Advent Beer 14: Kubelbier

My second vollbier experience in this calendar, and like some of the others, is also unfiltered, giving it a cloudy, reddish blonde appearance, with not much head to speak of. Aromatic with a bit of a caustic aftertaste, but not unpleasantly so. A good session beer, I would think, since it is flavourful without being very sweet at all.

The tag line on the back of the bottle reads "heldenhafte rettung aus der tiefe!", which Google informs me might mean 'heroic rescue from the deep!' I don't claim to understand it, but at least I know the standing this variety of beer might hold in its homeland.

 

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Advent Beer 13: Donder & Bliksem

As the picture amply illustrates, Brouwerij de Molen from Holland don't bring a whole lot to the label party, but they more than make up for it with what's inside the bottle.

 

Donder & Bliksem (Thunder & Lightning) is listed on a couple of sites as a Bohemian Pilsner (consistent with the backstory of their other beer in the calendar, Nood & Deugd), but I am at a bit of a loss as to how to characterize it, other than being a simple but very well executed beer.

A tangy bitterness that is complemented by the slight sweetness of the higher alcohol content (6.2% abv), it is a smooth, strong brew. Between this and Nood & Deugd, I am pretty much committed to sampling anything else from de Molen that happens to cross my path.

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Advent Beer 12: Birrificio Del Ducato's Golden Ale

True to its name, this Italian beer pours a pleasant, hazy gold, with a generous head. It has a strong presence of hops that put it firmly on the border with IPAs (Italian Pale Ale?), but I didn't find it quite as crisp or refreshing as yesterday's Hopfest. Still, a very tasty brew, in a style that is growing on me very quickly...

I'm not at all sure what they are getting at in the copy on the back of the bottle, since my pidgin Italian is even sketchier than my Germanic version, but this Golden Ale probably has the best looking label of the calendar so far.

 

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Advent Beer 11: Ugly Duck Hopfest IPA (+ Dave's DIY!)

After the oversweet offerings of the last couple days, this brisk India Pale Ale from Denmark was just the palate cleanser the doctor order: crisp, citrusy, tons of hop flavour without so much bitterness that you want to die. A great example of a proper IPA, unlike the Canadian east coast offering so rudely mislabeled.

Also, we can now look at the next five of Dave's hand crafted and artisanally wrapped beer advent calendar:

I'm still largely keeping up to this point, having sampled three of these: the two from Sherbrooke's Beer gods series, and Pumphouse Cadian Cream Ale. I fully expect to try Darn Tartan, a scotch ale which I think was formerly known as Kilt Twister, until it turned out someone else was already using that name for a beer.

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Advent Beer 10: Kirsch Porter

Management of expectations is important; just as you would want to approach an unfamiliar style of beer with an open mind, you should prepare yourself for the possibility that one of your favourites might fall short of where you anticipated. Such is the case with the Kirsch Porter I tried tonight.

Kirsch is a type of cherry liqueur, while a porter is one of my favourite dark ale types. I am also fond of flavoured porters, like Phillip's Chocolate Porter or the seasonal Cherry Porter put out by Wildrose. The Kirsch Porter was just too sweet, even for me. Similar to last night's S'honig, it tastes more like a beer cocktail than a beer proper, and obviously I am not saying that as a purist.

My pidgin German parses the label's tag line of "das fruchtige schwarze" as 'the black fruit', but in this case 'beer candy' might be more appropriate. This is not to say it is wholly unpleasant, but as a dessert beer, I I would be far more inclined to drink Alley Kat's Neapolitan ice cream stout.

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Advent Beer 9: Frastanzer S'honig

Of all the beers in the advent calendar this far, this Austrian brew is the first one I wouldn't have a second bottle of if given the chance, and not because I didn't like it. Other beers may require some sort of prequisite (like a very hot day) or an accompaniment (a warm, German-style pretzel), but the two best ways to enjoy S'honig in my estimation is either as dessert or breakfast.

 

I was pondering the golden haziness of the beer after pouring; the label gave no indication of it being a wheat beer or Hefeweizen, even though there was a slight citrus or floral affect to the aroma. The bee on the label tipped me off: it was a honey beer. The word 'honig' would also be a dead giveaway if you spoke the language, or were even halfway intuitive, I suppose.

I am a big fan of Tin Whistle's Killer Bee dark honey ale, but where that one is rich and a little sweet, this S'honig is sweet and a little rich. In one of those rare situations that mandates a beer before the sun crosses the yardarm (out at the cabin, Gaming & Guiness, end of an all-nightwear, etc) this beer joins a select few that includes Edmonton's own Sap Vampire Maple Lager (from Amber's Brewing) and Rogue Brewing's Voodoo Donut Maple Bacon Ale. (Yes, seriously. Don't judge me!)

S'honig tastes almost more like a beer cocktail than a beer proper, which is no bad thing if that's your fancy. It sits somewhere between a sweet ale and a mead, with gentle carbonation, complex aromas, and a daunting array of flavours. Definitely not for everyone!

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Advent Beer 8: Hubertus Festbock (+ Wings of War!)

A bock is a strong, seasonal lager from Germany or Austria, often associated with special occasions and religious festivals, and is the kind of beer that monks would sometimes sustain themselves with while fasting. There are a number of varieties, including eisbocks, doppelbocks and festbocks.

At 7.5% abv, if you are looking for a beer to party with, you may be on the right track with this Hubertus Festbock from Austria, but don't blame me if you don't like where that train ends up. This is a very smooth beer,with very little bitterness, but no cloying sweetness due to the higher alcohol content either. The aroma is very lager-like, but the flavour and mouthfeel more like an ale.

The Holsten Festbock has been in my batting order in recent months, but I couldn't tell you if it is a better or worse example of the style than Hubertus; if I come across the latter outside of the advent calendar, I may have to run some sort of Pepsi challenge...

Best of all, Mike T. also has the advent calendar, so he brought his over so we could share a Day 8 toast before imbibing. He also brought the WWII board game Wings of War, which he has been trying to get played for almost a year.

Combining elements of board, card and miniatures games, Wings of War made a fantastic diversion while we waited for the Festbocks to chill. My Messerschmitt 109 and Japanese Reisen (better known to most of us as a Zero), faced off against Mike's Grumman Wildcat and Supermarine Spitfire, which just happens to be his favourite warplane.

 

The placement of cards on the table in relation to your aircraft's base determine your position and firing arc, and cups of counters allocate the damage. In the basic version we played, the special effects like sticking rudders, smoke and flames or injured pilots, were left out, with the sole exception of the explosion counter (pictured above), which took Mike's beloved Spitfire out early on. He dispatched my Messerschmitt shortly after, but was unable to out-turn my Zero, so my damaged craft was able to eke out a victory, despite almost colliding with him at one point.

Like Robo Rally, you plot your moves ahead of time, and it can be possible to 'zig when you should have zagged' to an end that is either tragic or comic depending on your perspective at the moment.

I'm not sure if the advanced rules, which comprehensively covers not only damage effects but also altitude, ground attacks and a campaign system, will have the elegance and flow of the basic version, but I am certainly willing to try it to find out.

Every beer tastes better with friends, and I am grateful that Mike was able to come over during a season which can get ridiculously busy, and share a neat beer and even neater game!

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