almost creamy Bourbon with honey, a touch of caramel and vanilla from the nose to finish. Balanced with just the right amount of spice. At under $30 a bottle this is a great whiksey value from Heaven Hill Distilleries.

Old Forester Birthday Bourbon Vintage 2009: This Bourbon was distilled in 1997 and has a corresponding 97 proof. Nutty, spicy and sweet. There is a European truffle quality that comes through with dark chocolate, cherry and a hint of citrus, then a woody finish. A great $40 gift.

Pints for Prostates Video from the Denver Rare Beer Tasting

Pints For Prostates | Denver Rare Beer Tasting 2009 from Redtail Media on Vimeo.

The talented folks at Redtail Media in Long Beach, Calif., donated their time and skills to shoot a video during the Denver Rare Beer Tasting to help support the Pints for Prostates campaign.

Check out some of the many craft beer legends that donated exotic beers to the event and took the time to urge men to get regular prostate health screenings and PSA blood tests.

The Guardian's 10 Best Brewpubs in the U.K.

According to The Guardian, an English newspaper, there are now 500 microbreweries around the United Kingdom and the trend reflects a counter balance to the much reported "death of the British pub."

The Guardian recently issued a list of the top 10 U.K. brewpubs. The list has received some passionate feedback from readers.

One eyeopener is there are no London brewpubs on the list. The closest is around 40 miles away. When I stop to think of trying to construct a list of the top 10 brewpubs in the U.S. it would be difficult seeing one from New York, Los Angeles or Chicago cracking that elite ranking. Piece Brewery & Pizzeria in the Windy City probably has the best credentials and wins its share of awards, but perhaps there is something about big cities and brewpubs that we share with the British.

The Guardian's Top 10 U.K. Brewpubs

1. The Masons Arms in Headington, Oxford
2. Fox and Crown in Old Basford, Nottingham
3. The Brunswick Inn in Derby, Derbyshire
4. Sair Inn, Linthwaite, West Yorkshire
5. The Moulin Arms in Perthshire, Scotland
6. Swan on the Green in Maidstone, Kent
7. Burton Bridge Inn in Burton upon Trent, Staffs
8. Dark Star Brewery – Evening Star Brighton in Brighton, Brighton and Hove
9. The Watermill in Ings, Cumbria
10. The Old Cannon Brewery in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk

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.

A Big Gulp of Wine from 7-Eleven

There are 7,850 7-Eleven store in the U.S. and they sell $127 million in wine annually. Soon they will be marketing a private label wine -- Yosemite Road -- for $3.99 a bottle.

The convenience store chain plans to sell its exclusive chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon, which is made in California. Stores in the United States and Japan will carry the wine. 7-Eleven has 36,000 company owned and franchised stores in 15 countries.

The company says the new wine follows the success of the 7-Select store brand launch and reflects consumer trends brought on by the economy.

The wines will be made by The Wine Group in California. That company is behind the budget priced Glen Ellen and Corbett Canyon brands.

CNN Vital Signs Features Pints for Prostates

During the Livestrong Global Cancer Summit in Dublin, I had the chance to sit down with Dr. Sanjay Gupta to talk about Pints for Prostates and how we use the universal language of beer to reach men with an important health message. CNN also sent a crew to Colorado for the Denver Rare Beer Tasting and Great American Beer Festival.

The interview started airing internationally today. You can check it out here:

Tuesday Tasting: Prager 2004 Royal Escort Port

Tuesday Tasting is a regular feature of Lyke2Drink that explores some of the best beers, wines and spirits on the market. This week we head to Napa Valley to sip a great port.

A few months back a couple of bottles arrived at my door from Prager Winery & Port Works in California. I have to admit that I don't regularly drink port and, in the heat of the North Carolina summer, I decided to place the bottles in a wine rack and wait for cooler weather. The time has come to crack open one of the bottles.

Prager 2004 Royal Escort Port is a dark ruby red 19 percent alcohol by volume wine that is made from 100 percent petite sirah grapes grown in the Napa Valley. If you like port, you will love this wine. There is plenty of body to Royal Escort. Good dark cherry and plum notes open to a nice balancing acidity. Royal Escort is bright and approachable.

This port will clearly stand up well for a number of years of aging, but I really found the fruit-forward nature of the wine at this stage to be very attractive. You may want to buy too bottles, one to try now and one to lay down for a few years for a special occasion.

