Evil Twin Brewing Christmas Eve at a New York City Hotel Room

I am not a big fan of how everything on November 1^st becomes Christmas themed. We go from the costumes, monsters and candy of Halloween, to holiday themed everything. On November 1^st it seems everything has a snowflake, a candy cane, a Christmas tree, or Santa on it. One of the reasons I don't enjoy this is that I love Thanksgiving. I don't even want to think about Christmas until I have a stomach full of turkey, gravy & stuffing and wake up from my food coma on Black Friday. But year after year Christmas season seems to come earlier and earlier. Right now, stores are filled with holiday themed decorations while Christmas songs play in the background. Streets are lined with Christmas lights and I just can't take it. I would try to wish all of it away until after Thanksgiving but that would mean winter beer would have to go with it and I just don't want that. For this review I decided to suppress my inner Grinch and take a look at the holiday offering from Evil Twin Brewing, Christmas Eve at a New York City Hotel Room Imperial Stout.

In retrospect I probably could have picked a beer with a shorter name for this review but I appreciate the originality of the name Christmas Eve at a New York City Hotel Room and that alone is why I picked this beer. Christmas Eve at a New York City Hotel Room pours a rich, deep black with a dark brown head. The aroma is not filled with any Christmas spices, instead it is filled with roasted malt, espresso, chocolate and coffee. The flavor is immediately roasty with the pleasant flavor of smoke. There are notes of coffee, caramel and chocolate but nothing that really shines outside of the roasted malt and the smoke. The finish has a light earthy hop bitterness, along with a hint of alcohol, reminding you it has a 10% ABV.

Christmas Eve at a NYC Hotel Room Imperial Stout is a good Imperial Stout but it is not a great one. I feel the flavor lacked the depth I wanted from an Imperial Stout, as well as mouthfeel. To me, this beer is a bit thin for what it is. A little more body and more malt complexity could have pushed this beer into great imperial stout territory. One thing I am a fan of is that Evil Twin did not add any cinnamon, nutmeg or ginger to this beer. It is just an imperial stout. So for someone like me, who is not ready for the Christmas season just yet, this is a perfect seasonal beer to start with.

Overall I rate Evil Twin Brewing Christmas Eve at a New York City Hotel Room a 3.5/5. While I wanted more depth in the flavor, sometimes simple works. Plus, the 10% ABV does a great job at silencing your inner Grinch.

Rating Scale:
1 - Repugnant and undrinkable
2 - Acceptable but forgettable
3 - Good, worth a purchase
4 - Excellent, a step above the norm
5 - Truly exceptional　

To discuss this blog or all things beer follow me on Twitter & Untappd at @ACraftyLook

For more beer reviews go to: http://acraftylook.blogspot.com/

Thanks for reading. Sláinte!

Magic Hat Snow Roller

The first time I tried a beer from the Magic Hat Brewing Company, I thought I was drinking something that stood out from the typical craft beer selection in my area. Their flagship beer, #9 became a sessionable favorite of mine during my senior year of college. During that time I also found the Hocus Pocus pale wheat ale, among others to be interesting. My personal favorite, the long retired Roxy Rolles red ale helped establish my love of hops balanced by a wonderful malt profile. But at some point, my palate seemed to shift and I began to find most of their beer to be bland & forgettable. The unique styles of beer that I enjoyed so much seemed to be made better by other breweries. For this review I decided to keep an open mind and revisit Magic Hat by taking a look at their latest winter offering Snow Roller.

Magic Hat Snow Roller according to the bottle is a hoppy brown ale. It pours a reddish brown with an off white head. Nothing really stands out in the aroma, it is nutty with caramel malt, chocolate and light earthy hops. Upon tasting the caramel, chocolate malt flavors flood the palate before finishing with an unpleasant earthy, pine bitterness. Now I may have singled out the finish as being unpleasant but frankly the entire experience of drinking this beer is unpleasant. The malt flavor is boring and understated. I feel like Snow Roller would have worked significantly better if the malt was more pronounced. Instead the hops are showcased and their bitterness with no balance from the malt makes this practically undrinkable. In fact, a third of the way into this beer I began to wonder if I should finish it or put it down the drain.

All and all, drinking Magic Hat Snow Roller was a huge disappointment. To me, the idea of a hoppy brown ale brings the promise of bold flavors and a balance between the hops and malt. There are no bold flavors here, just a lingering hop bitterness that makes me want to brush my teeth as soon as possible rather than take another sip of this horribly disappointing beer.

Overall I give Magic Hat Snow Roller a 0.5/5. I really want to say something clever here, but I really just want to finish this review and move on as soon as possible.



Rating Scale:
1 - Repugnant and undrinkable
2 - Acceptable but forgettable
3 - Good, worth a purchase
4 - Excellent, a step above the norm
5 - Truly exceptional　

To discuss this blog or all things beer follow me on Twitter & Untappd at @ACraftyLook

For more beer reviews go to: http://acraftylook.blogspot.com/

Thanks for reading. Sláinte!