eat, drink and be merry!

Hope everyone has been enjoying the holidays!

Mine have been lovely, thanks. It's been a long tradition for my family to stay home and have relatives come to us. For the last few years, I've had the honor of doing all of the food and beverage shopping. This year, for the 11 of us, I was to buy six 6 packs (but two always have to be Miller Light, and I always get a Killians because Uncle Paul likes it and another something sort of normal because I know not everyone is into crazy stuff like me). To go with our ham and pumpkin lasagna:

Sam Adams Boston Ale: a Sams I had not yet had, and figured it was tame enough to serve my family. I liked it. It's a straightforward enough ale, though I wrote "This doesn't taste like England" (I associate most uncrazy ales with England...). Very drinkable and doesn't have a million other things going on with it, so it's fine to drink with a meal, or while cooking a meal. It didn't interrupt all the other smells and flavors going on in our kitchen that day.

Sierra Nevada Kellerweis Hefeweizen: I really like hefeweizens. This one's notes read, "the label says complex and I'd agree, more complex but no less delicious than my other favorite hef's". It's an unfiltered hefeweizen, so it's a bit cloudy, like a little storm of cloves. It's also brewed with banana, but it's not an obnoxious banana flavor, just something a little more full-tasting about it. I'd definitely get it again, although this beer has a bit more to it, so it was a little much to go with dinner.

I drove over 500 miles in the two days after Christmas to see a few awesome people, some of whom I haven't seen since the holidays 2004. The stars weren't quite aligned properly, so we didn't get the whole group of us together at once, but I had a beer with Dan and Greg in Philly on Saturday afternoon and a few beers with Greg, Sarah and Alice in New York City on Sunday evening. (For those of you doing math, there was a trip to Fairfax, Virginia in between to congratulate my college roommate on her recent engagement!) ANYWAY. A rundown:

Yards Brawler: I tried this with my lunch at Kitchen Bar in Abington, PA while catching up with Dan and Greg, the two I hadn't seen in the longest time. It was a good place to catch up, good food, not too pricey, not terribly loud. Dan chose it-- his father leaves nearby in Glenside. He says it's the first thing that's actually done well in that location, apparently several bars and restaurants have been in and out in the last few years. So, right, the beer: good. Another ale that doesn't taste like England, though the website calls it "English Session Beer" (?!?!?). Kinda darker ale and malty-ish. It was nice. Interesting. Good.

Brooklyner Weisse: Enjoyed this at the Blind Tiger in NYC with Greg and the girls. Though a hefeweizen, this is more reminiscent of a Belgian witbier than something like Sam Adams, or even now the Sierra Nevada version. Doesn't mean I didn't like it. It was darker than Hoegaarden, but tasted similar-- like if a nice brown ale and a Hoegaarden had a pleasant little baby and adorned its head with a lemon instead of a bow. Sarah and Alice stuck to this for the rest of the evening.

Sly Fox Odyssey: Imperial IPA. I don't generally like IPAs, and I guess same goes for the Imperial kind. It was just too sweet for me. It reminded me of Ayinger Celebrator, which is another beer I've had that's just too sweet, like drinking a bitter syrup. Not my jam.

Allagash White: This Blind Tiger place had a sweet beer menu and the bartender was pretty nice. It was kind of small and really loud, but when Alice came up with me to order our next round, she leaned in and told the bartender about my quest for new beers (aka, this blog) and he recommended this. I really liked it! It's another witbier, a really smooth and light tasting one.

Rogue Hazelnut Brown Nectar: This is a nice brown ale. You can definitely make out the hazelnut, and yet it's pretty mild and unoffensive. Not totally malty, and definitely not that elusive Backdraft Brown Ale, but this was a good drink!

Well, Paul and I are tied at 165-165. Happy holidays, indeed!