I like my Christmas music about snow, presents, Santa, and fictional claymation characters. I like my CBE with IPA's. So as long as another rendition of "Silent Night" doesn't come on Pandora while I'm typing this, we're all going to be very happy. The following is a CBE that features 3 first time members, no @Mitch295_ @pppantalones or @G_o_o_d_y, a couple Christmas Ales, a magically nitrogenated bottle, a lot of IPAs, several links to Brewery websites, a potential translation of whatever is written on the Corsendonk site, and an All-Time First: after 9 sanctioned CBE events, a total of 81 beers, we have our first duplicate (which was totally on purpose.) I think we did pretty good, especially because at one point I didn't think we were going to get this done at all, let alone get back to 8 selections. Let's get this Holiday/Hoppy #CBE9 started.
Close your eyes. Never mind, too tough to read that way. Imagine your eyes are closed, and let me take you back in time. A simpler time. It's October 28th 2010, and Volume 1 Issue 1 of the CBE newsletter had just gone to press. To paint the newsletter picture, at the time I thought we were a bit hop heavy on selections. We had 4 IPAs. I chuckle at that now. This one fell into the middle of the IPA selections that were commented on in that newsletter. The other one I refer to is Lagunitas Maximus. You'll also notice I was about 85% less funny...
Halfway through the IPA scroll, we come along another beer that I’ve had in the past, and really loved. @pppantalones’ Bear Republic Racer 5. @pppantalones and @Mitch295_ wanted a CA, bare knuckle, IPA brawl. They picked two of the best, and wanted us to choose what was better head to head. I’ll let the Bear Republic Website put up their argument for Racer 5… This hoppy American IPA is a full bodied beer brewed American pale and crystalmalts, and heavily hopped with Chinook, Cascade, Columbus and Centennial. There's a trophy in every glass.
· 2009 Great American Beer Festival® American-Style Strong Pale Ale GOLD
· 2009 Colorado State Fair Best of Show
· 2006 Great American Beer Festival® American-Style Strong Pale Ale SILVER
· 2005 Great American Beer Festival® American-Style Strong Pale Ale SILVER· 1999 Great American Beer Festival® India Pale Ale – GOLD
Now although I can’t argue with those awards, I will say that I copied that directly from the website, and the Queens English it is certainly not. I don’t understand why this brewery can’t hire someone to review their descriptions and make corrections to them so they make sense (knowing full well there has to be multiple spelling/grammar errors in my newsletter.) Also, the website had a black background so when I stole the description, I had to learn how to change the color of the font on my Mac. I guess what I’m saying is, advantage @Mitch295_, but I’m looking forward to the actual battle of CA IPAs.
@stavypapa has taken us back to the well. And since I didn't even have to go to the Bear Republic Website (except to get that hyperlink,) I can enjoy this one much more.
Yep, I just put a "Jump Break" into the newsletter. You can be impressed if you want. I certainly am. As was I with the IPA selections that came out of this CBE. Let's continue on with @Grifo79's Uinta Hop Notch. First, there has been some concerns about how to pronounce the breweries name. Is it two syllables, like WEEN-ta, or three, like you-IN-tuh. Google fixes things like this. That's why Santa created it with that guy from The Social Network. Three syllables it is. Never let anyone say these newsletters are not educational and informative. Without it, we would all still be saying Lagunitas like a bunch of idiots, and the bartender would make fun of you when you ordered it at Teresa's Next Door. The website is pretty solid, but the descriptions of the beers are a little short.
DESCRIPTION
Bold and refreshing, this IPA combines an abundance of hops with a smooth malt profile.
STORY
A play on "Top Notch" with a hoppy twist..setting new trends for beer vocabulary, "this IPA is Hop Notch."
Ok, then. Below you will find the obligatory picture of something I found on Google images (again, thanks Santa.) In closing, Uinta Hop Notch; weird sounding name, overly hopped, citrusy IPA, first ever CBE selection from Utah... right up our alley. I did just pop ones of these, and I think it could stand up to any of the IPA's we've had. Sixers most likely available at Whole Foods, so when you run out, you know where to get more.
