Trillium Vanilla PM Dawn, an "American stout with cold brewed coffee."

Maine Dinner from a crowler.

Craft beer place down here got a single keg -- spent my lunch hour on Thursday running over right after they tapped it to grab my crowler since I won't be making it up to Freeport anytime soon. Great as always

A couple of seasonal brews yesterday. The first, St Peter's Winter Ale, from St Peters Brewery in Suffolk UK. It came in an unusual oval 500ml bottle, label describing it's content as 'Christmas cake aromas with a rich, black treacle taste'. Partly so, it was a brown ale with only hints of bitterness, but rather sweet, rather undefined fruity overtones with traces of chocolate. Overall, a rather anonymous brown cookie ale, not inspiring enough for a second helping.

The second, Bernhard Bohemian Winter Ale, a Czech brew from the traditional brewery in the famous city of Humpolec :) , an area with many centuries of beer heritage . This one was a definite winner, aroma and taste packed with hops and herbal spices, vague fruit hints and a lingering full brown ale aftertaste, ABV 8.2%. Will stock up for the winter to come.

Got the Foothills Hop Pack yesterday. Jade IPA, Hoppyum, Pilot Mountain Pale Ale and their Double IPA.

Enjoyed a New Glarus Coffee Stout last night while eating a brownie.

Only 1 month to go now. Two very different European Christmas/Winter brews yesterday.

Abbaye d'Aulne Christmas Triple Ale is easily recognized in the store shelf with a full white clothing glued on the brown bottle. Brewed in Thuin , Belgium, the bottle also has a portrait of the Abbot after whom the beer is named, A powerful medium hoppy and fruity taste with an aftertaste of apricots and dark bread, Powerful also in ABV, 9.0% Will match some of the Christmas traditional plates well.

Overwhelming it's Belgian collegue, the CraftWerk Holy Winter Cowl, a Belgian style Tripel from the Bitburger Brewing Group in Bitburg, Germany, has a very full spicy and hoppy taste with balanced bitterness and a slight sweetness on the top. Honey and fruits rounds up. Did I hear anyone suggesting bananas? Unsurprising, being a Tripel, ABV is also by this brew 9.0%. High tasting scores for this brew.

Shipyard Prelude. There are beers I like better, but there aren't any seasonal runs I look forward to more than this one. It's a good brown ale to have on a cold Thanksgiving Eve.

I always thought Dinner was pretty much the same as Lunch, personally. But I only had Dinner once (got a 12 pack from the brewery one spring morning a few years ago).

Tonight I'm having a delicious Lawson's Sip of Sunshine. It's what Lunch used to taste like.

New release from Highland Park Brewing...

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Why doesn't the IMG tag work on FlyersTalk so I don't post MASSIVE images?

A couple of Hexagenias, and a Lost Ghost DIPA.

Yesterday's lunch was another testing session of Christmas brews of 2020.

The first contestant, Anchor Brewing Christmas Ale, from SFO CA, provides a medium-hoppy taste with clear scents of chocolate and dark rye bread, the aroma hinting slightly at citrus and toasted marshmallows (!). ABV 7.0 %. An interesting spicy aftertaste, but certainly less bitter than many of the Anchor brews I came across in the last years. A serious runner-up but not among the chosen few for me.

The second brew had the fitting name of Prairie Christmas Bomb Imperial Stout. It's brewed by Prairie Artisan Ales for Krebs Brewing Co, Krebs OK. In all aspects a very powerful and very dark stout, packed with all the Christmas cookie spices you could think of, slightly toasted pumpernickel together with chocolate, coffee and honey. Being an Inperial, it's also high in ABV, actually higher than many other similar Imperials with 13.0 %. IMHO, this is definitely one of the top brews for Christmas :tu:

New Anthem/Resident Culture Left Brain Dead QIPA (not a typo) clocking in at a whopping 11%.

Great collab between the two best for IPAs in North Carolina (and maybe the south). Good thing I only managed to get my hands on one can because the 11% in this one is incredibly well hidden.


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I do see New Anthem beers in CA from time to time, and the ones I have tried have been very good. I would love to try that one.

Wilmington Brewing Company Queen Kong. Another big time 11% IPA -- not as good as the New Anthem/RC but still very good and again scary how easily they hid the 11% (especially with the spicy Indian food I had for dinner with it)

Lone Pine Diamond Unicorn in my beer glass with Cobaka's face painted on it.