Happy Christmas!

We never made it to Andrei's killer bash, but weather and circumstances made it possible to share our "Namesday" Winterfest brew with the aforementioned Mr. Rockshop and his lovely bride.

The verdict? All good. Everyone loved the beer and we consumed it for both Xmas Eve and Xmas Eve eve. The brew is nicely balanced--no one flavor dominates. There's a nice hoppy tang and a rich malty sweetness that work in concert to give you a full-flavored easy-drinking ale. We noticed today that the beer in the glass is the color of our cherry wood kitchen table! Thus it also matches the cherry wood cabinets and mouldings. A lovely dark honey hue, perhaps best described as amber. Whatever we label it, it was beautiful. Great batch of brew.

Happy Holidays!


a.d. VII Kal. Ian.

Winterfest tapped!

Alas, we never made it to Andrei's killer bash, for a number of reasons, but we did celebrate Namesday (for two, actually) by tapping the Winterfest.

Mmmm-mm! Damn! That's what I said. It was good. Very good. The rich, complex maltiness was evident from the nose to the tip of the tongue to the back of the mouth to the final swallow. The hops were there, just a hint up front, then coming on in the finish to balance the sweetness. The 6% abv (approx., I used OG 1.057 and FG 1.010 with RealBeer's calculator) was detectable in the aroma and flavor but not detrimental at all. In fact, this is a superb beer. The color is by no means yellow, and certainly not red. Let's say dark honey or light amber.

A frighteningly quaffable brew. Next time? Perhaps spike up the keg priming a tad. Just a tad, mind you, I like to see bubbles rise. This brew looked great out of the tap, with a thick and creamy head, but the retention was poor and the fizz seemed to peter out. A quibble, to be sure, this one had too much flavor to argue with.

Sorry, Andy. Na Zydorovye!



Id. Dec.