We’re in the home stretch to Christmas and we’re doing a four-day beer tasting we call “The Four Days of BEER-MAS”! Tonight, we continue our trip through the Clown Shoes Beer pack, “The 12 Beers of Christmas”! This will take the first three days of our journey and we will finish off with a random winter beer sampling at the end to send you into Christmas happy!
So, pour yourself your favorite alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverage, sit down, kick back and join us for the second night of “The 4 Days of BEER-MAS”!
Our next beer is…
BEER: Reindeer Games (Bavarian Style IPA)
ABV: 7%
MATT: 3.5/5
DANIELLE: 2.5/5
LOOK: Clear, copper-colored
SCENT: Some wheat and malt
MOUTHFEEL/TASTE: Medium mouthfeel. Has a bit of sweetness to it with dark hops and some malt. Refreshing finish.
FINAL REFLECTIONS: A darker ale this time around. Somewhat bitter but not overwhelming. Danielle disagrees with me there. This beer has a nice sweetness and maltiness to off-set that bitterness. A nice refreshing finish but seems somewhat incomplete.
BEER: Advent Party Crasher (American Imperial Stout)
ABV: 8%
MATT: 4/5
DANIELLE: 3.75/5
LOOK: Dark as mud
SCENT: Some chocolate, some malt
MOUTHFEEL/TASTE: Thick mouthfeel. Toffee, Irish Cream, and dark cocoa are present.
FINAL REFLECTIONS: A good stout with some nice dessert characteristics to it. I love the sweetness of the toffee and cream and I love that dark cocoa flavoring. Would go nicely with any holiday dessert.
BEER: One Man Holiday (Belgian Style Quadrupel Ale)
ABV: 8%
MATT: 4/5 (changed from recording)
DANIELLE: 3.5/5
LOOK: Amber and clear
SCENT: Some fruit and wheat
MOUTHFEEL/TASTE: Slightly thick mouthfeel. Nice fruit on the tongue and malt and hops with a spicy finish.
FINAL REFLECTIONS: A nicely put together beer with sweet fruit on the tongue, nicely complimented by malt and alcohol. There’s a little spice on the back end that gives it a good finish. Interesting beer with character — but there are better beers like it. Still, I like this one. It’s one of the better beers of the entire pack.
BEER: The Exorcist (Dry Hopped Stout)
ABV: 8%
MATT: 3.5/5
DANIELLE: 3.25/5
LOOK: Dark as mud again, as a stout should be
SCENT: Some hops, dark toasted malt
MOUTHFEEL/TASTE: Thick mouthfeel. Very dark chocolate, no sweetness. Dry finish.
FINAL REFLECTIONS: If you like your stouts dark as hell with no room for sweetness to see you up to the light (see what I did there?), then this is the beer for you. The issue I have here is that I really don’t like my stouts to be this dry and that’s really hard to deal with in this beer. The last stout we tasted was a lot better.
FINAL THOUGHTS: Tonight’s showing was a bit better than last night’s. One Man Holiday and Advent Party Crasher won the night while the other two beers were so-so. We have four more beers to go…
HEAR OUR FINAL THOUGHTS!:
TOMORROW: Join us for Night 3 of “The Four Days of BEER-MAS” as we finish off the Clown Shoes Beer 12-pack!