Four Calling (Colly) Birds

After a long day of taking down Christmas decorations, we decided to have a lazy Saturday night (once the baby was in bed).  So we sat around our Christmas-free family room and played video games.  We started with the Mod Nation Racer game and progressed to Call of Duty by the end of the night.  Fueling our gaming efforts was a bottle of the Four Calling Birds, a Spiced Strong Dark Ale (11% ABV), from The Bruery in Placentia, California. 

According to The Bruery's website, "The Twelve Days of Christmas series continues! We took inspiration from the traditional winter warmer for our fourth verse, integrating gingerbread spices into a robust dark ale. Notes of licorice & banana bread mingle with dark fruit, molasses and bitter chocolate for a perfect cold weather sipper!"  This was a THICK and HEAVY beer.  I don't know why, but I wasn't expecting this when I popped the top.  It was full of chocolate and coffee, which I normally like, but tonight, it was a bit much.  


As we both struggled through this a bit, the Husband thought it wise to get out a salty snack to see if it would help make the beer a bit lighter.  A small bowl of Cheez-Its and raw unsalted Almonds and we were in business.  The beer was slightly warmer and paired well with a bowl of salt at our fingertips.

Wreck the Halls

We were a bit ambitious in our purchasing of Christmas/Holiday beers this year.  We didn't get to all of them before the Holidays had already come and gone (which seems to happen quicker every year).

So while relaxing tonight, we shared a bottle of Wreck the Halls (6.5% ABV) from Full Sail Brewing Company in Hood River, Oregon.  I was hopeful because of the name, but turns out, I couldn't really get past the smell of this one.  The beer was fine, a bit on the light side for a Holiday beer, but the smell was just a bit off.  I can't even think of a comparable smell to reference.  Then again, the Husband couldn't smell it so maybe I am just crazy.

Hazelnut Nectar (of the Gods)

My sister and I picked up the Rogue Hazelnut Brown Nectar (6.2% ABV) at the liquor store after a tough day snowboarding.  We picked this solely on brand and name but as it turns out, this beer won the Gold Medal at the 2011 Great American Beer Festival.

Pours up nicely with minimal head.  Sweet nutty finish.  Delicious.  Both Husband, sister and I really enjoyed this beer but all agreed that one glass was enough.  While the flavor was extremely good, it was just a bit too sweet to have more than one.

 

On a scale of 1 to 10, this was a 9.