Nøgne Ø: Peculiar Yule

Spiced Winter Ale
Nøgne Ø Brewery
Grimstad, Norway
ALC/VOL: 6.5%

Last chance to get in another good winter beer. I mean, it's "NOT", but i already see the good winter ales and dark stouts disappearing from shelves. Not sure why. It's cold as balls.

Lets get right to it. A friend brought this beer over one night and i really enjoyed it. They don't sell it at my usual place, so i had to defect and try my luck at another craft beer shop. This beer smells "spiced" with a quick whiff of the bottle. It's a nice mix of calming medicinal scents and a tinge of sweet barbecue flavorings. At first inhalation, it almost comes off as savory.

Time to drink. To note, this beer is best enjoyed a little warmer than most. The brewer recommends a temp at around 55º. The taste is a lot less savory than the smell. You get a nice warm mix of cinnamon and coriander up front, a strong bold ale middle and just a wisp of ginger on the tail end. Truth be told, while I love this beer, i think it would be better suited with a little more alcohol, maybe 8-9%. I think that would complement these complex spices more. Because of it's lower alc. content, it almost comes off as a cider a your mouth adjusts towards the end of the bottle. Maybe I'll buy a few bottles and store them for a little while, see if i get anything else out of it.

Long Trail: Blackberry Wheat

American Wheat
Long Trail Brewery
Bidgewater Corners, Vermont
ALC/VOL 3.8%

I've always been a sucker for my home state. Growing up in VT gives you a different perspective on things. Things seem natural; good and whole and pure. So, no big surprise, Vermont is home to many fine micro breweries. The two that are easier to find around the US are Magic Hat and Otter Creek. These are both fine companies, but don't really stretch the envelope much.

I grew up knowing Long Trail because it's what everyone in my town drank. All the parties and town gatherings were usually accompanied by a Long Trail keg of some sort. I just associate growing up in my small town with it. Not that i was drinking it or that my town is a bunch of alcoholics, but you get the idea, it was the local staple.

Now, usually, you can't find this stuff outside New England. Heck, it all but disappears south of NYC. Outside of bringing a case or two back from Vermont when i go home to visit family, I just don't get to drink it. However, recently, a few singles have floated their way down south of the Mason-Dixon line. Never more than one or two. God forbid I find a whole six pack. And yesterday I found two, a Hibernator and a Blackberry Wheat.

The Blackberry is so light. They call it a wheat beer, but it's so light and crisp, it drinks and finishes more like a pilsner or light lager. Truth be told, with the distinctive fruit taste on the back end, it's more like a light Lambic than anything else. A beer like this is meant to be enjoyed in the summer, but I think the crispness of it makes it a year round treat. Even the scent of this beer reminds me of hope. It's that Pavlovian euphoria that sweeps over me with every sip. Yum Yum.

Little Feat: Waiting for Columbus

I know it's been a while since I wrote about my travels in beer, but this album is too good to wait. If theres, any consolation, I am drinking right now. However, I've given up my usual vice of beer and have moved to Markers 46 on the rocks this afternoon. On the rocks, I know, I'm a total pussy. Deal with it. 

But this album. God damn. I recently found an amazing hole-in-the-wall vinyl shop in the middle of nowhere in Towson after finishing up a Geek Squad job. I could barely find the door, but man, am I glad i did. This place was packed to gills with gems. Most shops stock what i call "vinyl stand by's"; those records that every asshole looks for. But this shop had all those hard to find and unique discs. And while I realize the irony of talking about "assholes that by stand by's" in my review of one of the most popular and listened to vinyls of all time, I just straight up don't care. This album is above it

This album is a completely different experience on vinyl, so please don't read this review, get interested, and then go listen to a 128kbps mp3 download. It just won't do it justice. Every track is jam packed with expansive sound, from Lowell George's slide guitar to that small and puny little horn section most people know as Tower Of Power!!!!! 

One of the coolest sections of this concert to me is the extended version of "Dixie Chicken". This track has everything and spans too many decades to point at. It amazes me how easily Little Feat takes a song that sounds almost like a "old standard" and makes it fresh, new, different and outside the box. 

God damn, please buy this record if you haven't already. You can thank me later.