Next up, we have our second ever beer from Elysian Brewing. Going all the way back to the last CBE, we had the Night Owl Pumpkin. Now, RA brings you The Immortal IPA. Because I had not had the pleasure of drinking one of these prior, this is the first one that I opened up. I had "Elysian" expectations for this one. I don't even know what that means. I've had a lot of Elysian Pumpkin Beers. That's kind of their thing. They throw a big Pumpkin Beerfest at their brewery every year, and a decent amount of kegs make it to the Philly area. They make an Oatmeal Stout called Dragonstooth, and it's really good, and I wish we got it, but we don't. But I had only ever had one of their hoppy beers in the past (Men's Room Red,) and thought it was so/so. Well, this one is awesome, and now I'm going to have to figure out how to put a poll on the site so the people can decide which IPA they like best.
TASTING NOTESA Northwest interpretation of a classic English style, golden copper in color and loaded with New World hop flavor and aroma. Extremely drinkable.
That's the tasting note from the website, and it doesn't do it justice. I was hoping they would have some crazy story about Greek Gods and Lightning Bolts, and how each barrel is individually shocked by the hand of Zeus himself. But alas, I get the Malt and Hop bill, and a new world drinkable tasting note. Whatever that means. I wonder if the people that write that stuff even taste the beer.
Our first selection from a new CBE'er. Weyerbacher Double Simcoe. You're probably asking, what does any of that mean? Glad you asked. Weyerbacher is a brewery located in Easton, PA. It is a favorite stop of mine on the way to my parents' house on some weekends or Holidays, to get growlers or mixed cases, because their beer is awesome, most of them are high in alcohol, and that helps me deal with my family (I'm kidding, Mom.) When I first got into beer, they were one of the first breweries I became aware of. They were always at the Beer Fest in Slippery Rock, made a barleywine (which at the time I had no idea what that was, and if it even was a beer) called Blithering Idiot, and had what I thought were pretty awesome t-shirts. Well, all of the t-shirts and labels have been redesigned since I first discovered this brewery in 2002, but the beers are still the same, and awesome. And the new labels are actually kind of cool. Simcoe is just a hop, and the Weyerbacher website can explain that better than I can...
Double Simcoe IPADouble Simcoe IPA, 9.0% abv, is our incredible reward for Hopheads seeking the intense hop flavor in a Double IPA, without the harshness. It is brewed utilizing only the Simcoe hop variety. This hybrid hop, developed and trademarked by Select Botanicals Group, LLC in the year 2000, was created for its high alpha acid content, maximum aromatic oils, and low cohumulone(harshness) levels so that brewers can really put a lot of ‘em in a beer and not create an overly harsh taste.
Double Simcoe IPA is a full-flavored ale with hints of pineapple and citrus upfront, a good malt backbone in the middle, and a clean finish that doesn’t linger too long. Check it out, and you’ll soon see why everyone’s talking about it. Double Simcoe is available year-round.
Named 2006 “PA Beer of the Year” by Beer Author Lew Bryson, at www.LewBryson.com.
Yes, of course I was going to leave the Lew Bryson plug in there, love that guy. This one is JD's favorite, and I'm pretty sure I know which one he will be voting for when I figure out how to put a poll on the site. Enjoy-a-way, but be careful, it's extremely sneaky for 9%.
The last stop on the "Hoppy" part of this trip, is Exit 16 on the NJ Turnpike. This is the second Flying Fish Exit series beer to go full time, this one mostly due to a recent brewery move/expansion. We've had both of them in the CBE, the other being the Exit 4 inspired American Trippel. I'm a huge fan of Exit 16, and when it was first released, there was a lot of talk about this being up there among the greats when it comes to Double IPAs. Those comments are definitely justified, and another reason that this poll will be insane.
Exit 16
Rice helps the beer ferment dry to better showcase the five different hops we added. Lots and lots of them. We then dry-hopped this Double IPA with even more–generous additions of Chinook and Citra hops to create a nose that hints at tangerine, mango, papaya and pine. This beer pairs extremely well with spicy foods and all kinds of seafood. And of course, it’s quite enjoyable all by itself.Although usually identified with landfills and pipelines, the Hackensack Meadowlands is an amazingly diverse ecosystem providing vital animal and plant habitat. In a nod to a once common food plant here, we’ve brewed this beer with wild rice. We also added organic brown and white rice, as well as pils and pale malts.
This one was @gang_greeny's, and I think he did a pretty good job. Fun Fact: he's picked three Double IPA's. The other two were Terrapin's Big Hoppy Monster and Mad River Steelhead. Another Fun Fact: This is the third beer we've selected from NJ. All from Flying Fish. Exit 4 American Trippel and Farmhouse Summer Ale were the others.
