Holidays '10 - Part 1

For many of us, this will be a hectic Holiday season. In that spirit, I will keep this post simple and to the point. I'd like to wish you all Happy Holidays. I'd also like to wish my dear beer friend a very Merry Christmas. Hopefully, I can close her lead down to 20 before the new year begins...

Great Lakes Eliot Ness: One of the more enjoyable beers that I've had in the past month. This amber lager was very, very smooth. The caramel hops really came out in the flavor, and were well balanced with the hops. I've heard many excellent reviews of Great Lakes brewing, and this certainly lived up to those expectations.

River Horse Belgian Freeze Winter Ale: This was a rather mediocre winter brew. It's style is related to Trappist beers, which really aren't my thing. I thought the beer, which had a nice amber hue, was a bit sweet. The alcohol was moderately high. Overall, I'd probably avoid this in the future, but if Belgian styles are your preference this is worth giving a shot.

Terrapin Rye Pale Ale: The interesting part about this beer comes down to the rye in the recipe - hence, the name. If you like hops or are an IPA junkie, this is worth giving a shot. I think the rye malt helped balance the hops out well.

Peak Organic Pale Ale: If you look at the review on ratebeer, you will notice that this beer got a rather low rating. I greatly disagree with the review there. I thought this is how a pale ale should taste. There was a pleasant after taste that really persisted. When purchasing the bottle, I worried it might be underrated due to the buzz word organic in the name. I was wrong. If you like pale ales or IPAs, try this.

Peak Organic Nut Brown Ale: Unlike its sibling, this beer does not do much for me. It came across as being rather underwhelming. In this case, the term organic was more of a marketing buzz word than an indication of quality.

Ommegang Three Philosophers: This beer is a blend of a malty, Belgian style ale and a classic cherry ale. The Belgian ale accounts for 98% of the volume, and the cherry ale accounts for the remaining 2%. The cherries are quite present in the taste, but by no means is this Kool-Aid for adults. Like a lot of Belgian style ales, the yeast is still present in the bottle and gives a fruity aroma to the beer as well. This would make a good beer for a few friends to try.

The scorecard:
Colleen - 341
Paul - 317

Cheers,
Paul