Fifth Beer of Christmas (2016)

On the fifth day of Christmas my trusty assistant brought to me a Great Lakes Christmas Ale;
Ballantine Burton Ale;
Stone Enjoy by 12.25.16 (VA Prototype);
Hamburg Frosty the IPA; and a
Southern Tier Krampus

I have zero interest in writing tonight. Long day at work dealing with entitled "team" members and Human Resources put a damper on the hump day. Followed this up with hockey practice for the boy; which, under normal circumstances, is a fine way to spend the evening. When you are in a foul mood to begin with standing outside in western NY winter watching hockey practice, well, it heightens the senses. Lucky for you dear reader I'm a trooper and pushing through the fifth beer. Who are we kidding? You are not reading this.

The Great Lakes Brewing Christmas Ale has long been a tradition in our home. I look forward to this beer more than I look forward to visions of sugar plums. Great Lakes makes a handful of fine beers but the Christmas Ale stands above them all. This drink pours a clean, amber brown with a light brown head. There is certainly some spice in the aroma with a sweet, honey aroma which pulls through on the back end. The malt is on the forward end of flavor providing a caramel-ish sweetness. A mild spice in the taste strikes a nice balance with the sweet.

I do feel a little better after that adult whine at the top.

Second Beer of Christmas

On the second day of Christmas my trusty assistant brought to me a Great Lakes Christmas Ale
and a Sierra Nevada DevESTATEtion.

I don't wait for a lot of beers. Like most simple people, I like a lighter beer during the warm months and a darker beer during the cold. The Great Lakes Christmas Ale is one of the few specific brews I look forward to each year. The trouble is this beer always seems to be on a short run and it ain't exactly cheap; even for a limited release. So, I restrict myself to one sixer each season.

As you can tell from the image above I drank five before the yule log could get warm. Number six needs to last. I'm going to savor this one. Merry Christmas (Ale).

Astonishing Tales of the Sea

It's the end of another long day. The kids are asleep and we put out the cat. Time to sit down, have a beer, and ponder the deeper questions of life. Tonight, while sipping on a Great Lakes beer we ponder the ultimate bizarro question: Which is better - Edmund Fitzgerald or Edmund Fitzgerald?

By this I mean, of course, the beer versus the song. I know. I just blew your mind.

The Beer

Typically, a picture accompanies beer reviews as a sort of psuedo-verification that I'm actually drinking the beer and not just stealing lines from Beer Advocate. My digital camera's four-year-old memory card is full (after awhile you assume these things never reach capacity) and I'm too lazy to delete a few pictures to make room for a beer that's relatively easy to find so just take my word for once.

The handcrafted porter, Edmund Fitzgerald, is simply one of the finer porters out there. It starts slightly bitter, comes through the middle with a malty, coffee flavor and finishes a bit sweet. The brewers at Great Lakes get everything they can out of the barley, hopes, yeast and water. Sticking to the "Bavarian Purity Law" can often result in boring beer. You won't find that here.

The Song

The song is technically "The Wreck of the..." but let's not argue semantics. Made famous by the Seinfeld bit ("I think Gordon Lightfoot was the boat"), we all know the song is a tribute to the boat that sank in November 1975 in Lake Superior. It was the second biggest hit of Mr. Lightfoot's two hits. [Editors note: despite the lyrics, the Edmund Fitzgerald was actually headed for Detroit when she sank.] The History Channel eventually covered the search for the wreck and the recovery of the ship's bell, which rang upon breaking the waters (probably to be expected but still gives me chills).

None of that matters. This song is so great because it's the first song that really made my heart break so it's also the first song that helped me understand that music is more than music. The song is also a great story - the efforts of the captain, the courage of the crew, the wonder of November gales on the Great Lakes. I still get kind of queasy thinking about the cook saying he can't feed the men. I've never been much of a sailor but this song (and Deadliest Catch) help me understand that it takes balls.

The verdict

In true Motor Trend-type fashion, we call this one a draw. Both are outstanding but neither would likely be here without the actual Edmund Fitzgerald. So, crack open a handcrafted porter from Cleveland, turn on some Gordon Lightfoot, and think about all of those who gave their lives, particularly those 29 brave souls who traveled aboard the bulk carrier SS Edmund Fitzgerald.

The 12 Beers of Christmas

Last year, in typical fashion, we waited until the last minute to start a series on the best brews for the Christmas holiday.  This year, we're going corporate and starting the Christmas firestorm before Thanksgiving (thanks for the tip, GTB).  Next year, we'll start around Columbus Day.

On the first day of Christmas, our trusty assistant brought to us one heavy hitter.  The other 11 Christmas brews should be on alert because the bar is set high right out of the gate.

Great Lakes Brewing Company makes many good brews - Lake Erie Monster is among our favorites.  The Christmas Ale though is what the holidays are all about - you expect a gift and are "happy" to receive anything because that's what the holidays require but then you get this gift totally out of left field that seems like it was made only for you and the person who gave the gift "gets you".  Our holiday plan is to drink as much GLBC Christmas Ale as possible so this may be a short series.

Brewed with cinnamon, ginger, and honey, this beer feels like the holidays.  It pours a nice amber-red with an mild light brown head that doesn't last particularly long (that's what she said).  Generally, the term "balanced" is overused in craft reviews but this time we mean it.  This beer is a bit on the sweet side but it is well balanced by the spices so you get great flavor from start to finish.  The sweet side keeps you coming back for more and the spices warm the cockles of your heart (that's what she said).  We didn't really pick up the Hallertau and Cascade hops in the aroma or in the flavor but we're still confident they are in the beer.  For those who care, the Christmas Ale has a slew of medals - most don't care.




PS - We don't care if you call it Christmas, X-mas, Happy Holidays or anything else.  Chill out and have a beer.