Season Of Inspiration, the Rogue's notes.

"Whether spending Christmas in the snow or on the beach, the most important aspect is celebrating in a way that brings joy and meaning to you and your loved ones." - Souf Tihhi

Sunrise break on 62nd Street. The OC, 12/19/2023

     Fell a hair behind on posts towards year end. Call it lack of incentive. Lack of inspiration. All brought on by lack of surf time. However, it's Christmas. The season of inspiration. Inspiration everywhere. 'Specially on the shore. Nuthin' beats the Christmas season to inspire a better self into the New Year.  As a side note... hard to beat an early AM surf check to inspire a better day. Enough deviation. The weather has turned. Nights becoming clogged with the chill of winter. Had to carefully time putting up the outside lights this year to avoid either a freezing, or a soaking. Took a couple days, spaced out. When done, always worth the effort. The Pines and the OC already had their holiday luster goin'. Lights. An essence of this time of year that is always memorable for me. Father putting up our lights. Grandfather taking us on an early version of a light tour. Yeah, definitely a favorite part of the season.

Inlet lot.

Entrance to town.

Pier rides. 

Detroit's Griffin Claw Brewing

presented Three Scrooges Winter

Ale. 5% ABV. 18 IBUs. Dark red

pour with aromas of nutmeg, cloves

and oranges. Taste had notes of 

cinnamon and nutmeg, anise, caramel, 

and ginger dancin' with the orange. 

Decent, but not a very warming beer. 

Rated a C+/B-.

Pines Southgate.

White Horse Park, Ocean Pines.

 

Surfin' Santa!

Ringing in the season was

Michigan's star Founders 

Brewing with The Cranfather.

 Cranberry Old Fashioned style

Bourbon Barrel Ale. 11.1% ABV.

Approx 30 IBUs. Deep mahogany 

pour. Cloudy to the point of being

opaque. Stone fruit, citrus, cran-

berry, and bourbon scents. Flavors

of orange, cherry, dates, and fig.

And of course, bourbon. Play on

tart and sweet. Perfect holiday

offering. Gave it an A rating.

   Music. also a big part of the season. Granddaughter's first concert. A child's version of Christmas provides inspiration to everyone in earshot.  

Center of attention.

     Annual trip to Chicago. Our Lake Geneva, Wisconsin connection pulled up stakes and moved south. Gulf Coast Florida. Story/post for another time. So our first stop was Northville and the subs of Detroit for a few. Then on to Oswego and the southwest subs of Chicago. Mild holidays. No snow during travel. Less stress. Joyous. Family. All about family. All in the Family. Inspiration to heal. Inspiration to celebrate. Stoked! 

Left Hand Brewing outta

Colorado. Not much

more festive than Candy

Cane beer. Make it a nitro.

For a foam topper. Very

creamy. Defined by the

 peppermint. Little coffee.

Some chocolate. 9.5% 

warming effect. Nice

hopped finish at an est.

30 IBUs. Solid B rating.

Northville, MI base station.

More Colorado brewed.

Breckenridge Brewing's

Holidale. Whiskey Barrel Ale.

10.7% ABV. 22 IBU. Sweet,

earthy aromas. Flavors of

nutmeg and cinnamon. Oakey.

Boozy. Rich. Dark brown

pour with a finger brown

head. Everything expected

in a Christmas brew. Gave it

a B+/A- rating.

Guarding the loot (or waiting for more?).

For Kings Not Gods.
Resist Spirits, Kentucky.
57.35% ABV. 114.7 Prf.
Bitters. Luxardo cherries.
A genuine holiday Old
Fashioned. AAA Rate!

North Peak Brewing, pride

of Travers City, MI. Blitzen

Festivus Ale in honor of the

Michigan Wood Elf. Dark

amber pour with a thin tan

head. Malt and rye make up

the toffee and spice aromas

and flavor. A bit more rye

than winter spice. 6.8ABV.

55 IBUs. Rated a B/B-.

Hopvine Brewing - perfect holiday watering hole.

Hopvine Cuban Rolls

KrumpasBock. Odd Side

Ales. A Bock Lager of

German heritage. Poured

an off-brown with a thin, 

fast dissipating head. Notes

of malt and caramel in the

smell. Tasted of toasted malt,

nutmeg, and more caramel.

At 7.2%, could actually

bring out Krampus. Rated

a solid B. 

First whiff gives aromas of malts,

pecans, and piney hops. Boulevard

Brewing's Nutcracker. A cryptic

Winter Warmer at 7.8% ABV. Flavors

of roasted nuts, caramel, spice, and

lightly sweetened cherries. Citrus

notes on the back end. Only 38 IBUs

considering the overly strong bittered

finish. Amber-brown, hazy body

with a finger plus, dense beige head.

