12 Beers of Christmas 2017

[TBC]

Alright, had a little trip out of town this weekend, but I managed to start tasting as soon as I got back.

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@TBC , I opened your Mistress Sunday night but Pete hadn't had it yet. I figured I would wait for his experience. Both bottles were pretty light on carb but big on taste. I couldn't place a familiar flavor from my childhood when Pete came up with Ginger snap cookies and I felt foolish. We both enjoyed it! Nice job

Glad you liked it. I noted with the beer gun and still figuring it out. Maybe next time I will bottle condition.

 

[TBC]

@TBC The Mistress 4 X-mas was killer man, I really liked it. I gave it a smooth pour into my goblet and got a nice 1/2" head on it, underneath was perfectly carbbed crystal clear yummy goodness.

Glad you enjoyed it. Your other box is on its way!

 

[HopHeavy]

Glad you liked it. I noted with the beer gun and still figuring it out. Maybe next time I will bottle condition.

Yes, this jury is still out on the beer gun. I get pretty accurate carbonation when I bottle condition. I know I thought I had bumped the volume up a little ahead of bottling the stout, but I still wound up a little light on my carbonation. I guess give it up... But on the other hand, if I want to bottle a bright beer, I think I have no choice but to dial in the beer gun. Sure, I have had success bottle conditioning. But you have to handle bottle conditioned beer so carefully so as to not rouse sediment when handling or on the pour.

 

[HopHeavy]

I had been trying to wait on Pete to comment on the beers, but that is proving difficult with all the holiday prep...

@Easycreeper , I will skip the minor carb issue. Good stuff! Not only does Monked Up have a clever label, but man, this is a good beer! I thoroughly enjoyed one last night and fought the urge to reach for a second. Well done! I have never done a quad on the apparently mistaken belief it was just, well, magic. Now I know I at least have a shot! Thanks!


@passedpawn , drinking Joie de Vivre now... Really enjoying it. Could be a darker, spicier cousin of Three Philosophers. Really tasty. Again, I would back this one up with a second if I didn't have a job to go to in the AM. Now, I will admit I was worried that you might not live up to the reputation you conjure in some of our minds. (I mean, holy crap, 29,000 posts?) But this beer is very well crafted. I now realize the tragedy of those broken bottles even though they weren't mine!

 

[boasist]

Just got home to a package awaiting me! @boasist thank you for the Honey Ginger IPA. With that I think all packages in this trade have been received by everyone!!! Awesome deal guys, cant wait to try them all.

Perhaps I messed up the address. But you check the tracking detail it got re-routed, this the delay. I’m glad all of mine arrived safely.

My first time with a beer gun as well I used the blichman 1.0, as that is all my lhbs had at the time. Foolishly, I didn’t bottle any more than I needed, so I’m unsure of anything going on in that bottle now.

 

[JDXX1971]

Perhaps I messed up the address.

Yeah I just looked and you had everything right except the town, state and zip code. Yet somehow it still made it to me, that is some serious Christmas magic right there.

 

[bleme]

@passedpawn , drinking Joie de Vivre now... Really enjoying it. Could be a darker, spicier cousin of Three Philosophers. Really tasty. Again, I would back this one up with a second if I didn't have a job to go to in the AM. Now, I will admit I was worried that you might not live up to the reputation you conjure in some of our minds. (I mean, holy crap, 29,000 posts?) But this beer is very well crafted. I now realize the tragedy of those broken bottles even though they weren't mine!
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For years now I have seen @passedpawn making expert comments on every forum here. Not only is he an expert brewer but also an aficionado on wine, cider, mead, kombucha, cheese, smoked meat, roasting coffee, and gardening. PLUS all the work of moderating. I figure he must either be ADHD or figured a way to get more than 30 hours in a day...

 

[b-boy]

For years now I have seen @passedpawn making expert comments on every forum here. Not only is he an expert brewer but also an aficionado on wine, cider, mead, kombucha, cheese, smoked meat, roasting coffee, and gardening. PLUS all the work of moderating. I figure he must either be ADHD or figured a way to get more than 30 hours in a day...

My guess is that he's an independently wealthy Renaissance Man.

He probably invested everything he had in bitcoin and doesn't have to work anymore.

 

[passedpawn]

My guess is that he's an independently wealthy Renaissance Man.

He probably invested everything he had in bitcoin and doesn't have to work anymore.

haha, you got me

 

[passedpawn]

For years now I have seen @passedpawn making expert comments on every forum here. Not only is he an expert brewer but also an aficionado on wine, cider, mead, kombucha, cheese, smoked meat, roasting coffee, and gardening. PLUS all the work of moderating. I figure he must either be ADHD or figured a way to get more than 30 hours in a day...

Everybody on the internet is an expert, right?

 

[JDXX1971]

Everybody on the internet is an expert

Must be true, I read about it on Facebook.

 

[TBC]

Alright gentlemen I plan on drinking all of the beers of Xmas tonight! My brother and buddy from work who are homebrewers also are going to sample them with me. We will see how this goes!

 

[dryboroughbrewing]

Alright gentlemen I plan on drinking all of the beers of Xmas tonight! My brother and buddy from work who are homebrewers also are going to sample them with me. We will see how this goes!

2018 is the TBC memorial year for twelve beers of xmas

 

[cmac62]

TBC?

 

[dryboroughbrewing]

TBC?

