I'll admit one of the highlights of the holiday season, at least at my age where I'm not breathlessly awaiting for St. Nick's arrival (well not quite as breathlessly anyway), is the arrival in stores of the various holiday brews and holiday beer variety packs.
One such pack I look forward to every year is the one from Sam Adams. Not because it's necessarily the best or the most intriguing, but it is among the most consistent of the microbrews available in New England. And it also has one of my favorite holiday offerings, Old Fezziwig Ale. I mean how can you not like that brew with that name? You don't even necessarily need to be a fan of Dickens or the immortal "A Christmas Carol", a character in that book being the namesake for the ale. I also find it quite tasty in a holiday spirit sort of way with the spices, etc. Being somewhat a slave to ritual I try to make sure the first and last special holiday beer I consume each season is an Old Fezziwig. When the last Old Fezziwig is consumed the holiday season is truly over.
But I digress. While Old Fezziwig was part of this year's Sam Adams Winter Favorites variety 12 pack this year, a couple of old standbys I'd always enjoyed were not. Specifically the Scotch Ale and the Holiday Porter. I always liked those two.
There were some new varieties I had not experienced before, including the one pictured above, Juniper IPA. First of all may I point out the Guinness mug the beer is in. I have used it before in pictures but believe this time the harp logo on the glass is more visible than in previous shots. So wanted to point that out.
As for the beer. It will not be my favorite holiday brew, but it's not the worse either. And you have to give the people at Sam Adams kudos on coming up with something unique. It has the inherent bitterness and body of an IPA. But there the similarity ends.
Your first sensation is tart, spicy, almost stinging as the brew hits your tongue. The juniper makes this a most interesting concoction. It helps if you're a fan of gin and luckily I am. And the flavor and body fill your mouth rather than disappear, but does not linger with any sense of unbalanced bitterness.
So it is a very enjoyable and special glass to hoist for the holidays. But a single glass is about all you'll be hoisting at one sitting. The unique stinging spiciness and flavor makes this a difficult beer if you're looking to down more than one of the same kind for a night. Definitely a good beer if you're drinking one, or to enjoy if you're going to be sampling more than one variety during the evening. A session beer, however, it is not.
Still for the uniqueness, flavor and balance and the taste of the holidays, I'm giving it 7 mugs out of 10. I will be happy if Juniper IPA is part of the Winter Favorites pack next year from Sam Adams.
One such pack I look forward to every year is the one from Sam Adams. Not because it's necessarily the best or the most intriguing, but it is among the most consistent of the microbrews available in New England. And it also has one of my favorite holiday offerings, Old Fezziwig Ale. I mean how can you not like that brew with that name? You don't even necessarily need to be a fan of Dickens or the immortal "A Christmas Carol", a character in that book being the namesake for the ale. I also find it quite tasty in a holiday spirit sort of way with the spices, etc. Being somewhat a slave to ritual I try to make sure the first and last special holiday beer I consume each season is an Old Fezziwig. When the last Old Fezziwig is consumed the holiday season is truly over.
But I digress. While Old Fezziwig was part of this year's Sam Adams Winter Favorites variety 12 pack this year, a couple of old standbys I'd always enjoyed were not. Specifically the Scotch Ale and the Holiday Porter. I always liked those two.
There were some new varieties I had not experienced before, including the one pictured above, Juniper IPA. First of all may I point out the Guinness mug the beer is in. I have used it before in pictures but believe this time the harp logo on the glass is more visible than in previous shots. So wanted to point that out.
As for the beer. It will not be my favorite holiday brew, but it's not the worse either. And you have to give the people at Sam Adams kudos on coming up with something unique. It has the inherent bitterness and body of an IPA. But there the similarity ends.
Your first sensation is tart, spicy, almost stinging as the brew hits your tongue. The juniper makes this a most interesting concoction. It helps if you're a fan of gin and luckily I am. And the flavor and body fill your mouth rather than disappear, but does not linger with any sense of unbalanced bitterness.
So it is a very enjoyable and special glass to hoist for the holidays. But a single glass is about all you'll be hoisting at one sitting. The unique stinging spiciness and flavor makes this a difficult beer if you're looking to down more than one of the same kind for a night. Definitely a good beer if you're drinking one, or to enjoy if you're going to be sampling more than one variety during the evening. A session beer, however, it is not.
Still for the uniqueness, flavor and balance and the taste of the holidays, I'm giving it 7 mugs out of 10. I will be happy if Juniper IPA is part of the Winter Favorites pack next year from Sam Adams.
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