Brooklyn Brewery Monster Ale

Brooklyn Brewery Monster Ale 2008 - photo copyright Naomi EverettBeer-a-Day #3

I guess it’s Barley Wine week.

I’ve never had this before, in spite of being a big Brooklyn Brewery fan.

Nice medium-brown color with some slight red highlights. Off-white head that settles into about an eighth of an inch of foam. Bready with a bit of floral spice. Flavor is biscuity and a little harsh, though not unpleasantly so. This one seem like it could do with some time to mellow. I have another bottle that I’ll save at least halfway through the year, but I’ll try to hold off until the end of ’09.

Brooklyn Brewery Monster Ale

Other Beer-a-Day attempts

I’m not the first person to attempt to drink 365 beers in a calendar year, nor the first person to document it online.

A beer a day for a year is a group on LiveJournal for people to document their attempts. It looks like someone was able to do it in 2007, but the latest post is from March, 2008. Most folks don’t look like they made it.

365 Beers was a group of five who appear to have completed the task in just over a year. Nothing has been written since the final post in February, 2008.

365-Beer: A Drinking Game (of sorts) is a community site for people to sign up and track their progress. According to the stats page, only 2 of over 40 people reached 365 or more. Most don’t look like they made it out of single digits.

365 Days of Beer is a blog by Nick who accomplished the feat in 2006. The blog has since mostly been abandoned in spite of promises of some new content.

Dann Drinks Beer is another blog. He attempted in 2007, but only made it to 120 in June. He got a hell of a lot of Diggs, though, and the abandoned blog is rife with spam.

My365Beers.com show two out of four people made it.

Kiplog is a food blogger who discusses 365 beers in an abstract way, but doesn’t really appear to have made the attempt.

Libby Hemphill talks about her and some friends and their attempt. They gave themselves the out of only requiring four ounces of a beer to count. As of November 8, 2007 she’d gotten to 112.

Well, it’s a good thing I didn’t check this out before I decided to take on this challenge. Not that the success of other people, or lack thereof, would really influence me. But perhaps it won’t be as easy as all that.

Of course, my wife reminds me that I’m far too competitive to give up at all.

Do you know of anyone else who has attempted this, successful or not?

Update: I found another: One A Day. Jack started late in 2008, so he’s a few ahead of me. Update 2: But it looks like he gave up the quest.

Heavy Seas Below Decks

Beer-a-Day #2

Two days in and I’m already breaking my rule of not writing about something I’ve written about before. However, this is the first beer that I’ve tried cellaring. This is the 2007 “vintage” of Heavy Seas Below Decks. I had the first one last December when it was fresh. Then I wrote about it for Session #17. So I decided to check out my last one a year after my first.

Nice deep coppery brown color, minimal head. Aroma is light, fruity, and a little mediciney. Unlike back in July, I’m not getting as much of that bourbon-like essence. It’s still pretty good, but I find I’m not enjoying it quite as much as I did back in July.

Heavy Seas Below Decks Barley Wine Style Ale from Clipper City Brewing

Session #23: What I will NOT miss from 2008

I don’t want to put a downer on it all, but 2008 was not one of the best years I’ve had. I could swing this as a “looking forward to 2009″, but let’s face it… this is just a “buh-bye” to 2008. For this Session, I’ve put together a top 5 things I will not miss from 2008.

The Session - Beer Blogging FridaySo, a special thanks goes out to Beers and Firkins for sponsoring this session:

Specifically, what will you miss about 2008 (feel free to list your tasting notes, if that item is a particular beer) and what do you expect will excite you most in 2009 , in the “Beer World”? (again, if that is a beer, what about it is special and worthy of being excited about?)

Let’s get on with the list…

5) Imperial Race – I enjoy beer… so much, I like to have a second, or even a third. So what is it with this “mine is bigger than yours” competition? I can’t drink a 12% bomber! Let’s make big beer, big taste, and less alcohol.

4) Elusive Real Porter – Just so you know, I’m still looking. They’ve only gotten thinner from what I’ve tasted.

3) Poor Quality Control – I hate getting spoiled beer. Whether it is the distributor’s fault for hanging on to year old beer, or contract brewers not holding up their end, or the originating brewer not taking quality control measures…. I REALLY hate buying a nice beer that tastes like cardboard my cat just coughed up .

2) Wheat Beer Sprawl – Good man, people… does every brewer have to make 3 varieties of wheat beers to satisfy the gateway drinkers? Make one, and make the rest real beer!

1) Price of Hops / Shortage – While there is no way to predict where the price of hops will be going, it only went up in 2008. Let’s hope it doesn’t go up any further so I can have the hops I love so much.

2009… Here I come!

Samichlaus

SamichlausBeer-a-Day #1

Bottled in 2006. This was part of the gift package I received from Ron in 2007. You have no idea how hard it has been to open the refrigerator all year to see this winking back at me.

“Samichlaus” beer is brewed once a year, in each case on December 6th, and stored and matured afterwards for over 10 months before it is bottled. “Samichlaus” beer can mature for many years in the bottle; older vintages obtain a complexity and receive their creamy warm aftertaste.

Brassy in color with a syrupy body. Head dissipates quickly, with no discernible lacing. Looks more like cognac than beer. Aroma has quite a bit of nuttiness with some fruit undertones. Mouthfeel is thick, as I expected. Flavor has essences of dried fruit but not overly sweet. More like brandy than beer. Definitely for sipping. Not something to have every day; definitely for special occasions. I like it.

Samichlaus