He'brew Origin Pomegranate Ale

Courtesy Of Shmaltz Brewing Company

For the holidays I received an excellent addition to my beer collection, the Shmaltz Brewing Company's 2012 Holiday Gift Pack. It came with 8 excellent beers, which were supposed to be consumed during Hannukah. Unfortunately I was unable to do this. Instead I felt it would be necessary to at least try one on Christmas. The lucky brew was the Origin Pomegranate Ale, which was excellent. Being a big fan of pomegranate I was very excited to try this one and see how they worked this pomegranate flavor into this ale.

Shmaltz He'brew Origin Pomegranate Ale

I was unable to get my hands on a decent glass to pour this into so I had to drink straight from the bottle. While it wasn't the most ideal thing to do it made my life easier. It appeared to be a light amber and reddish color with decent carbonation. There was a sweet and somewhat potent scent from what I could smell emerging from the bottle. The flavor was nothing too overwhelming or exciting. There was a slight hop to the flavor initially which eventually turned into a nice and surprising pomegranate and tart flavor that went down very smoothly. It definitely did not taste as potent as it is at a whopping 8% ABV. It tasted more like a mild 4% or 5% ABV session beer.

As a whole this was a beer I certainly enjoyed and would get again, but not one that I would go out of my way to find. I feel that the ratings it has been given on various beer review sites do not do it justice though. I look forward to trying the rest of the box and will hopefully review a few.

I'm beginning to drink a lot like Christmas.

"It's just nice to meet another human
that shares my affinity for elf culture."

With Christmas quickly approaching, I've been getting into the holiday spirit. After finally convincing Mike to watch Elf with me, I decided I wanted an equally “Christmas-y” beer for the night. I chose Lakefront Brewery’s 2012 Holiday Spice Lager, mainly because I chickened out of trying it for National Lager Day and I decided it’s time to stop being a beer baby and try new things (the Christmas theme was just an added bonus).

Cheers, Buddy.

Right off the bat I was excited to try this beer. It’s deep amber in color and smells of spices and a touch of oranges. The smells alone made me feel like I should be sitting by a fire listening to Christmas music. The taste was no different. I could pick out flavors of nutmeg and cinnamon, as well as a slight sweetness. The taste lingers long after you’re done drinking,and I was left smiling with a warming sensation that could definitely be blamed on the 11.0% ABV. Regardless of the high alcohol content, the Holiday Spice Lager is extremely smooth and easy to drink. It wasn't overly carbonated, so it didn't make me feel too full. The beer had a very thin, off-white head that dissipated quickly and hardly any lacing which I’m also pretty confident can be blamed on the high alcohol content.

Ratebeer.com gave Holiday Spice Lager an overall rating of 91. I absolutely agree with this high rating. I would make it a point to buy this beer again on a cold night (assuming I don’t need to drive any where afterwards).

Merry ChristmaHannaKwanza and Happy New Year everyone!

Last minute holiday shopping? We've got you.

With less than a week to go until Christmas (and just under a day away from the end of the world), people are scrambling to find some last minute gifts. We here at Drink Like an Adult know this feeling all too well, so we're here to help you out. In the spirit of beer and giving, we present you with some unique gift ideas for your favorite beer-lover:

Handcrafted Glassware



This full set is available through Matthew Cumming's Etsy store



To truly appreciate a beer, you need to pour it into a glass. It becomes more aromatic, it improves the flavor, and it just looks nicer. Many people stick with standard pint glasses, but for the real beer aficionado, we'd suggest taking a look at these handcrafted beer glasses from Matthew Cummings. These glasses from his appropriately named store, PretentiousBeerGlass, are specially designed to enhance the drinking experience. Whether you're drinking a hoppy beer, a malty beer, or you suck at pouring a black and tan, he's got you covered. Be warned; however, as these glasses are not cheap. His coasters start at $8 and a full set of his special glasses will run you $180.

The Clink N Drink Bottle Opener

If that glassware is a little too much and you know your gift recipient would rather just drink out of the bottle, consider the Clink N Drink bottle opening system. It magnetically attaches to any surface allowing you to place a cool, customizable bottle opener on your fridge, workbench, or even your car. Best of all, below the bottle opener itself is a magnetic cap collector, allowing you to make a bit less of a mess along the way. At around $25 per Clink N Drink, these are affordable and definitely a nice addition to any beer drinker's collection.

 

 

Beer Brewing Kits & Supplies



Image courtesy of kegerator-review.com



Do you want to truly take some one's beer experience to the next level? Let them brew their own beer! Amazon.com sells a wide variety of beginner kits that provide you with the bare basics to make beer in your very own kitchen. If those are a little too basic for the brewer in your life, then checkout Northern Brewer Homebrew Supply or Midwest Supplies. Both of these reputable companies have been providing great service to homebrewers all over the world for many years and they'll be able to help you out too. They've got bottles, caps, carboys, fermenters, yeast, hops, malts, etc. - everything you'll need to make the beer and bottle it. While prices vary wildly, just be prepared for when the do-it-yourselfer turns into master craftsmen by next Christmas.

