My Year of Beer

For me 2010 had it's ups and it's downs, both personally and professionally. One thing that remained consistent was my love for beer, especially the drinking of it. With the exception of New Years day 2010, I drank beer every single night. I was way too hung over on 1/1/10 to drink. Tonight I had two homebrewed IPA's and a Bitburger so far, which makes this one full year of drinking beer. Over the year I have had some really great beers and beer experiences. From being on the bottleing line at Cricket Hill Brewery to touring the legendary Anchor brewery, from getting my hands on a Westvleteren 12 to getting to drink the Russian River sours on tap, it was a good year of beer for yours truly.

So what next. For starters, I am going to stop drinking for an entire week, to prove to myself that I am not an alcoholic, but merely a beer geek. I also want to try different things in the new year, liking checking out whiskey and scotch. I got a set of shot glasses for Christmas that I need to put to use. I'd also like to try out some more cooking with beer. I'd really love to take another beercation, but I don't know if it will be in the budget this year.

Foolishly, back in July, I made the prediction that the Yankees would sign free agent left fielder Carl Crawford during the off season. I was so sure it was going to happen that I agreed I would quit drinking for an additional week if it didn't go down. Well, it didn't happen. The Red Sox signed Crawford to a monster deal. I'm gonna hold off on that second week for now. I'll get around to it, but I got an American pale ale carbing up as we speak.

Happy New Beers

As another year comes to a close I can't help but sit back and reflect on all the great beers I have had this year. I thought I'd call out a few that I haven't written about already.

Flying Fish Exit 16 Wild Rice Double IPA- I believe this was their fifth release from the exit series. It is the best from the series so far, and possibly the best beer they have ever made. It is a lemony, floral, grainy thing, kinda along the lines of Pliny the Elder or Captain Lawrence, Captains Reserve. It is lighter on the malt with citrus dominating the aroma and finish. The use of wild rice in this brew gives it a nice toasty grain flavor that is really unique and tasty.

Corsendonk Christmas Ale- This is a limited release Belgian Strong Ale. It is chock full of malt that leans towards darker fruits like cherries and plums. There is some nice belgian yeasty spiciness as well. It is really delicious. Very drinkable, but it still packs a punch at 8.5% abv. It has a distinctly chewy mouth feel that adds volumes to the experience.

Stone Sublimely Self Righteous Ale- This black IPA is a remake of their 11th anniversary ale. It is hoppy as hell. Lots of grapefruit and lemon citrus aroma and flavor with a nice malt back bone. I could probably drink this one everyday if it wasn't 8.7%.

Lefebvre Hopus- Got this bottle from Belgianshop.com. An interesting brew. A Belgian take on hoppiness. It is tame by US standards, but still pretty good. The beer is hoppy and fruity with the Belgian yeast profile playing off bitter hops.

Stone Double Bastard- This isn't new or hard to find, but I had never had one before about a month ago. A co-worker shared his bottle with me after we closed down the store the day before Thanksgiving. We drank the beer in the parking lot of staples out of paper cups while watching out for the Madison cops. Double Bastard is big as hell with a ton of hops, malt, sweetness, bitterness, fruit, pine, and some alcohol heat to boot.