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27-12-2011, 19:00
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Iwasn’t prepared for Christmas this year; it jumped out of nowhere from behindboxes left unpacked from moving house. Suddenly it was Christmas Eve and I hadn’teven decided what beers to drink on Christmas Day, the most important eatingand drinking day of the year. In the end I pulled myself together and pulledbottles from boxes stacked up in the garage.
ChristmasDay obviously started with strong, dark beer. It’s usually a coffee imperialstout with breakfast but this year was a Thornbridge Bracia (http://www.thornbridgebrewery.co.uk/thornbridge_beers.php#braciabottled) because it’s one ofthe best beers made in Britain, I think. A thick, oily pour. Black. It’s richand dark, there’s chocolate, coffee, toasted nuts, booze, a berry sweetness, afloral flourish. A year old and it’s still brilliant. Gooood morning.
ACamden Hells Lager came next. I wanted something light and crisp to follow thebeastly Bracia and lead up to dinner. This nailed the job as I sat and flickedthrough a pile of new books.
BrewDogAB:03 (http://www.brewdog.com/blog-article/370) came before the food. AB:03 is Zephyr (http://www.pencilandspoon.com/2009/05/ode-to-zephyr.html) plus raspberries and more barreltime. It’s a deep copper colour and the sharp raspberry aroma that burst fromthe glass when this beer was first released is now subdued and subtle, mixingwith strawberries and toasty oak. It’s full on, the bitterness is still there,the barrel is still giving flavour, it threatens sharpness but isn’t sour -it’s just a trick of the tongue - and there’s also some oxidation, although itadds interest rather than spoiling it. A spritzy and jammy raspberry flavour flows through the whole thing. It’sunusual and fantastic. If you’ve got a bottle then drink it soon because I’mnot sure it’s getting better (Note to self: that bottle of Zephyr you have isalso not getting any better. DRINK IT!).
Withthe turkey came Marble and DarkStar’s Saison. As happened last year (withMonsieur Rock), I announce my beers of the year and then I open something whichshould be on the list. This beer is sensational. It’s the juiciest, fruitiest Britishbeer I’ve ever had. Pineapple, mango, mandarin, all in the aroma and theflavour, like fruit juice with attitude. At 9% it’s a big beer. Normally Idon’t like the mix of US hops and phenolic Belgian yeast but here it works sowell: the spiciness of the Saison yeast adds spike to the fruit, adds pepperand tannin, but also brings bubble gum and then mint – it could be a cocktailit has the balance of fruit, booze, sweetness, spice and bitterness. Andthere’s a lot of bitterness. It’s an amazing beer. It didn’t work with turkeyand the trimmings but I didn’t care because it was such a joy to drink. I atedinner and then finished the bottle off afterwards (it was surprisingly goodwith Christmas pudding!).
Thatwas Christmas morning and lunch. There was a booze break for a few hours afterto try and recover, then I got back on the beer with a Fuller’s Vintage 1999 togo with cheese.
Avery good day of Christmas drinking. How was your day? Any brilliant beers withthe turkey?
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8717216232742676074-5724194811541936111?l=www.pencilandspoon.com
More... (http://www.pencilandspoon.com/2011/12/christmas-day-drinking-2011.html)
Iwasn’t prepared for Christmas this year; it jumped out of nowhere from behindboxes left unpacked from moving house. Suddenly it was Christmas Eve and I hadn’teven decided what beers to drink on Christmas Day, the most important eatingand drinking day of the year. In the end I pulled myself together and pulledbottles from boxes stacked up in the garage.
ChristmasDay obviously started with strong, dark beer. It’s usually a coffee imperialstout with breakfast but this year was a Thornbridge Bracia (http://www.thornbridgebrewery.co.uk/thornbridge_beers.php#braciabottled) because it’s one ofthe best beers made in Britain, I think. A thick, oily pour. Black. It’s richand dark, there’s chocolate, coffee, toasted nuts, booze, a berry sweetness, afloral flourish. A year old and it’s still brilliant. Gooood morning.
ACamden Hells Lager came next. I wanted something light and crisp to follow thebeastly Bracia and lead up to dinner. This nailed the job as I sat and flickedthrough a pile of new books.
BrewDogAB:03 (http://www.brewdog.com/blog-article/370) came before the food. AB:03 is Zephyr (http://www.pencilandspoon.com/2009/05/ode-to-zephyr.html) plus raspberries and more barreltime. It’s a deep copper colour and the sharp raspberry aroma that burst fromthe glass when this beer was first released is now subdued and subtle, mixingwith strawberries and toasty oak. It’s full on, the bitterness is still there,the barrel is still giving flavour, it threatens sharpness but isn’t sour -it’s just a trick of the tongue - and there’s also some oxidation, although itadds interest rather than spoiling it. A spritzy and jammy raspberry flavour flows through the whole thing. It’sunusual and fantastic. If you’ve got a bottle then drink it soon because I’mnot sure it’s getting better (Note to self: that bottle of Zephyr you have isalso not getting any better. DRINK IT!).
Withthe turkey came Marble and DarkStar’s Saison. As happened last year (withMonsieur Rock), I announce my beers of the year and then I open something whichshould be on the list. This beer is sensational. It’s the juiciest, fruitiest Britishbeer I’ve ever had. Pineapple, mango, mandarin, all in the aroma and theflavour, like fruit juice with attitude. At 9% it’s a big beer. Normally Idon’t like the mix of US hops and phenolic Belgian yeast but here it works sowell: the spiciness of the Saison yeast adds spike to the fruit, adds pepperand tannin, but also brings bubble gum and then mint – it could be a cocktailit has the balance of fruit, booze, sweetness, spice and bitterness. Andthere’s a lot of bitterness. It’s an amazing beer. It didn’t work with turkeyand the trimmings but I didn’t care because it was such a joy to drink. I atedinner and then finished the bottle off afterwards (it was surprisingly goodwith Christmas pudding!).
Thatwas Christmas morning and lunch. There was a booze break for a few hours afterto try and recover, then I got back on the beer with a Fuller’s Vintage 1999 togo with cheese.
Avery good day of Christmas drinking. How was your day? Any brilliant beers withthe turkey?
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/8717216232742676074-5724194811541936111?l=www.pencilandspoon.com
More... (http://www.pencilandspoon.com/2011/12/christmas-day-drinking-2011.html)