Style: Winter Warmer
Brewery: Birra del Borgo (Lazio, Italy)
ABV: 9.5%
IBUs: unknown
Availability: unknown

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Back across the pond today for the big beer of the day only this time I am giving the Belgians a break and heading to Italy for Birra del Borgo’s 25 Dodici. I first became aware of Birra del Borgo through their collaboration with Dogfish Head on the My Antonia. Leonardo DiVencenzo, head brewer at Birra del Borgo, is often compared to Dogfish Head’s Sam Calagione for his adventurous brewing techniques and use of non-traditional adjuncts. And while there spirit is the same, their equally-spectacular results are really quite different.

Appearance: Pours a deep brown with a rich reddish hue. There’s no head at all from the poor but it does leave a bit of residue on the glass as you drink. No lacing.

Smell: The nose is really tart here, almost like orange Starburst candies mixed with lots of fresh berries. There’s a good amount of chocolate and roasted notes as well with really subtle hints of honey and grass. Quite a bit going on once you get into it.

Taste: The flavor is very light but there are a lot of complex elements too it. The bitter orange peel comes forward as well along with some pepper, coriander and burnt caramel. Beneath the initial flavors are some pine and oak notes which make this taste like a cross between a saison and and a pale ale. The orange flavor lingers nicely in the finish.

Mouthfeel: 25 Dodici is dangerously light bodied for a 9.5% alcohol beer. It comes across slightly watery with almost no carbonation and finishes slightly sweet on the tongue.

Drinkability: This is highly, highly drinkable for a big beer. It is light, dry and refreshing. The only off-putting element is the lack of carbonation but it could have just been my bottle. Otherwise, I could easily put back a few of these with dinner (dangerous).

Overall: 25 Dodici is really unique. At first I thought it was way flat but then the lack of carbonation grew on me. It’s a nice introduction into the world of Italian craft beer and the high level of drinkability makes it worth hunting down for a try.

Brewing Notes: Malt: Pilsner malt, munich malt, vienna malt, cara munich malt, cara
weizen, chocolate malt. Hops: Hallertau Northern brewer, Hallertau hersbrucker, styrian golding, simcoe.
Spice: Bitter orange peel

Tags: Big Beer Month, Birra del Borgo, Italian Beer, my antonia, Winter Beers, Winter Warmer.

Style: English Porter / Winter Ale / Holiday Ale
ABV: 8.5%
IBU: 30
Availability: annually, late fall and winter, bottle and draft
Pairing: charred steak, black and white cookies, brownies
click here for more Nøgne Ø reviews

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Popped in to the bar on a brutal New York City winter evening to grab a quick beer and came across a real treat… Nøgne Ø Winter Ale on tap. In my opinion, Kjetil Jikiun is one of the finest brewers crafting ales today and this one is no exception. I’m on a mission to drink as many of this fine Norwegian brewery’s offerings as possible.

Appearance: Pours a deep, dark brown with a tan head which leaves a bit of lacing on the glass

Smell: Notes of licorice, chocolate and vanilla all come forward. Some roasted notes as the beer warms. Very unique for a porter.

Taste: The Nøgne Ø Winter hits the palate with lots of roasted malt characteristics and a dry finish. There are lingering flavors of burnt caramel as well as all chocolate and vanilla. It’s incredibly balanced for such a unique beer and hides it’s 8.5% alcohol well.

Mouthfeel: A fine light carbonation and sweetness hit the mouth but the finish is quite dry. The result is a dangerously drinkable combination.

Drinkability: This one goes down pretty easy. It’s thick for a porter but – like most Nøgne Ø beers – the balance holds together any skepticism of its drinkability. I could easily have a few of these on a cold night.

Overall: The Nøgne Ø Winter (or God Jul if you live outside of the U.S.) is a rich winter ale that is welcoming to both porter and stout drinkers alike. The combination of sweet flavors, roasted notes and dry finish make it a great dessert beer, pairing for a heavy winter meal or even a nice aprés ski brew.

Brewing Note: “A dark ale brewed specially for the Christmas season, with a rich, complex taste of caramel. This is a strong, dark and rather sweet Christmas Beer – just the way we think a Christmas beer should be. Recommended serving temperature 12°C/53°F. Great with cheese or nuts. Ingredients: Lager, Munich, caramel, black, and chocolate malt; Chinook, Columbus, and Centennial hops; English ale yeast, and our local Grimstad water.” source)

Other reviews:
Nøgne Ø Winter on Beer Rant
Nøgne Ø Winter on Beer Advocate

(photo source)

Tags: Christmas Ale, god jul, Holiday Beers, Nogne O, porter, Winter Beers.