On to the Holiday portion of the CBE. I picked a Holiday draw, and decided to grab Goose Island's Christmas Ale. Goose Island just hit the area fairly recently. The specialty selections that I have tried (Matilda and Bourbon County Stout,) have been great, and I didn't think it would be a stretch to assume this one would be similarly solid. Now, there is a lot of recent backlash on Goose Island's sale to AB InBev (Bud.) As far as I'm concerned, if they keep making Bourbon County Stout, even if they rebrand it as Bud-Bourbon-County and bring back Spud Mckenzie to put on the label, I'll still buy it. Oh, right... the Christmas Ale...
Brewer's Notes:
Every year to celebrate the holiday season, we brew up our Christmas Ale, and with each year we change the recipe slightly so that you have something special to look forward to.
Side note, this website is awesome. Food pairing suggestions, chocolate pairings, recipes, beer info, news, events, etc. I don't want to bore you too much with this, especially if you're going through the trouble to read either of those articles. After all, it's a Spiced Brown Ale, not a Double IPA. But do yourself a favor, and if you see some Goose Island stuff on tap, especially of the Vintage/Barrel/Belgian-inspired kind, order one. You most likely will not be disappointed.
Another new member (who shall be named in future newsletters because this case was bought as a present and I like to think my literary reach is far stronger than it may actually be,) got the Holiday/Seasonal pull, and ended up with Left Hand Milk Stout Nitro. Now, while going through the RateBeer and BeerAdvocate sites to fill in the spreadsheet (which may finally be released this week,) I noticed that both have not added this as a separate beer. All reviews are currently done under the regular Milk Stout. That's a huge mistake, the addition of nitrogen makes this a completely different beer. Per a quick e-mail after our exchange, I wanted everyone to note that there is a special way to pour this beer in order to fully enjoy it (as well as not accidentally make your head explode.) Let's try to embed a video:
Things are really changing here at The CBE, and fast. I think that may have worked. Now, from the website...
TAKING AMERICA BACK.Dark & delicious, America’s great milk stout will change your perception about what a stout can be.Pouring hard out of the bottle, Milk Stout Nitro cascades beautifully, building a tight, thick head like hard whipped cream. The aroma is of brown sugar and vanilla cream, with hints of roasted coffee. The pillowy head coats your upper lip and its creaminess entices your palate. Initial roasty, mocha flavors rise up, with slight hop & roast bitterness in the finish. The rest is pure bliss of milk chocolate fullness.
This is a really solid one. I don't know what type of sorcery they use to get the nitrogen in there without the use of the Guinness Widget. It appears to be some Game of Thrones level magic. Don't try to worry to much about it, just know that it works, and thank science or the Gods, whichever you believe in. I'd also like to throw this in (in case anyone from Left Hand ever reads this,) if they can do this with Sawtooth, I'll be forever grateful. That beer is phenomenal on nitro. Also, the Website is pretty cool. Lots of flash that I could do without, but the info is pretty solid, and there's lots of it. Lastly, Spell Check, stop being a dick. Nitrogenate is a word. It definitely is, it auto populates in Google Search (again, thank you Santa.)
editors note: I found out during the creation of this newsletter that @the_nooze had in fact already given the present to @mattybo24. It appeared she successfully poured the Nitro Milk Stout without any issues. Hope the hops are being enjoyed.
And last but not least, possibly the strongest Holiday purchase of #CBE9, @jim_camper brings us Corsendonk Christmas Ale. The Corsendonk site is very classy. Nice calming music, introduction video, and a selection for English. That last one was extremely helpful.
Corsendonk Christmas Ale is brewed every year during the holiday season and is available from November until the end of February. For this reddish brown Christmas beer, the Corsendonk brewer uses roasted special malts, the finest hops and selected yeasts, spiced up with a touch of coriander. With its delicate malty nose, Corsendonk Christmas Ale has everything what only the very best Christmas beer could possibly offer: a round, balanced taste with a dry and refined aftertaste.
It appeared some heavy research was put into this selection. We at the CBE appreciate that. There were lists being flaunted around, calls made to unknown sources for suggestions. Everything that I've read online has me intrigued, and it looks like as soon as this gets posted, it's back to fridge to get one of these. Fun Facts: One of only three Belgian imports that we've had, two of which were Christmas Ales (Delirium being the other.) Last fun fact, it was not fun having to type Corsendonk so many times.
And that's it lady and gentlemen. I am going to go ahead an call #CBE9 a success. I'm hoping that you will enjoy these beers over the next couple weeks as you try to avoid relatives and family responsibility. Remember to thank Santa for Google, and hopefully we won't wait 3 months to do this again.
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