Where the hell did the Christmas break go?

I sure needed a break after working all month on my Xmas Advent Calendar series of beer reviews. We took off to the shack for some relaxation…one minute is was all family, friends, sun, sand, fun and festivities (with a few brews thrown in for good measure), and then it was finished. It all seems a distant memory as I prepare myself to head back to work!

I messed about with my drone and pulled together this video of our beach, in case anyone is interested.

Our Piece Of ParadiseLove this beach! Posted by Chris Lukianenko on Sunday, 3 January 2016

I hope you all had a great Christmas break, whether that be in the sun in my part of the world, or the snow for my Northern Hemisphere readers?

Whatever the weather, if you are a beer lover, I am sure you had a chance to sample some new brews and maybe some old favourites…either way, tell me about them, I would love to hear about it.

I’m currently working on another video for your viewing pleasure…just need to check my children’s schedules to see when they are available to film me! In the meantime, here are some of the beers that I enjoyed during my (very short) holiday break.

I got myself a carton of these fantastic little green cans, firstly to allow me to enjoy them in the sun during the long summer days at the shack (drink responsibly peeps), but also to allow me to produce my video review.

I won’t go over old ground here, watch the video instead, but it’s safe to say that this is my new “go-to” mid strength beer!

Checking in at a mainstream beer ABV, this beer is far from ordinary! This thing is packed with Mosaic, Citra and Galaxy hops and despite its light looking appearance, this beer packs in citrusy aromas and a nice bitter finish. I am still not quite sure about the XPA style definition, what exactly is this beer style trying to be, other than being an “in-betweener”. James Smith of The Crafty Pint, describes the style as sitting “in the much debated no man’s land between Pale Ale and IPA…I tend to agree with him.

Sometimes labels can get in the way of good beers…and this is a good beer, so my advice is, find it, buy it, drink it!

It’s no secret that I have a Beer-Crush in Sierra Nevada Pale ale, especially in their big boy cans. Tip one of these into a pint glass and you have the perfectly poured beer with just the right amount of head.

I purchased a carton of these a year and a half ago and found a stray on in the back of the fridge just before Xmas. It was well out of date but I thought, “what the hell” an gave it a whirl. To my surprise (and delight), the beer poured beautifully and was as delicious as ever! I contacted my friend who distributes this beer locally down here and told him the great news. I was rabbiting on about how much I love cans because the keep the beer longer, which I still believe, but on this occasion we agreed that it was probably the fact that the beer had been refrigerated for the entire time I had it which kept it fresh-ish.

Whatever it was, I ordered another carton from my mate and promised I wouldn’t misplace any cans form this lot!

I had a couple of 4-packs of this little ripper in the beer-cupboard that I took to the shack with me, and it didn’t disappoint. An English style Pale Ale that pours a golden orange colour and is hopped with Galaxy, Enigma, Cascade, but not over the top with bitterness (35 IBU). Look out for another of Will Tatchell’s (Head Brewer, Owner, Delivery Driver, Floor Scrubber and Admin Manager) beers in my next video review!

That’s my holiday wrap up of beers, how was yours?

I’m back on board with the blog and will return to Monday, Wednesday, Friday posts…so sign up for notifications, or feel free to shoot me an email, leave a comment, or you can share my posts and photos on facebook, twitter, or instagram!

Cheers to holiday beers!