Love Good Beer

Merry Christmas, Have a Beer

Thursday, December 25th, 2008 | Beer, Review | 2 Comments

Santa's Private Reserve

It is Christmas and surprisingly the ground is covered in snow – that means its time for a warming Christmas Ale. Christmas Ales and Winter Ales vary a great deal in style but they all tend to be malty and big, typically above 6% alcohol by volume. Some are spiced while others let the combination of malted grains, hops, yeast and water do all the work. No matter what style the Christmas Ale is, it should be warming and well suited for drinking during the holiday season.

After taking my dog for a walk in the snow this afternoon, I opened up Rogue’s Santa’s Private Reserve Ale with high expectations; I am a fan of Rogue Ales and have heard great things about their Christmas Ale. The first sip (more like a gulp) was a bit disappointing – the beer tasted like a pine tree. I looked at the beer, it had great colour looking similar to a Vienna Lager, and it had a thick frothy head, but still tasted foul. I couldn’t figure it out, I know that certain hops have a piney aroma and flavour, but this seemed a bit much, even for a brewery from the hop heavy Pacific North West. I continued to nurse my beer and within 15 minutes realized that I was making a terrible mistake. The problem did not lie with the brewer but with the drinker, the beer was just too cold.

The tongues taste buds are numbed by cold beer – this is a problem when it comes to a malt forward beer such as a Christmas Ale. As my beer continued to warm in my glass, the malt flavour became far more pronounced, balancing out the bitterness from the hops. In North America, most beer is consumed cold, but colder is not always better. Beer’s bitterness manages to shine through even the coldest beer, but the sweetness from the malt becomes almost nonexistent when served cold.

As it turns out, Rogue’s Christmas Ale has been my favourite beer this holiday season. When this beer reaches a cool cellar temperature, 10 – 13 degrees Celsius, its pine like bitterness is balanced nicely by its rich malt flavour. As you reach for your favourite holiday beer this Christmas, let it sit and warm up – you will be glad you did.

Erik and Chris enjoy Rogue Santa's Private Reserve this Christmas

Merry Christmas!

Erik

Tags: christmas, christmas ale, rogue, santa's private reserve, Warm Beer, winter ale

Brewery Creek Liquor Store is heaven on earth

Sunday, December 21st, 2008 | Beer | 1 Comment

I currently reside in the Fraser Valley and used to make most of my beer purchases at the BC Signature Liquor Store in Langley.  But that was then and this is now; things have changed.  I recently learned of Brewery Creek Liquor Store, which is conveniently located near my place of employment.  Thank you CAMRA Vancouver newsletter for enlightening me.

Brewery Creek has the best beer selection I’ve seen in this province of ours.  It was overwhelming walking in there.  I wanted to buy one of everything, but managed to restrain myself.  There was a great selection of west coast and belgian beers, a lot of stuff that I’d heard of but never seen in a store before.  I ended up leaving with a Rogue Santa’s Private Reserve, a Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron, and a Phillips Burley Barley Wine.  Visiting Brewery Creek will surely become a weekly lunch hour activity for me.

It seems that others love Brewery Creek as much as I do.  It’s received glowing reviews on Beer Advocate.   It also has it’s own Facebook Group.  I have enjoyed the weekly Facebook message they send to tell members about new releases!  The bottom line is, if you live in or around Vancouver and you love beer, then you have to visit Brewery Creek; you won’t be sorry.

Cheers,

Chris

Tags: Beer, brewery creek, burley barley wine, dogfish head, liquor store, palo santo marron, phillips, rogue, santa's private reserve, vancouver