Pint Journal

🍺Holiday Ale

📍Resurgence Brewing Co. (Buffalo, NY)

🥈89/100

⚖️ Better late than never! Proudly extending the 24 New York State Beers of Holiday Cheer into March (oops!) 🤣 For beer #20 we’ve got Holiday Ale, an amber ale spiced with ginger, nutmeg and cinnamon along with vanilla and honey notes from Resurgence Brewing Co. This ale pours a mostly clear copper color and has a quickly receding off-white head. I love the aroma of nutmeg and ginger. The flavor is just as good, too! The nutmeg and cinnamon provide that holiday comfort feeling and the hint of ginger cools it down and rounds it all out wonderfully. It’s slightly sweet and not as malty as many ambers. The mouthfeel is light to medium, and quite smooth. I’d be very content to have this put in front of me any time.

🍺Candy Cane

📍Lunkenheimer Craft Brewing Co. (Weedsport, NY)

🥉77/100

⚖️The 15th beer in the New York State Beers of Holiday Cheer is Candy Cane, a Kölsch-style ale with natural peppermint flavoring, from Lunkenheimer Craft Brewing. Candy Cane pours a dark straw color that is just slightly hazy. This beer greets the drinker with an intense peppermint aroma, but don’t let it scare you away! The peppermint notes are approachable and toned down in the beer’s flavor. It’s a classic Kölsch-style base, sporting some sweetness and bready malt flavors, along with the added peppermint/candy cane. It’s a light-bodied beer that drinks smoothly and I could easily see a good bartender using this to make great beer cocktails that are perfect for the holiday season.

🍺Grass Wagon

📍Catskill Brewery (Livingston Manor, NY)

🥇94/100

⚖️We’re halfway through the New York State Beers of Holiday Cheer! Day 12 is Grass Wagon IPA from Catskill Brewery. This session IPA comes in at 4.9% ABV and pours a slightly hazy golden straw color. The aroma is quite strong and may elicit a “Wow!” when you crack the can. The scent is vibrant and pops with papaya and unripe melon. The name makes obvious sense upon tasting it, as I immediately pick up on a grassy flavor before it settles into papaya, honeydew, and lemongrass. It’s light-bodied with a slightly creamy and soft mouthfeel. Grass Wagon drinks incredibly smooth. This might have entered my “always have in the fridge list”.