New Planet Amber Ale.

We have just come home from an awesome show by Home Free. Their music is very enjoyable and they are all good entertainers. Now I settle down with beer #14 from my Beer Advent Calendar.

On this blog, it's important for me to go by this motto of sorts: "No beer is bad. Some is better than others." That being said, this particular beer is better than none.

Dark is the New Light

While in Fort Collins, Colorado, I looked up Fort Collins Brewery on the GPS. This was a high priority stop on our vacation. I have always liked this brewery. As I went in the doors I was anticipating seeing and tasting their great beers like Avalanche and Agave Wheat. But, alas, no such beers here. Turns out, those are from Breckenridge and my memory is failing. Good thing I've been writing this stuff down lately.

Nevertheless and not surprisingly, I did find a beer I was very happy with here. This barley wine with a light feel has a solid malt backbone but a fruity tart finish that makes it very drinkable.

Major Tom's American Wheat

When I pulled today’s choice from the Advent Beer Calendar I was at first skeptical. A wheat beer with pomegranate? Sounds a little too girly for me.

Recently in the news, German brewers are asking UNESCO to include the Reinheitsgebot in the “World Heritage List” which includes the significant artifacts of the cultures around the world like China’s Great Wall and Egypt’s pyramids. Reinheitsgebot is the 500 year old purity law limiting what can go into good beer – water, malt, hops, and yeast. My German heritage makes me inclined to believe that the Reinheitsgebot is right. If you make a good beer, you don’t have to put extra stuff in it like fruit and candy or nuts and seeds.

But I’m happily surprised to find I like this one from Fort Collins. The wheat flavor is there and the beer taste is bold. The pomegranate aroma and flavor stays politely in the background, adding something interesting without hiding what’s good about beer. I might try this one again.