Advent Calendar Window 19

Advent Calendar Window 19 - Julebryg

Here's a little bad boy I picked up in Gent recently...

Whilst on the scout for anything Christmas and beer related, Amager Julebryg 2009 8.0% found its way into my basket almost effortlessly at De Hopduvel in Gent. The whimsical cartoon label appealed to me before all else had been considered. When I thought about it, Amager are a very well respected brewery that I do not have enough experience with. Despite acouple of their ales, their Imperial Stout collaboration with Hoppin' Frog stands out as their most notable work to me, though I do have a few of their recent exciting brews in stock. Altogether, this Danish brewery have an impression to make on me almost starting from scratch.

"It's in the giving of a gift to another
A pair of mittens that were made by your mother
It's all the ways that we show love - that feels like Christmas..."

With a lovely off black deep brown colour, this beer initially smells like wrought iron. You could shave your wire rope clippings onto this ale and get the same scents. Once it gets settled within the glass, this drink excites and delights with it's warming cherry and sherry scents. In taste Julebryg comes over like a near perfect match between traditional Belgian Christmas Ale and huge Russian Imperial Stout. There's an equal flow of port, coffee, mincemeat, chocolate, brandy and roasted malts. It's a delightful mixture of Winter Warmers and traditionalism made just for this season. It's rightfully indulgent, cursing when it needs to be and letting you know with a holly nip that you might have something strong here, yet it never lets you waver from it's desire. Julebryg isn't mulled or spicey but it is decadent and Chritmassy. From the past nineteen days, this maybe the one I have enjoyed and savoured from start to finish, in a 500ml bottle, the most. Those that hate their Christmas beer may find this too sweet, but it is well balanced, settled and dignified. Amager Julebryg is another recipe that apparently changes each year, but I rather doubt they have come on more from their excellent 2009 version. Amazing stuff.

Purchased from De Hopduvel, Gent, November 2013.

Comments

"They Had Their Issues, So..."

There’s a set of garages to rent as storage units near my workplace. One of them is taken by a local florist that uses it to store flower arrangements for various events, that are more often than not funerals. As such, at least once a week at 8am I will pass a car being loaded up with flowers arranged into heart shaped patterns or the letters M U M. It is a grounding reminder that, as I mentally grumble my way through the upcoming arbitrary grievances of my ordinary working day, a group of family and friends locally is going through the hardest time. It provides much needed perspective on days when I could do with being reminded of all that I have to be thankful for. These little moments explain to me why it is possible for us to share a communal loss when a celebrity passes away. Grief is often a personal and lonely experience, shared between a minority of people in your life. When a co-worker loses a relative or friend, it has little affect on me, bar signing of

LIVERPOOL - the City that Craft Beer Forgot Part II (and found...)

After visiting Liverpool, one of my favourite cities, in February this year, and not impressing people with my rather hasty but honest verdict on the city’s lack of craft beer, I jumped at the chance to return last week and hoped to come out with a more attractive judgement. A couple of friends and I visited on a day out, with neither of them having been drinking in the city before. It was left to me – or rather, I volunteered – to plan the day’s itinerary and places to visit. I had a couple of new or unvisited places in mind myself, but knew it would be unfair to miss out on some of the city’s famous gems. With around 10-12 hours in which to fit in an entire city, I opted to concentrate on the famous Georgian Quarter and see if we had time for the Dale Street end later on. We planned to arrive in the city for around 11a.m. just in time to walk up Mount Pleasant to the new-on-me, though I believe it has been opened three years, Clove Hitch on Hope Street for breakfast.

Ten Reasons Why I Hate Brewdog

There was a time when I thought beer was subjective, when I believed it was there to be interpreted and commented on from a personal perspective. I used to form my own opinions about beer, pubs and breweries and sometimes I’d even write them in this little blog. Brewdog were no exception; I was happy to praise them when they did right and criticise when I felt they were wrong. Of course I now have seen that I was wrong to do this. You see, it’s not about opinions or personal preferences; it’s about following the crowd, doing what’s cool and avoiding controversy. At present it’s not cool to like Brewdog. Despite the fact that I still really enjoy their beers and bars, people keep telling me why I should hate them. You probably already do, as you are well “in” on what’s hot and what’s not. I wasn’t aware of this, the e-mail never landed in my inbox, but not wanting to fall out of the loop I’ve presented a list of reasons why we should all hate Brewdog so I can fit in with this g

Beer Compurgation

Search This Blog