St Bernardus Christmas Ale

We have pretty much decided that the brewers at St. Bernardus are the beer and ale gods. They just don't seem to be able to set a foot wrong when it comes to producing an outstanding product. Goji says that if Bernardus is not the patron saint of brewers he should be.

We poured this fine ale gently down the side of our glasses and were rewarded with a BIG head which subsided eventually into some fine lacing on the sides of our glasses. The aroma was subtly yeasty but with no really dominant notes. The flavor also was flowery but so balanced that none of us ccould quite say much other than how delicious it was. The aftertaste was also mellow and balanced, lingering pleasantly on the tongue somewhere between the oh and the wow.

Pizzaboy said this outshone everything else we tried tonight; nothing else came close and that included this year's Stone Anniversary Ale which I am finishing as we speak.

Stone 11th Anniversary Ale

Well, it was only the two of us here tonight sucking down Pizza boy's chili and tasting 2 new brews. The first was... disapointing. The second was, dare I say, controversial. It is billed as a IPA but DARK, and we all know that Stone doesn't kid about any such description. Goji didn't spit it out. Well, she didn't QUITE spit it out. She is an IPA aficianado but a bit afraid of the DARK? Perhaps. She said it was hoppy enough but the molassasey tones overpowered the IPA lightness that floats her boat. I on the other hand enjoyed it. It was tasty, rich and had a nice bite, well, more of a fierce nibble really. Tasty but not overly distinguished. 8.7% alchohol by volume.

Firstly,
Nexus

Monty Python's Holy Gr-ale

Not worth going on a quest for. A decent beer, but just a beer nonetheless. We expected more from an ale with the grail.