looking back

I've seen several robins now; therefore with spring coming soonish I feel safe reminiscing about the holidays. I recently realized I never got around to posting about my holiday homebrews - post drinking - so here we go.

Holiday Ale: Pictured in Das Boot above, this beer turned out better than expected. It was thick and spicy, in a good holiday way. Personally I think it kicked Old Fezziwig's ass. The alcohol content was noticeably higher than anything else I've brewed. The cinnamon, cardamom and orange peel were very noticeable, but I think the beer was still balanced. A good session beer, I'm sure I'll try it again next year.

2 Abbeys: So this experiment in brewing was a little goofy. I made it last spring, however it never carbonated properly. So I let it sit all summer and kegged it at the onset of winter. Turned out great. This beer was also noticeably strong and took on that Belgian yeast flavor. I was expecting a little more body given the candy beet-sugar addition and how much malt was in it, but I'm not complaining. Good until the last drop, it didn't last as long as I had hoped.

On a side note -if you like peanut brittle you've got to try spicy beer brittle.