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Brewelist Advent Calendar Day 24: Ellicottville Brewing Co.’s Lloyds Christmas Ale

Lloyd’s Christmas Ale – Festively brewed ale with fresh ginger and fig.

Where to find it: They distribute locally near the brewery and to select locations in New York and Pennsylvania. You can find their distribution map here: http://www.ellicottvillebrewing.com/find-us/find-our-breweries-retailers-and-distributors/

ABV: 8%

Style: Belgian Brown Ale

Availability: seasonally in the winter

Taste/Smell: Smell- this had a very light and airy smell with a hint of ginger. Not a lot of extra flavor going on here. You can get some of the fig, just because it’s a unique flavor that isn’t normally in beer. The ginger was there, but just as a slight “bite” on your tongue.

Rating (out of 10): 7 out of 10 but this is the first year they’ve released it, so expect some tweaking of the recipe in the years to come.

Lloyds Christmas Ale

Brian Beer God: Please follow me on Facebook and on my website to see more great pictures and read more reviews on your favorite brews.

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Brewelist Advent Calendar Day 9: Super Motherload

I remember playing the free flash version of Super Motherload while in high school on my PC, digging away, trying to find the mystery of Mars in this alternate reality where the Cold War is still happening. When I reached the planet’s core, I found out the true secrets of Mars. When I got a PS4 I was super excited to play this game again, with added features to the story, including more upgrades for your digger, different characters to play as, and even a local multiplayer mode.

I grapped my PS4 controller and the game was as fun as I remembered, and super easy to pick up and play for short periods of time when I just wanted to relax for a bit. The PS4 version, and the new PC version I assume, is much more in depth then the original free-to-play game and I still haven’t reached Mars core to see how the story plays out since there are now multiple endings. So I implore you, go out and try Super Motherload, get in a digger, upgrade your machine, collect gems, and ‘Get your Ass to Mars’.

Publisher: XGen Studios

Genre: Digging Adventure, RPG, Casual, Arcade, Puzzle

Website: http://supermotherload.com/

Where to get it: Playstation Store for PS4 or PS3, or Steam for PC

Price: $14.99

Platform: PS3, PS4, PC

Rating (out of 10): 8

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Brewelist Advent Calendar Day 8: Troegs Independent Brewing Mad Elf Ale

Where to find it: They distribute in the following states: CT, DC, DE, MA, MD, NC , NJ, NY, OH, PA and VA. Locally Wegmans usually carries this.

ABV: 11%

Style: Belgian Strong Dark Ale

Availability: seasonally in the winter

Taste/Smell: Belgian yeast smell (it’s a very specific smell). Also hints of cherry/sweetness. Taste is a punch on the tongue of flavor. Lots of Belgian candied malts, a hint of honey and a good amount of cherry flavor (but this isn’t sweet by any means)

Pairing: Be sure to pair this brew with Viscera Cleanup Detail: Santa’s Rampage. Find it HERE.

Rating (out of 10): 10 out of 10 but be warned – it is 11% so only take this out if your family is getting hard to deal with this holiday season!

Troegs Mad Elf Ale

Brian Beer God: Please follow me on Facebook and on my website to see more great pictures and read more reviews on your favorite brews.

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The 5 Beers I Will Never Stop Loving (Or Drinking)

Once upon a time I was able to keep up with all of the new craft beers being released. Those days are long gone now – partly because I no longer earn my living talking about beer online and partly because there are just too many new beers coming out to make that a feasible goal.

I am a very big fan of trying new things, so I don’t mind. In fact, I very much appreciate having the option to order something I’ve never had before almost every time I go out.

At the same time, having so many options, in so many places, so regularly, has made me realize which of my old standbys really have staying power. The list of beers that I keep coming back to time after time, year after year, is relatively short but each beer on it has passed the tests of time and fierce competition with flying colors. While it’s weird to think of the idea of “classic craft beers” – I suspect that it may someday be a thing. In the meantime, I will share my list of abiding favorites. Here they are:

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5. Victory Prima Pils
Out of the five beers on this list, Prima Pils is the one I seek out least often – but whenever it’s there, I’m always glad to see it. A classic thirst-quencher easy-drinker, it was my first favorite pilsner and that will never change.

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4. Stone Arrogant Bastard Ale
You’d think that a beer originally released in 1997 might have lost its edginess by now but that’s certainly not the case. There’s fruit, pine, bitterness, bite – and best of all, balance. It’s the beer that taught me what a sipping beer is and it’ll always have a place in my heart – as well as my fridge.

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3. Unibroue La Fin Du Monde
This beer makes you wonder if the Canadians couldn’t teach the Belgians a thing or two about brewing. The first time I had it was in Montreal, upon the recommendation of a friend (thanks again, Deron) and I haven’t stopped loving it since. I try to pay it forward by recommending it to anyone just getting into beer and I still buy it regularly for myself. I consider the fact that it is now available at Wegmans a blessing, as it is my all-time favorite blend of yeasty, fruity, spicy, and boozy.

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2. Founders Porter

A classic example of the style, this beer is everything you could want in a porter and it’s not at all pretentious about it. Dark, velvety, and dominated by the chocolate and caramel malt flavors, this is the beer that made me fall in love with porters and I will always be grateful.

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1. Great Lakes Christmas Ale

This post was actually inspired by Great Lakes Christmas Ale, which was released today. At this point, it’s a holiday season tradition for me – and one of my favorites at that. It’s spiced, it’s sweet, and it’s oh so nice. Maybe the fact that I can’t have it all year round makes me appreciate it even more when I can? Either way, I can’t wait to get my hands on some ASAP.

This post was submitted by the lovely Elizabeth Chatterton. Make sure you follow her other fascinating articles on her blog, Words of Chatter.

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