Eclectic Lineup Kicks Off Holiday Beer Tasting

/ December 22, 2011

If there’s one thing I love about the holiday season, it’s the anticipation of opening up those bottles of high gravity and other specialty beers you’ve been saving for a special occasion. Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s provide plenty of opportunities to kick back with friends and geek out over some beer.

With those ideas in mind, we kicked off a pre-holiday beer tasting Wednesday night with an eclectic variety of beers, good friends and tall tales.  Here was the lineup, in no particular order:

  • Kriek Ale (2010), Big Sky Brewing Co.
  • Barley Wine Ale, Alaskan Brewing Co.
  • Odyssey, Allagash Brewing Co.
  • Killer ‘Kapowski’ Kowalski Baltic Porter, Flossmoor Station Brewery
  • Smoked Baltic Porter, Great Divide Brewing Co.
  • IPA, SweetWater Brewing Co.* 
  • Dank Tank Fresh Sticky Nugs, SweetWater Brewing Co.
  • Festive Ale (2011), SweetWater Brewing Co.
  • Happy Ending Imperial Stout, SweetWater Brewing Co.
  • Abyss (2011), Deschutes Brewery
  • He’Brew Jewbelation 14, Shmaltz Brewing Co.
  • He’Brew Genesis 15:15, Shmaltz Brewing Co.
  • Wake-n-Bake Coffee Oatmeal Imperial Stout, Terrapin Brewing Co. 

We had a rather varied collection of tastes around the table, but a couple of the selections stood out for everyone.  Deschutes’ Abyss continues to be a world class beer.  The Genesis 15:15 has similar depth of flavors, but in a very different direction and was a definite crowd pleaser. While barley wines typically need some decent aging after bottling, Alaskan’s Barley Wine Ale was great from the start and promises to get even better with time.  

Theses tastings have come together simply by making connection among beer lovers around the area.  It’s an informal and growing group who value the social aspects beer, recognizing a beer shared with friends is far better than hoarded alone.  If you’re interested in taking part in future gatherings, contact us.

____________________
* Special thanks go to our host, former Missoula resident and now beer rep for SweetWater Brewing (Atlanta, GA) for giving us the chance to try some of SweetWater’s super cool brews.

Related posts