Swung by the local grocery store at lunchtime yesterday for a precision strike, and what to my wondering eyes should appear but the Samuel Adams Winter Mix 12 pack, and on sale for a thrifty $9.99 to boot. Some very nice beers in this one (I’d link to the beers on the Sam Adams site, but it’s a dreadful Flash thing that I can’t figure out how to directly link to), with my personal favorites being the Winter Lager and the Cream Stout.
And then there’s the issue of the Cranberry “lambic”. It’s not a lambic, and it’s not very good at all. I’ve taken to cooking with it, finding it a decent braising liquid for mild porky sausages, or part of a brine for chicken or pork.
Adding the Sam Adams fest yesterday was the arrival on my doorstep of two of their fancy new beer glasses (pic above left, in case you were dozing). I received mine as part of a promotion by Sam Adams to founding subscribers of the Beer Advocate magazine. The glasses represent an attempt at Reidel-ing the beer drinking experience by applying some thought to glassware design. It’s definitely a nice glass, but I didn’t bother with any side-by-side comparisons last night, as I’ve been a bit stuffy due to seasonal allergies. Rest assured that I’ll take that task on soon enough.
