Brewed Beverage of Choice: A Goblet of Green Flash Barley Wine Vintage 2008
I was taught as a child that animals such as the bear pass the long winters in a period of hibernation…By that I thought they fell asleep for several months. At the same time I wished I could pass the school year in a period of hibernation. In fact I think that is how I spent my entire senior year in high school…Asleep.
These past few weeks and months I have felt like I was engulfed in a deep hibernative state. After the long summer days and months brewing in the heat, after all the festivals and events, and after all the other messes that fell from the sky in my daily life, my mind decided to take a vacation. Unfortunately for me it did not tell the rest of my body or spirit. So while we were still toiling away in the brewery, it was off surfing in the beautiful spaces of Costa Rica. (Do not worry. When it got back, I tortured it with all the monotony I could muster. It cried for mercy and we are now on the same plane.)
I would think if a bear could speak it would tell us how beautiful and alive everything looks and feels after that long respite known as hibernation. And I whole-heartedly agree because after the odd hibernation I took in late summer-early autumn, I awoke to the most beautiful of sights: Anchor’s 2008 Merry Christmas Happy New Year Ale. The end result of this long sleep also included my own recipe for the 2008 Biere de Noel.
Much like Christmas season’s arrival earlier and earlier, each year the bigger breweries release their winter ales before autumn has a chance to announce her elegant presence. As early as the beginning of October I not only saw Christmas decorations, but I also witnessed the release of JubelAle from Deschutes. “Too early!” I exclaim. So as I was passing down the beer section of New Seasons Market the other day, my eyes were drawn to the large bottle of Anchor’s winter ale. And at that time I knew I was awake. So long hibernation! The winter is coming and so are the delicious winter ales and lagers.
Mind you. The week prior was truly when I rose from the long nap. The incident in the beer aisle was me merely shaking off the cobwebs and wiping my eyes free of the sand the sandman left behind. What really brought me out of the cave to the beauty of spring was the 2007 version of my Biere de Noel. As the Property Manager and I were discussing the beers we would serve at our annual autumn Brewers Dinner, it dawned on me that I have yet to come up with a recipe and brew this year’s version of the Biere de Noel. My excitement was celebrated with a goblet of the 2007 version that had been aged on oak chips since November of last year. I tend to geek out when it comes to deriving a recipe. The 2008 Biere de Noel will be made with a Belgian Farmhouse strain of yeast and some yet-to-be-determined spices. My mouth waters just thinking about it. I can even smell it brewing. Is it reaching you yet?
So as I sit here, the early winter darkness is descending on my dog, my girlfriend and I. The grogginess of my early hibernation thoroughly thwarted by a pint or two of great winter brews. And while I have the 2008 Merry Christmas Happy New Year Ale greeting me from my sleep, the bear is greeted by the blossoms of spring. Because of that I envy that bear. Perhaps I will gently leave a bottle of the 2008 Biere de Noel at the entrance to the cave. That way he can wake to that as well
Prost!
the confucian brewer