The Day After The Day Before [Thanksgiving]

As pre-Thanksgiving aperitif with the all-vegetarian in-laws, I cracked a Mikkeller Beer Geek Brunch Weasel (Denmark, but brewed at Nøgne Ø, Grimstad, Norway) - A super brew, made with ca phe chon (the Vietnamese version of Kopi Luwak... you know... the coffee beans that are harvested from Civet poo.) This is the closest I got to animal protein all day. Nose of nuts, molasses, dry cocoa, cinnamon, and.... coffee cherries. On the entry, this is viscous and chewy, with good texture on the back end as well, but it morphs quickly into a lighter, cleaner body. Super smooth, with dominant coffee notes, of the spicier/fruitier variety, plus unsweetened chocolate and lots of minerally goodness... I think of a fine clay, like wet porcelain. Lovely bitters and very delicious, the 10.9% alcohol hidden beautifully, and dangerously.

We also opened a Nøgne Ø "Special Holiday Ale" which I didn't take much note on, but it was very different, lighter, and just as delicious. It's a brett fermented joint brew with Stone and Jolly Pumpkin. I have another bottle (and many others from the Ø, so more on that in the near future.)

Finally, we sampled a brew my BIL made (not quite homebrew, but done at some sort of DIY facility)... imagine a beer that is primarily gueuze, but with the aroma and colour of porter... that's what he's done. Imaginative and actually pretty tasty. I suggested we try making a sake yeast beer... he's game if I join him, so we're going to try to do it over the holidays. Stay tuned, my first foray into the dark arts.