Beer Tap TV Covers Denver Rare Beer Tasting

Erik Boles and the fine people at Beer Tap TV have posted an interview they did at the inaugural Denver Rare Beer Tasting last month. Check out this video to see how they are helping the Pints for Prostates campaign reach men through the universal language of beer.

Is Cheap Whisky a Scottish Birthright?

Living in Scotland means that you can get a decent bottle of Scotch at your local supermarket for under $12. That may all change because of a Scottish government plans to combat binge drinking and it has distillers upset.

A plan would set minimum per drink charges for alcohol sold in supermarkets. That would mean that supermarket-brand Scotch would increase in price to $18 a bottle, effectively raising the price to what some branded Scotch labels sell for at retail.

Whyte and Mackay, a 160-year-old distiller, says the new minimum pricing plan would have a major impact on its volume. Distillers are upset because discussions about minimum pricing have focused on supermarket lost-leader sales of beer, cider and flavored malt beverages.

The Scottish government is expected to finalize a proposal during the next few weeks. Distillers are pointing out that Scotch amounts to around 20 percent of the country's exports and a proposal that damages the industry would harm the overall economy.

Rock Art Brewing Should Send Flowers to Monster's Lawyers

Be honest. How many of you had heard of Rock Art Brewery in tiny Morrisville, Vermont at this time last week?

This small brewery was plodding along like many of the craft brewers in this country. Making some pretty good beers, building a loyal following of beer geeks and fighting for shelf space against companies that can afford to run ads during weekend football games.

Then some lawyers from Hansen Beverage Co., which markets Monster Energy Drinks, decided to come to the rescue. You see Rock Art has been selling a brew called The Vermonster for the last couple of years. Hansen says that could confuse consumers and Hansen says it has plans to launch an alcoholic drink under the Monster label. They say they have to defend their trademark.

Jackpot. The good folks at Rock Art Brewery are suddenly real life Davids in a battle against a big time Goliath. In addition to Monster, Hansen also markets Hansen Natural Sodas, Energade sports drinks and Rumba juice drinks. In 2006, the company signed a deal for Anheuser-Busch distributors to handle its line up. Manufacturing is handled by a series of independent bottlers under license.

Twitter has been twittering. There is a Facebook boycott against Monster picking up steam. And just about every beer blog in North America is jumping on the story.

It just may be that Rock Art will have to knuckle under because the legal fight would drain resources they just don't have. Hansen literally has more lawyers than the Rock Art folks have employees. That's the way the legal system sometimes works in the U.S.

But the public relations system sometimes works in an opposite and remarkable fashion in this country. Rock Art Brewery has gained more in attention than they could have hoped for in the next 10 years if the Hansen lawyers had just left things alone.

I'm willing to bet that Vermont bars are ordering as much of Vermonster as Rock Art can ship. Can a bigger distribution deal be far behind? God bless the lawyers.

Another Reason to Hate Beer Pong

I've never been a big fan of drinking games. Even in my younger days I really just did not get the point. I've always considered drinking to be more of a social event than a competition.

I never did the beer funnel thing. I remember being pressured into participating in a couple of games of quarters, but I kept thinking about where that change had been. Pretty gross. And chugging just never did it for me. That's why the current fascination with beer pong just is lost on me.

Now Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y., has given me all the reason I ever need to just say no to beer pong. The school has announced that several students have contracted the H1N1 flu after a weekend beer pong competition.

Dr. Leslie Lawrence, medical director at RPI's health center, is asking students not to share drinking cups. That should pretty much end beer pong at RPI, unless the students come up with an endless supply of plastic cups so they can switch them out after each successful shot.

The kids at RPI are pretty smart. The question is are they smart enough to listen to Dr. Lawrence?

Cask Ale Sales Rebound in Great Britain

It has been more than a quarter century since cask ales sales in Britain enjoyed a year over year increase, but that might change in 2009.

In the first half of 2009, British consumers downed 2.3 million more pints of cask beer than they enjoyed during the same time period in 2008. You have to go all the way back to 1982 to find the last annual rise in real-ale consumption.

The Cask Ale Report, commissioned by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA)and some brewers, showed sales reached 825,000 barrels during the January to June 2009 period. The report said 660 breweries now make cask ale, the highest number in 60 years.