Fair cheer for the holidays.

Rated a B-/C+.

Midwest tradition. Oswego, IL 12/25/2023.

An IPA befitting of the the 

Fest I Val! War Pigs Brewing

produced Blinding Light Show.

A tropical celebration of light. 

Perfect for the Season of Lights.

Smelled of oranges, lemon,

melon, and pine. Tasted of pine-

apples, mangos, and more

resinous pine. Balancing malt

backbone similar to a wit beer.

Clean, crisp finish. 67IBUs.

Dangerous at 7.8%. Rated

a joyous A.

Family and giving= always stoked.

Jolly Pumpkin's Noel. Oak Aged
Wild Ale. Dark mahogany pour.
Thin white head. Stone fruit, cranberries
cloves, and nutmeg, swirled in the flavor.
Tart. Bitter. Aromas were of cherries,
grapes, and oranges tempered with oak.
9% made it a sipper. 22 IBUS provided
a bitter, dry finish. 'Lil inspiration on a cold
Christmas holiday night. Deserving
 of an A rating.

"Cheer up, dude. It's Christmas!" -The Grinch

Full Plate, the Rogue's notes

"Time to eat too much, and engage in heated political arguments with my relatives." - SDC
Road to abundance; Beauchamp, 11/2023.

      Thanksgiving. The spirit of the full plate. Dinner with family. Abundance on every table. Dinner in Smyrna with Family- Brothers, In-Laws, Niece, Nephews, Wife, Kids, Granddaugters (all three of 'em!), pooches. Tons of food. Plenty of drink. Tree lighting and ice sculptures in Berlin. Winterfest in the OC. Pretty busy long weekend. Only minor sin - skipped the Ocean. For family you can do that. Always comes first. It's the season that emphasizes it. Face it. Family fuels the Stoke.

Old Jubilation. Avery

Brewing's Strong Ale.

Pretty sure the 8.3%ABV

helps with that. Poured a

deep reddish mahogany. 

Dense, tan head. Smelled

of burnt toast, raisins, and

 toffee. Flavors blended

roasted malts, sweet brown

sugar, and chocolate

covered caramel. Warmer

without being boozy. Slight

45 IBU hopped bite in the

finish. Good pick for the

holidays. Rated a B+.

Hotel Atlantic - the anchor and master over the town Christmas Tree lighting.
Main Street- Berlin, MD 11/24/2023.

     Gettin' to be an annual tradition. Ice Ice Berlin and the Christmas Tree Lighting ceremonies. Small town pomp & circumstance. Family loved it. Decorations. Santa. The Grinch. Ice Sculptures. Sip and Shop...yeah, sippin on a beer, or a cocktail while Christmas shoppin'. Nuthin' loosens up them purse strings quicker. Literally everything and everyone all lit up. Kinda. Wasn't all that loose. But... definitely fun.

The Pin! Ohhhh Nooooooo!

Dinner and a trip up North later... the OC's Winterfest of Lights. Now THIS is an annual tradition. Mexican. Daughter and Granddaughter love the food. Definitely needed to walk it off. Northside Park provided the best of both worlds. A tram for those who wanted the fast track. Walking paths for those who ate Mexican. Scoped out the tons of light displays. Fair night in the lower 40s with light winds. Walk fast. That was the key. Great weekend closer.

Had to fit this one in. Troeg's

Mad Elf Grand Cru. Seasonal

special closer (yes Virginia,

you can have two closers). An

interesting red tint to the finger+,

fizzy head. Clear, ruby pour.

Lots of cherries and dark choco-

late in the aromas. Anticipated

more of the same in the taste.

Man! Are those cherries tart!

Malted chocolate. Hint of spice

and molasses in the finish. The

15 IBUs are misleading. Or maybe

the tartness added to the bitter-

ness. 11% ABV meant don't drink

 the entire 4-pack in one sitting. 

A dangerous cousin to Mad Elf.

Not bad. Rated a B/B-.

No slowing her down!

      Session's end. It can get pretty hectic around our family during the holidays. Well, anytime we all get together. Laughing. Yelling. Joking. Whining. Ball bustin'. Talking over. Pushing over. But, it's all in love. Loaded with Stoke. Abundance in blessings. A full plate.

"Where do you think you're going? Nobody's leaving. 

Nobody's walking out on this fun, old-fashioned family Christmas.

No, no. We're all in this together. This is a full-blown, 

four-alarm holiday emergency here!" 

-Clark Griswold