Christmas is sort of like a final culmination of beer geekery for me. A time when I get out all these random east coast bottles and submit my west coast hop loving brothers to what I have been slinging back all year. Its also a chance to crack a few bottles I’ve been saving up and share them with my family. This year has gone way overboard and I’ve broken it all down to a seven course, five hour extravaganza drank amongst four or (hopefully) five people. This is sort of a predecessor to my “Best of 2009″ list coming next week…

Appetizers (paired with baked clams and antipasta)
Goose Island Matilda (22oz)
Goose Island Juliet (22oz)
Goose Island Sofie (22oz)

Pasta Course (paired with fettuccine alfredo)
Avery Dugan (22oz)
Allagash Victoria (750ml)

Pre Dinner Intermission
Dogfish/Sierra Life and Limb (750ml)

Main Course (paired with baked ham)
Southampton Saison (750ml)
Brooklyn Local One (750ml)

Pre Dessert Intermission
Jolly Pumpkin Noel de Calabaza (750ml)

Dessert (paired with fruit, nuts, Italian pastries and brownies)
Nectar Black Xantus (22oz)
Captain Lawrence Nor’easter (22oz)

Post Desert Evening Closer
Brooklyn Black Ops 2009 (750ml)

Tags: Christmas Ale, pairing, Winter Beers, Winter Warmer.

Brewery: Nogne O, Jolly Pumpkin and Stone Brewing Co.
Vintage: 2009 vintage brewed at Nogne O in Grimstad, Norway
Style: Christmas Ale, Winter Warmer
ABV: 8.5%
IBU: 50
Availability: unknown frequency, November – January
Pairing: butternut squash soup, beef stew, roasted chestnuts

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I love brewer collaborations. It’s a great example of what the brewing community is all about and it often takes the best of each brewers skills and combines them into something greater. Stone Brewing Co. has been on a similar kick with their Collaboration Series, traveling around the world and joining forces with renowned breweries such as Brew Dog, Mikkeller, and Ale Smith to bring their unprecedented technical knowledge to new and exciting concoctions. For Special Holiday Ale (now in its second vintage) they’ve teamed up with the sour beer loving jokers over at Jolly Pumpkin (Michigan) and style pushers at Nogne O (Grimstad, Norway) to create a holiday crew that combines local ingredients from all three regions – California white sage, Michigan chestnuts, and Norwegian juniper berries. The result is a medium bodied winter ale thats much more drinkable then a lot of the strong beers floating around this season. Perfectly balanced, I’ve been hunting this one for a while and glad to see if found it’s way to my glass!

Appearance: Pours the deepest brown imaginable, almost black. Rich, frothy tan head leaves a nice creamy lacing on the side of the glass. Notes of excellent craftsmanship right off the bat.

Smell: There’s tons of spice and herbs on the nose of this one. Lots of the sage, juniper, allspice and chestnuts come through without too much malt character.

Taste: The Rye used in brewing really stands out giving a good, grainy character along with some roasted barley malt balance. It tastes dark and woodsy with a piney, peppery finish.

Mouthfeel: A refreshing medium body for a holiday beer. There is well calculated carbonation behind this and it goes down easy leaving a nice spice tingle on my tongue.

Drinkability: Very drinkable for a winter warmer. The medium body and balanced spice hide the alcohol and makes this one easy going. Well, easy going for an 8.5% dark, spicy beer.

Overall: Take one of the world most practical brewers, one of its most adventurous, and one of its most technical, and give them a Santa’s sack of local ingredients to play with. The result is Special Holiday Ale, a winter take on all the things going right in brewing today. I could easily drink two or three of these over a night, especially after an icy commute home or a long day on the slopes. I’ll be picking a few more up to share at Christmas dinner!

Brewing Note: Special Holiday ale was first brewed in April 2008 at Stone’s facility. This version was brewed this past July at Nogne O’s facility. The beer uses the same ingredients as the original: white sage from Southern California, chestnuts from Michigan and juniper berries from Norway. The differences in brewing and aging may have lead to a slightly different beer though. (source)

Tags: Christmas Ale, Holiday Beers, Jolly Pumpkin, Limited Release, Nogne O, stone, stone brewing co, Winter Beers.

Style: holiday / Belgian strong winter ale
ABV: 10%
Availability: annual, mid-October through December
Pairing: dark roasts, wild game, braised short ribs
Summary: An excellently crafted, American version of the Belgian dark winter ale. A nice fireside sipper to visit again and again,

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Tasted on tap, the Ommegang Adoration pours a brilliant deep mahogany color with a nice creamy head and a soft mouthfeel. There is a subtle hint of dark fruits and spice in the nose but nothing overpowering. The flavor comes across as a really drinkable belgian dubbel or perhaps a more hefty Fat Tire but with a nice kick of spice. There aren’t really any standout spices (Ommegang lists them as coriander cumin, mace, cardamom and grains of paradise) but they are balanced nicely against a heavy malt back.

Overall, Ommegang are masters of the American Belgian brewing movement and Adoration is no exception. This is a very approachable holiday beer and great sipper for cold winter nights.

image source

Tags: Adoration, Fat Tire, Holiday Beers, Ommegang, Winter Beers.