The improving picture is good news for the troubled British pub segment. Forty percent of real ale drinkers visit a pub at least once a week, compared with just 23 per cent of non-cask drinkers. The report also pointed out these customers tend to spend more during each pub visit.

Real ale requires careful handling by pub operators. The beer undergoes a second fermentation in the cask and is not injected with carbon dioxide. CAMRA was formed as a consumer movement in reaction to national brewers in England discontinuing traditional cask ale brands in favor of easier to distribute lagers.

GABF: Recap of a Great Fest

I intended to get to this a bit earlier, but it has been busy in the Lyke2Drink world for the last week or so...The Great American Beer Festival has come and gone for another year. It is sort of like Christmas. You start thinking about it months in advance, you make plans to visit old friends, you pack up and run the travel gauntlet, and then everything happens so quickly that when it is over you are left drained and wishing that you had an extra day or two before going back to work.

A few random thoughts on America's grandest beer bash:

Records Are Made to Be Broken: A ton of records fell at this year's GABF. The most impressive to me are the 3,362 beers entered in the medal competition. That's a 16 percent jump in just a year. A total of 51 breweries were first timers this year.

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More Categories = More Fun: The GABF competition featured 78 categories (+ the Pro Am category) in 2009, up three from the previous year.

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More Elbow Room: The GABF added 46 percent more space to accommodate more brewers and more attendees this year. It was hard to find the additional space of Friday or Saturday night. Still, a good idea.

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Farm to Table Pavilion: The Brewers Association hosted a food and beer matching event in a quiet corner of the Colorado Convention Center on Thursday and Friday evenings. It was a good chance to get away from the noise of the GABF and a reminder of the fact that beer can play an upscale game that trumps wine in many respects.

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What Happened to the Time?: This GABF was a bit more of a blur this year for me because of all of the activity that went into launching the Denver Rare Beer Tasting and having a stand alone Pints for Prostates booth at the event. The Brewers Association graciously donated the space and volunteers Mark Sohasky, Dan Rabin, Darrin Pikarsky, Chad Henderson and Charles Willet helped me staff the booth. We had the chance to talk with a bunch of men about the need to get regular prostate health screenings, while at the same time raising funds for the Us TOO International Prostate Cancer Education and Support Network. The lucky winner of the kegerator drawing was Ben Carlisle of Vestavia Hills, Alabama, a new homebrewer attending his first GABF.

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Big Kick Off: Once again Great Divide Brewing was the place for brewers, media and beer hangers on Thursday afternoon. The traditional kickoff of the GABF marathon was a chance to see old friends and drink some excellent house brews. If you find yourself in Denver, the Great Divide taproom should be on your list. This brewery makes a very solid range of beers that are worth your time.

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American Craft Beer Week: Mark it down, May 17-23, 2010. Check out www.AmericanCraftBeerWeek.org.

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Michelob Tasting: The Anheuser-Busch InBev folks had a nice gathering for the media at Earl's Restaurant. The mix of beer included commercial offerings, some brewery only treats to show flexibility (a very good Doppelbock and a pear brew) and a beer designed by the media. Rye-ter's Block was a beer by committee -- beer writers -- that was very drinkable.

Brewers Celebrate GABF Medal Wins

The Great American Beer Festival for 2009 is in the books. The activities wrapped up last evening at the Colorado Convention Center, but for the brewers the main event happened during the afternoon session, when medals were handed out.

There were 3,308 beers in the GABF competition entered by 495 brewers in 78 categories and the Pro-Am category. The beers were judged by 132 industry professionals from 10 countries.

Here is the complete list of winners from the Brewers Association.

The top five medal winning states were: Colorado (45), California (39), Oregon (22), Washington (13) and Pennsylvania (12).

Small Brewpub and Small Brewpub Brewer of the Year is Chuckanut Brewery of Bellingham, Wash., and Will Kemper.

Large Brewpub and Large Brewpub Brewer of the Year is Pizza Port Carlsbad of Carlsbad, Calif. and Pizza Port Brew Guys.

Small Brewing Company and Small Brewing Company Brewer of the Year is Dry Dock Brewing Company of Aurora, Colo., and Dry Dock Brewing Team.

Mid-Size Brewing Company and Mid-Size Brewing Company Brewer of the Year is Flying Dog Brewery of Frederick, Maryland, and Robert Malone.

Large Brewing Company and Large Brewing Company Brewer of the Year is Coors Brewing Company of Golden, Colo., and Dr. David Ryder.