First of all, I hope that you and your family had the Merriest of Christmases this year. I know our family definitely did!
I had every intention tonight of reviewing one of the 4 or 5 Christmas themed beers in the fridge tonight after sitting down to write up the 25th post of the month, but they're all bomber bottles and I'm just not feeling like downing that much at the moment. I took one of them to the family party this afternoon, but neither my brother-in-law of myself really felt like drinking anything at that time. After all the food we ate this afternoon and even more this evening, It's a struggle to make this happen tonight.
Plugging in a forward direction, instead of a 10% ABV + bomber bottle, I opted for a 12 ounce bottle at approximately 12.7% instead. Tonight, from Founder's Brewing Company in Michigan is Curmudgeon's Better Half. This beer was bottled on 8/22/18 and is part of their Barrel Aged Series. According to the website tonight, this Old Ale is brewed with molasses and aged in maple syrup bourbon barrels.
It's fitting that last year's 25th post was Founder's CBS, which was outstanding by the way. It's pretty pricey for a bomber bottle at $24.99 locally this year, but I assure you that you won't be disappointed if you pick one up.
I've likely said it before, but I'm just too lazy to check back in other posts, Founder's makes some pretty outstanding stuff. My summer go-to IPA is their All Day IPA which for 15 cold cans is relatively cheap no matter where you grab it. KBS is always solid bourbon barrel stout. Breakfast Stout is a winner in the cold winter months. And if you're into scotch style beers, Backwoods Bastard is another no brainer choice!
As for tonight's selection, I poured it into my brandy snifter glass from the 12 ounce bottle. The color was a cloudy caramel color with a reddish-hue. The tan head laced the glass all the way to the bottom. Aroma was pretty straightforward from the description. There was sweet maple syrup and bourbon with just a touch of vanilla on the nose as well.
This beer is definitely thick on the mouthfeel. The sweet bourbon hits your palate first, but doesn't warm things up like you'd expect a beer like this to do, which is definitely OK. Sweet molasses hits you next with some definite caramel and vanilla flavors coming through. For 13.2%, this thing drinks pretty smooth. The alcohol is definitely there, but doesn't bite you at all and is very well hidden.
The whole thing finishes more sweet than bitter, with just a hit of the latter. The whole thing ends with a syrupy coating on the tongue that wants you coming back for some more.
All in all, a great beer! I grabbed a 4 pack to try this earlier this month and got 2 more in my case club delivery a few weeks later.
If you've been one of the loyal readers for the duration, I thank you for taking the time to read and either be entertained or gather some knowledge about beer. For the first time this year, I've had some folks actually tell me they've picked up a beer or two on my recommendation, or something that they think they'd like even if it wasn't for me.
I'm not going to reflect for too long here tonight, but as numbers of readers for each post was down this year, it was still fun to put beer into words. Sometimes, just telling a backstory, recalling a fun or fond memory, recalling something that I forgot about before I told a backstory, or just finding a fun meme or gif that made me laugh was worth it. The 99 Problems beer review from Listermann Brewing brought back in a genuine blog post some memories that I had forgotten about with my brother and sister-in law and our visits to them in NYC. I also found a Jay-Z gif that I still love to this day...
Who knows if this will survive into next December outside of the blog posts? Instagram is a pretty easy way to do the #25BeersofChristmas but there is some joy in this format as well. I guess whatever happens, stay tuned into next year and it just may happen again.
I wish you and your families a happy and prosperous new year and a blessings filled 2019! The best is yet to come! Cheers!
It's fitting that last year's 25th post was Founder's CBS, which was outstanding by the way. It's pretty pricey for a bomber bottle at $24.99 locally this year, but I assure you that you won't be disappointed if you pick one up.
I've likely said it before, but I'm just too lazy to check back in other posts, Founder's makes some pretty outstanding stuff. My summer go-to IPA is their All Day IPA which for 15 cold cans is relatively cheap no matter where you grab it. KBS is always solid bourbon barrel stout. Breakfast Stout is a winner in the cold winter months. And if you're into scotch style beers, Backwoods Bastard is another no brainer choice!
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| Last one for 2018, so let's get after it! |
As for tonight's selection, I poured it into my brandy snifter glass from the 12 ounce bottle. The color was a cloudy caramel color with a reddish-hue. The tan head laced the glass all the way to the bottom. Aroma was pretty straightforward from the description. There was sweet maple syrup and bourbon with just a touch of vanilla on the nose as well.
This beer is definitely thick on the mouthfeel. The sweet bourbon hits your palate first, but doesn't warm things up like you'd expect a beer like this to do, which is definitely OK. Sweet molasses hits you next with some definite caramel and vanilla flavors coming through. For 13.2%, this thing drinks pretty smooth. The alcohol is definitely there, but doesn't bite you at all and is very well hidden.
The whole thing finishes more sweet than bitter, with just a hit of the latter. The whole thing ends with a syrupy coating on the tongue that wants you coming back for some more.
All in all, a great beer! I grabbed a 4 pack to try this earlier this month and got 2 more in my case club delivery a few weeks later.
If you've been one of the loyal readers for the duration, I thank you for taking the time to read and either be entertained or gather some knowledge about beer. For the first time this year, I've had some folks actually tell me they've picked up a beer or two on my recommendation, or something that they think they'd like even if it wasn't for me.
I'm not going to reflect for too long here tonight, but as numbers of readers for each post was down this year, it was still fun to put beer into words. Sometimes, just telling a backstory, recalling a fun or fond memory, recalling something that I forgot about before I told a backstory, or just finding a fun meme or gif that made me laugh was worth it. The 99 Problems beer review from Listermann Brewing brought back in a genuine blog post some memories that I had forgotten about with my brother and sister-in law and our visits to them in NYC. I also found a Jay-Z gif that I still love to this day...
Who knows if this will survive into next December outside of the blog posts? Instagram is a pretty easy way to do the #25BeersofChristmas but there is some joy in this format as well. I guess whatever happens, stay tuned into next year and it just may happen again.
I wish you and your families a happy and prosperous new year and a blessings filled 2019! The best is yet to come! Cheers!
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