Look 2 posts up

 

[b-boy]

Alright gentlemen I plan on drinking all of the beers of Xmas tonight! My brother and buddy from work who are homebrewers also are going to sample them with me. We will see how this goes!

Hmmm...My prediction is that it will go really well at first. About half way through the evening it will be going terrific. At beer 27 it will be friggin fantastic. Unfortunately, the next morning will probably not be so much fun.

Have fun!

 

[JDXX1971]

@passedpawn , I tried your Joie' de Vive last night and enjoyed it very much. I would have to agree with hopheavy this reminds me of Ommegangs 3P which I really like. Cheers and thank you very much.

 

[JDXX1971]

@HopHeavy , I just drank Pete's Chalk Line Santa. I have never had anything quite like it, as I have not tried this style of beer. There was very little carbonation and as I was trying to figure out the flavor of this beer I realized the whole thing slid right down in just a few sips. I am going to have to give this beer thumbs up and revisit it real soon. Tell Pete a big thank you for me.

 

[TBC]

Hmmm...My prediction is that it will go really well at first. About half way through the evening it will be going terrific. At beer 27 it will be friggin fantastic. Unfortunately, the next morning will probably not be so much fun.

Have fun!

Gentlemen we drank the beers of Xmas!!!! There might have been a misunderstanding here. We split all 11 between the 3 of us. As far as B-boys prediction we were feeling it half way through. No method to our order. Just grabbed one and went. I have feedback for all but will wait till tomorrow to post. Feeling good but not smacked! Glad I’m done drinking spiced beers for the night. Having HB NEIPA now.

 

[TBC]

 

[b-boy]

Nice!!

 

[JDXX1971]

@Auger, We had your Christmas Gruit last night. First time I have tried this style too. (well except at a beer fest, but I was pretty buzzed already) My lovely wife and I are very impressed with what you did with it, very good. Thank you very much, looking forward to drinking another tonight.

 

[b-boy]

Merry Xmas!

I'm going to open a few of these tonight. Looking forward to it.

 

[TBC]

Merry Christmas gentlemen been busy but here are my reviews. I split the beers with my buddy who homebrews and another friend who is a BMC guy. He had to smell every bottle before he’d drink it. That was pretty interesting to watch.

So I randomly grabbed the beers out of a 12 pack holder with the exception that mine would be last. So here we go.

1. Spiced Dunkel weizenbock- nice head, good carb, nice spice level, really smooth. Great beer.

2. Christmas Gruit- small head, low carb. Very different, can’t compare it to anything because this is my first gruit.

3. Mad Russian Xmas- smooth, very strong, starts out coffee finishes with anise. Like the jager of beers! If I brewed this I’d probably cut the anise in half. Will age one to see if it dissipates over time. Enjoyed it.

4. Cherry Dubbel-strong! Good carb level, nice head, nice cherry flavor and smooth.

5. Carmel Quad-light carb and light head. SUPER STRONG! Nice flavor, this would make a nice nightcap beer. Glad I don’t have a keg of this around!

6. Juniper Rye Bock-nice head, smells different, can’t describe taste. Something off. Infected Bottle? Throwing second bottle in freezer to retry.

7. Fruitcake Old Ale. Very fruity, maybe currant. Nice carb level and head. Really like this.

8. Abbey Weizen-nice carb, nice head. Very refreshing can crush these all day. Getting a little sourness in it.

9. Tripel-this was a bottle that leaked a little and I taped it. It still had great carb level and great head. Great Tripel.

10. Ginger IPA-heavy ginger, no hop flavor. It’s like a ginger beer. Probably good for a hangover. Carb level good and nice head. Might take one and mix it with a light beer to make a shandy. Not sure if I tried the regular one or the extra ginger.

11. Gingerbread ale-gingerbread flavor is nice, no head and very low carb level almost flat.

12.Juniper Rye Bock-2nd try. Same as first one can’t really describe it.

The best of show was the spiced Dunkel weizenbock. Everyone loved it! Great job I’d be willing to purchase this one. The second favorite was the cherry dubbel. Third was a tie with the fruitcake old ale and Tripel.

The best label was a tie between fruitcake old ale and chalk line santa.

This is the longest post I ever wrote! I really enjoyed this and can’t wait to do it again.

 

[JDXX1971]

Merry Christmas everyone!

 

[JDXX1971]

The best label was a tie between fruitcake old ale and chalk line santa

@Scturo You see that!!

 

[Scturo]

@Scturo You see that!!

I thought it came out pretty good too. Now I’m getting in on the 12BOC ‘17 action with the Fruitcake Ale. First time for me with this beer. Easy drinking, nicely balanced spices. Well done,

 

[passedpawn]

I thought the chalk line santa label was super clever. Will steal later

My favorite so far has been @HopHeavy Mad Christmas. That was good. But as I think I said before, they've all been good. I'm way off my schedule for tasting, lots of distractions. Roasting beast on grill as I type this.

 

[JDXX1971]

I thought it came out pretty good too. Now I’m getting in on the 12BOC ‘17 action with the Fruitcake Ale. First time for me with this beer. Easy drinking, nicely balanced spices. Well done,

Thank you, I am glad you like it, I am pretty dang stoked with how it came out. With yours set aside I am down to four left. One for my step daughter, one more for me and two I am saving for next year.

 

[JDXX1971]

My favorite so far has been @HopHeavy Mad Christmas.

I agree with you fully on this, I am saving my other two for a while, I see this getting even better with time.