Letting go of the past; enjoying now
December 5, 2014
Texas Roadhouse crowd-pleasing food, fun
December 5, 2014
“Over the years, I got to be quite a connoisseur of soap. My personal preference was for Lux, but I found Palmolive had a nice, piquant after-dinner flavor – heady, but with just a touch of mellow smoothness. Life Buoy, on the other hand … YUCK!”
– Ralphie Parker, “A Christmas Story”
As a child, my mouth was washed out with soap once, and I watch this scene from my favorite Christmas movie every year with the utmost empathy for Ralphie. The flavor of Ivory soap is forever linked to that memory in such a deep way that, to this day, I taste it when a certain four-letter word escapes my lips.
OK, I’m not writing a soaps review. I am, however, ready to partake in a wonderful holiday tradition: holiday beers!
Autumn and winter are – while my least favorite time of the year my favorite seasons beer-wise.
Saint Arnold’s traditional Christmas Ale is the holiday beer I always look forward to. Sailing Santa is a blend of that Christmas Ale and Elissa IPA.
So why is it called Sailing Santa? Elissa IPA is named after the Tall Ship Elissa, a sailing ship moored in Galveston, Texas. Blending Christmas Ale with the Elissa IPA put Santa on the metaphorical deck, and Sailing Santa was born.
This beer is a great segue beverage for those whose palates haven’t quite grown accustomed to the over-the-top-hoppy flavors. There’s a sweetness up front followed by the citrusy, deliciously piney hops. The spiciness in most holiday ales shows up in Sailing Santa’s dry finish.
This year’s batch features a touch of cinnamon, which is added at the end of fermentation, giving it more prominence.
The respectable 7.2 percent ABV is due to the four different malts used in brewing the Christmas Ale, and that malt backbone really balances the overall hop character.
Lennie Ambrose, marketing and events manager for Saint Arnold Brewing, said, “Rumor has it that now some brewery regulars like to mix Endeavour and Christmas Ale and call it Rocket Santa.” Mind = blown.
Another great local Christmas beer is Abita’s Christmas Ale. Brewed with seven types of malted barley and fermented with German Ale yeast, the 2014 incarnation is generously hopped with Willamette and Columbus hops.
This year’s batch is more hop-forward than usual. Once that subsides, a backdrop of chocolate, toasty/nutty and coffee aromas present an earthy retort. The finish offers more cocoa, coffee and nuts, yet gives way to the piney/woody notes of the hops.
So put the leg lamp in the front window, slip on the pink bunny footsie pajamas and crank up the Little Orphan Annie radio program. Merry Christmas!
