December 25 - Fegley's Brew Works - Rude Elf's Reserve

Fegley's Brew Works - Rude Elf's Reserve

Tonight ends the 25 Beers of Christmas blog.  I sincerely hope you enjoyed reading some quick snippets about craft beer as well as my quippy (or at least the attempt to be) reviews.

A few weeks ago, my wife, her sister, and sister's husband were all headed to the NYC marathon where my wife was competing after we raised some funds for Allied Services Foundation (she did awesome by the way!).  We got to talking about beer and how one of the first craft beers that I tried was when they lived in the Lehigh Valley.  There are lots of places to grab a beer out there.  We thought we were drinking "good beer" when we went to Shangy's in Emmaus and picked up some cases of Lionshead and Lionshead Light.  That was our definition of craft beer at the time. 

NOTE - NOT craft beer.  Not even close. Don't kid yourself. Just say NO.

With our inexperienced palates, my brother in law decided to pick up a case of Fegley's Brew Works Rude Elf's Reserve, a 10.5% Belgian Strong Dark Ale.  Thankfully, he didn't make me finish the bottle because it was just flat out awful to me at the time. 

Little did I know that my palate would eventually graduate a slight bit.  I now appreciate different styles for what they are.  I also now know that sometimes letting a beer warm up makes it 10 times better.  More on that later. 





My palate eventually would graduate...keep reading...

Ironically enough, today at lunchtime, we all gathered as a family for dinner at my in-laws house.  We all exchanged gifts, my son and daughter made out like bandits with their gifts (for the second time today at that time), and my son melted down when it was time to go.  Par for the course.  The irony came when I received my gifts from my brother and sister in law.  I got a gift bag.  In the gift bag I reached and felt a wire hood and cork top.  I knew it was going to be good.  It had to be.  It had to be a Belgian beer at least.  I pulled out a 22 oz. bomber bottle of...

Yes, I have gingerbread men on my PJ's...focus on the bottle!

I'll be honest, even though I know they are both going to read this, there could have been so many other beers that they could have chosen from.  My initial reaction was, "dammit...this crap again."  After thinking about it, and our conversation in the car a few weeks back, I realized it was out of love.  The love of beer.  The love of giving second chances.  The love of beer.  Wait...I said that already.  OK, seriously now,  I would be able to see if I did done graduated my palate.  Also, I'll try anything twice.  If it sucks the second time, I'm putting that beer on the black list. 

...drum roll please...

The beer poured a cherry amber color with a beautiful thick, beige colored head at the top.  The aroma was that of carbonation, yeast, and slight fruit.  There was some spice to the aroma as well. 

Tasting this beer brought back some memories.  I remember sitting there eating pizza and playing some Nintendo Wii.  Pre-kids, Tiger Woods Golf and Madden '07 were the games of choice at that time.  I remember going to the fridge and drinking this straight from the bottle (oh, naïve one...) and thinking to myself, "dear God, what the hell is this crap?"  I remember actually thinking this beer was skunked and asking my brother in law the same thing.

Tonight, for the second coming of this beer the following was noted.  The taste, when cold was very unbalanced.  The clove taste, that I despise, jumped out and hit my palate first.  There were some sour cherry notes along with some honey, nutmeg, and allspice.  The finish left me with a tart cherry and yeast on the tongue. 

Letting the beer warm up helped out with the balancing of flavors tremendously.  The tart cherry was still there along with all of the other spices, but the clove mellowed out considerably.  There was also the slight banana flavor and some sweet honey notes as well. 

At first, the spices were too much, but letting this beer warm up changed the flavor profile altogether, for the better!  Not my favorite beer, but I'll stick to a 3 out of 5.  The seasonal nature of this, coupled with the day and the joy of second chances leaves me all tingly inside.  That may be the 10.5% talking though.  Not quite sure...

To wrap things up for this evening, and the blog for another year, I leave you with 5 quick tips I've learned in the last 25 days (and throughout the 2014 year): 

1. Appreciate all styles for what they are.  If you don't like a style, you can't accurately judge it otherwise.

2. If a beer needs to warm up to a certain temperature to be enjoyed properly, do that.  You'll thank yourself later (maybe me too).

3. Try a variety of brews and don't be afraid to step outside of your comfort zone.  I hated IPAs at first sip, but as I tried new styles and went back, it's my favorite by far now!

4. Don't take my word for it, try it yourself!  My palate and yours are nowhere close to the same.  If you like a certain style, I (or anyone for that matter) could probably pick something out for you, but it may not be exactly what you're looking for.

5. Sample single bottles (or craft on draft) before purchasing a whole case.  Nothing ruins the craft beer experience more than purchasing a whole case of something you didn't know you'd like in the first place.  Keep it simple!