Beer of the Month - December

The Beer of the Month for December is New Belgium Brewery's (NBB) 2 Below {6.6% abv}. As I started getting into last month, NBB has a great story of origin; a brewery started by a married professional couple living the American dream. An artistic neighbor handling all beer label art from 1991 to current. Even better, every employee of this Colorado based company becomes a part-owner after a years employment! Outstanding.

2 Below is one of NBB's great line-up of seasonal brews. It's taste is a result of dry-hopping during the fermentation process and using roasted malts. The flavor profile is in the neighborhood of a stout, but finishes much crisper and cleaner than you'd expect.

If you haven't already snagged a sixer, do so during this lovely holiday season. 3 stars of course. Stay safe during your New Years celebrations everyone.

Beer of the Month - November

The Beer of the Month for November is New Belgium Brewery's (NBB) Fat Tire {5.2% abv}. Looking back to this past July, I'd have to say trying out NBB's Trippel was the beginning of great future beer enjoyment. There was something outstanding about that beer that I couldn't put a finger on, but I did get a taste bud around the unusually clean finish, following bold flavor. Looking into NBB's history gives a great story; a 32 year old professional goes on a beer sabbatical of sorts in Belgium, riding from village to famous beer village, gathering inspiration and ingredients. He returned home to his self-made brewery kit and made two beers, one of which was Fat Tire, named as such due to the tires on his cruiser bike he rode through the countryside with. Fat Tire as a brew put NBB on the map and they went public with the company in 1991.

Fat Tire is an Amber ale with rich flavor and a hoppy soundtrack. Oh and news flash, it's outstanding with hard pretzels. This is a solid all rounder that can be drank in any situation or time of year. It's a great way to get introduced to what NBB is all about. 3 stars.

Beer of the Month - July

The beer of the month for July is Land Shark Lager. I got introduced to Land Shark by a co-worker of Beth's at a bbq a couple years back. Upon the first sip it was familiar, like I've known it for years...but apparently it was just launched in 2006 to promote Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville restaurant chain (ba-dum-tish). JB sung a song called 'Fins' that was the inspiration for the name. At first glance you'll think Corona (which I consider a 1 star brew) while looking at the bottle, but this is a better pale lager in my opinion; but who doesn't know Corona's overrated. Land Shark is light, easy and quite refreshing, yet not watery and vague in flavor like light beers, which makes it a great summer beer. This is why it takes the summer month of July. I instinctively picked it out for a recent boating trip and I couldn't have been happier as the sun was present in abundance. 3 stars.