In the "tidings of comfort and joy" department... it's that time o' year! Yes, the time when Sammy Adams releases those 12-packs of seasonal brews for us beer geeks to enjoy and rave about. So it was I noticed a couple o' few o' said 12-packs in the cooler at Wally-World (go figure) yesterday and we brought one home. Like this:
That's the box the brews came in, plus one of the beers that we're drinkin' at this very moment. Let me say a couple o' things about this particular beer.
First: I was burned yet again by failing to read the small print on the packaging, this time I didn't catch the "cherry" part of "cherry chocolate bock." That'll learn me to put my frickin' readers on when examining new beer. Well, it SHOULD, but it prolly won't... just coz I'm like that.
Second: I was all geared up to hate on this beer, what with the cherry flavoring and all. I'm OK with chocolate... in fact I LOVE chocolate bock... but the two flavors, combined? "No, no, no" sez my brain. "Mmmm. Not bad. Not bad at ALL" say my taste buds. The combination works surprisingly well, for me and also for a lot o' folks at the Go-To source for all things barley, hops, and water. The cherry flavor is the dominant part o' the equation with chocolate more o' an afterthought, but the chocolate is there. I don't think I'd go out and buy a sixer or two o' this brew if it were available as a stand-alone offering, which it isn't... in this part o' the world. But I WILL drink the two that are part o' this 12-pack.
Concerning the 12-pack: I'll only buy one of these this year, unlike previous years when I tried my damndest to buy out the entire stock of the Winter Seasonal 12-packs at the Cannon Class Six store. This year's offering is far from the "as advertised" blurb of "Winter Favorites," what with only two true (personal) favorites (Winter Lager and White Christmas) included in the mix. The resulting 4/12 ratio just doesn't make the cut. Nice try, Sammy... but no cigar.
Speakin' o' cigars... I do believe it's time to head out to the verandah to burn one such.
That's the box the brews came in, plus one of the beers that we're drinkin' at this very moment. Let me say a couple o' things about this particular beer.
First: I was burned yet again by failing to read the small print on the packaging, this time I didn't catch the "cherry" part of "cherry chocolate bock." That'll learn me to put my frickin' readers on when examining new beer. Well, it SHOULD, but it prolly won't... just coz I'm like that.
Second: I was all geared up to hate on this beer, what with the cherry flavoring and all. I'm OK with chocolate... in fact I LOVE chocolate bock... but the two flavors, combined? "No, no, no" sez my brain. "Mmmm. Not bad. Not bad at ALL" say my taste buds. The combination works surprisingly well, for me and also for a lot o' folks at the Go-To source for all things barley, hops, and water. The cherry flavor is the dominant part o' the equation with chocolate more o' an afterthought, but the chocolate is there. I don't think I'd go out and buy a sixer or two o' this brew if it were available as a stand-alone offering, which it isn't... in this part o' the world. But I WILL drink the two that are part o' this 12-pack.
Concerning the 12-pack: I'll only buy one of these this year, unlike previous years when I tried my damndest to buy out the entire stock of the Winter Seasonal 12-packs at the Cannon Class Six store. This year's offering is far from the "as advertised" blurb of "Winter Favorites," what with only two true (personal) favorites (Winter Lager and White Christmas) included in the mix. The resulting 4/12 ratio just doesn't make the cut. Nice try, Sammy... but no cigar.
Speakin' o' cigars... I do believe it's time to head out to the verandah to burn one such.
Beer. Chocolate. Cherry.
ReplyDeleteI'm confused...
It's all good. ;-)
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