Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow, wow!
This beer is a literal 180 from the last Christmas Beer I reviewed. It's not light and bright, it's thick and dark. It's not sweet and fruity, it's dry and herbal.
This Christmas ale is coffee brown in color and loaded with flavors of cinnamon, clove, and ginger. It has flavors of ginger cookies, ginger bread, gingersnaps, and, did I mention, ginger?Actually, come to think of it my
Mom's annual Christmas cookie package arrived today, and it just so happens that she included some Frosted Gingersnaps in the mix this year. Please allow a brief intermission while I retrieve one of her cookies for a short investigation...That's it! Milk, step aside please. I'm sorry, but we won't be needing you anymore, you've been replaced! Boy! Won't Santa be happy when he
comes down MY chimney this year and sees a cold Anchor Steam perched next to a heaping plate of my Momma's Snaps! I just hope you can't get a DUI while operating a Sleigh in Arizona, otherwise Sheriff Arpio may throw the big guy in Tent City with out giving two thoughts about all the little boys and girls that won't get their presents as a result (boy, if this was a political blog, I could really easily take this opportunity to make a comment about Arpio's heart being two sizes too small, but alas, this is not a
political blog). This is a beer blog so lets get back to the reason you're here! The flavors of this beer are rich and creamy. It's just plain delicious. It's not sweet and it's relatively light and low in alcohol (for a Holiday seasonal) at 5.5% ABV.
One last note, that bears mentioning before I wrap this up is that this is Anchor Steams 35th year producing a Christmas Ale... thats right, 35TH! Most of the breweries I review aren't 35 years old (hell, many of the brewers themselves aren't 35 years old!). Anchor Steam has made this beer for 35 years, and they have used 35 different recipes. Each year the batch is unique, and each year the recipe is retired. It's a beautiful, beautiful thing...
-Prost!
D.Lux
PS Want my Mom's Ginger Snap recipe so you can try the combo on your own? Send me an e-mail with a beer recommendation-ANY beer recommendation-and I will send it to you :)BrewDorkTimes@gmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment