To prepare for the end of 2014 and in anticipation of the upcoming holiday season, I’ve decided to take part in an idea from Andy Higgs of Grown-up Travel Guide and complete a Beer Advent Calendar of sorts.
Beginning with the fourth Sunday before Christmas (November 30) all the way through Christmas, I will try to drink a different beer each day and share it here.
Day 1: Sunday, November 30, 2014 – BrewDog 5 A.M. Saint
For the first beer of the season, I decided to go with a fitting beer that was available at the Citizen M hotel at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, where I was spending the night before Erin flew back to the States – 5 A.M. Saint Hoppy Red Ale by BrewDog from Scotland.
It seems this beer is now branded as 5am Red Ale, and combines 5 malts and 5 hops in this 5% abv beer. 5am Red Ale is part of the standard headliners lineup produced by Brew Dog, and can be found all over the world.
Day 2: Monday, December 1, 2014 – Broeder Jacob Double Port
For the second day of the calendar, I opted for a Broeder Jacob Double Port, a Belgian Dubbel fortified with Port (Portal d’ Azenha).
This beer promised dark, full flavors, with an aftertaste of walnuts. I thought it was ok, but wound up being much less complex than I had hoped for.
Day 3: Tuesday, December 2, 2014 – Trappistes Rochefort 6
For the third day of the 2014 Beer Advent Calendar, I went with a bottle from the case of Trappistes Rochefort 6 that was given to me by Michael Hodson of Go, See, Write after we visited the monastery back in October. This is the lightest of the Rochefort beers, yet still very drinkable. Unlike Westvleteren, Rochefort still brews a lower alcohol darker beer for their 6 as opposed to the Westvleteren Blond. I did get to try Westvleteren’s 6 once from before they discontinued it, and have to say, it was a very awesome beer. The Rochefort 6 is a good one to carry on that tradition still.
Day 4: Wednesday, December 3, 2014 – ASML 30 American Pale Ale brewed by Sint-Servattumus
December 3 was the night of my day job company’s 30th Anniversary charity concert, at which a special brew as part of the 30th anniversary recipe collection was being unveiled to help raise funds for the 30 For Change charity project to help improve lives of underprivileged children around the world. Tasting notes: “Fresh taste and an unusual scent, with a bitter aftertaste that is balanced by a sweet undertone.”
Day 5: Thursday, December 4, 2014 – Klosterhof Bernsteinweizen
Last week, over Thanksgiving, I had to go on a business trip down to Walldorf, Germany, near Heidelberg, to visit the headquarters of SAP. Erin came down too, and while there, we stopped at the local Rewe Center supermarket for some provisions. Naturally, these included a few bottles of local beer for us to take home. This included the bottle of Bernsteinweizen from the Brauerei zum Klosterhof in Heidelberg. This one was only so-so. A little watery, and the flavors not very pronounced.
Day 6: Friday, December 5, 2014 – Mönchshof Weihnachtsbier
Tonight is Sinterklaas here in the Netherlands, so I chose to go for the Mönchshof Weihnachtsbier that I picked up in Heidelberg last weekend. I think I was sold on this one by the label. This Christmas beer from Kulmbach in Bavaria is a winter lager, very much just a lager, with just a hint of spice on the nose and under the hops. But the label is cute!
Day 7: Saturday, December 6, 2014 – Gringel Bells 2014 by De Proefbrouwerij for café Grendelpoort.
Saturday was Christmas Market day, with the first visit planned for visiting the underground cave markets of Valkenburg in the Netherlands. A work of advice to anyone hoping to visit these markets on a Saturday morning…be sure you buy your tickets in advance! There were 20 busses on the list for arriving at the markets from across France, Germany, and Luxembourg, and it seems like they all arrived at once. Couple that with all of the local visitors, and the lines were horrendous for the main grottoes. The Wilhelmina Grotto with the nativity sand sculptures were not as crowded, and very impressive to visit. On the way back fr om there, I stumbled across café Grendelpoort, the local biercafe. Stopped in for some soup and a beer, which included the local Christmas beer, Gringel Bells. You just have to love that name!
I was pleasantly surprised by this beer, expecting it to be overly sweet and alcoholic for its 10%, but the flavors all blended together quite well in the glass.
Please stay tuned next week for the next group of beers of the calendar. I know I’m looking forward to a couple of them already!
