Let the Awards Begin!

Day #369 The Angel's Share / The Lost Abbey, San Marcos, CA
Previously from this brewery: Avant Garde Ale

I promised some awards, and I'm starting out with one of the landslide winners - but not in a good way.  First award for the 366 challenge is: Worst Label Art.

Really, from the minute I spotted this beer, it was only a question of who was going to finish in second place.  There are no other nominees in this category, in fact.  As craft beer continues to explode in popularity, branding is becoming an increasingly important aspect.  If you think about it, as shelves get more crowded with different beers and breweries, what a beer looks like is certainly going to be important to catch a buyer's eye.  I freely admit I buy wine primarily based on the label, so I'm sure people do this with beer.

With this in mind..... (drum roll please)... the title of Worst Label Art goes to: Laverstoke Park Farm. Their creepy, cartoon, drawn by a drunken seven year old label is without a doubt the worst thing I saw all year.  Shame, too, as I thought the beer was decent.  Note to craft brewers: if you drew your beer label in MS Paint, you did something tragically wrong.

Soooo not good.

With our first award taken care of, let's move on to tonight's beer, the Angel's Share from The Lost Abbey.  I had this one on draft at TJ's now mildly famous 9th anniversary party.  This of course means I was standing most of the day and gabbing with friends, so there's a reason why my notes consisted entirely of: "Chocolate, bourbon warmth, plum, fig, leather, delicious, spice, must have more."  I love bourbon, so anything aged in bourbon barrels is probably going to be right up my alley.  Despite my lack of notes, please just understand that if you see something from The Lost Abbey, just go ahead and buy it because I guarantee it's going to be good.

Couldn't find a table to put this on for a picture.

The name of this beer comes from the bourbon distilling process.  You see, the bourbon that evaporates in the barrel as the spirit ages is called "the angel's share."  Mmmm... bourbon.

Thing to Think About Today:
In the spirit of all things angelic, we're wrapping up Friday night with some Juice Newton and the always great tailgate song, Angel of the Morning.  What, you don't play Juice Newton at your tailgate?  Well....that means you're doing it wrong.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNYF8MPCVmA