DIY 6-Pack Holders

Some people like to stay in with their beer and others like to take it with them. If you know somebody who loves to bring their beer out with them, take a stab at making your own 6-pack holders. They're infinitely customizable, super classy, and pretty damn useful too. If you've got the wood, metal, or plastic, make somebody a gift they'll never forget. Chris of The New Hobbyist provides instructions and templates for one such holder on his website and for the more technologically inclined, Thingiverse has CAD template files available for download to use with a laser cutter. If you use the cheapest Pine you have laying around or the fanciest Brazilian Rosewood you can get your hands on, you're guaranteed to make an unforgettable gift.

YETI Tarpon Beverage Entry Tool

With a name like the YETI Tarpon Beverage Entry Tool, you know you're in for a serious device. Forged from stainless steel, this monster of a drink opener will get you into any bottle or can life throws at you. It's less than $10 and ships within 1-3 days, so you know it will be there just in time for Christmas. This is my personal favorite on this list too!

Business and Beer

Surrounded by friends with the superb 12/12/12 concert playing in the background, I'm happy to say that the first meeting of the Drink Like an Adult contributors (well, most of us at least) was an enlightening and exciting experience. We talked strategy and writing and we drank beer - three things that don't often go hand-in-hand outside of Mad Men era business meetings, but what kind of beer blog would we be without all of that?

It took me a little while in the liquor store yesterday to select two beers to introduce to everybody else. I wanted to find something unique and interesting for everybody to enjoy, but nothing overly exotic. I picked up a four-pack of Bethlehem Brew Works's Rude Elf Reserve and a bomber of Brooklyn Brewery's Sorachi Ace for our tasting and I happened to find myself a bottle of Dogfish Head's 75 Minute IPA as well. Unfortunately, we didn't get around to tasting the Sorachi Ace and I plan on saving the 75 Minute IPA for another day, but the Rude Elf's Reserve and the S'muttonator I grabbed the other day made it out of the fridge. Today's review will focus on the Rude Elf's Reserve, a beer with a one-of-a-kind flavor from a brewery near and dear to me.
 

A sampler of six beers from Fegley's Brew Works



Fegley's Brew Works, located right on the corner of Main and Broad Streets in downtown Bethlehem, Pennsylvania is a brewery and restaurant that has served Lehigh Valley locals for just over a decade now. I met my girlfriend while studying just outside of the Bethlehem area and she, knowing the area as well as she does, treated me to my first beers as an of-age adult at the Brew Works. You could say that is is the birthplace of my love for craft beer. I'm thrilled that I now have the opportunity to review one of their brews after having enjoyed so many different beers they produce year-round at their restaurant.

Seasonal beers are funny in that creating them, brewers are essentially telling drinkers what the flavors of the season are. Spring beers are light and floral, summer beers are refreshing and hoppy, fall beers are darker and spiced (also, the beer industry is not unique in that they pumpkin spice everything too that time of year), and winter beers are often dark, spiced, and heavy. Fegley's Brew Works made a decision some time ago that they weren't about to make a typical winter beer when they set out to create Rude Elf's Reserve. This spiced and fruity beer is a welcomed sight in any liquor store compared to the dozens of typical winter beers available. With a 10.5% ABV, this beer packs enough alcohol to make even the biggest of us feel warm and jolly after a single bottle. It really does put the "strong" in Belgian Strong Dark Ale



One of the first things I noticed about Rude Elf's Reserve is its striking appearance in the glass. While I didn't consider it the most aesthetically pleasing with my initial cursory glance (I thought it looked sort of muddy), its color really stood out when I held it up to the light. There was a deep ruby color to the beer that seemed to fluctuate between red and brown as the finger-width head settled in. Although it wasn't particularly excting to look at, the white head sitting on the deep red body gave the appearance of Santa's red coat with its white trim - an all too fitting look for this Christmas-themed brew.

Fruity and spicy, the smell of this beer is different from anything I've ever smelled before. The first smells to hit your nose are cherries and berries - somewhat unfamiliar territory for a winter beer. Following the fruitiness, the more familiar wintry aroma of cinnamon and nutmeg roll in with a noticeable, but not overwhelming alcohol smell. The taste isn't very different from the aroma. You're immediately greeted with a spiced cherry flavor. The cinnamon and nutmeg roll around on the tongue with a clove flavor as well. Without any sort of bitter hop flavor, this beer actually tastes a bit more sweet; it makes for an excellent dessert drink. Rounding off the spices and fruit is a warmth provided by the alcohol that makes this beer almost seem like a wine.

As a holiday-themed beer, Rude Elf's Reserve does well in what it sets out to do - invoke the spirit of Christmas and the winter season by taking classic winter brewing spices and adding a fruity kick. It's innovation like what you get in this beer that I believe makes Fegley's Brew Works an up and coming force in the craft beer world. It's definitely not my favorite beer (read: I love a super bitter brew), but it's worth a try if you can find it.