365 different beers from 365 different breweries in 365 days with random musings on beer, food, music, sports, dogs and anything else interesting along the way
I'm shocked that I'm up to #360 today. I've said this before, but this year has flown by in a blur of beer bottles, cans and drafts. I realize I'm the one writing the posts and trust me I have double-checked my counting on more than one occasion. But, wow, where does time go? How is it #360 already? Final tallies are being compiled so I have tons of proof to mark the past year. But still. Seriously.
Tonight's beer made me nostalgic for my childhood. Yes, my childhood. Bear with me...this all makes sense in my head. I'm drinking a Luxury Double Chocolate Stout from Wells & Young. It is a milk stout brewed in England with a 5.2% ABV.
This one is right up there with Left Hand's milk stout. The Young's pours black as night with a full, cocoa color head. It smells of chocolate and lightly roasted malts. The flavor and carbonation combine to remind me of a fizzy chocolate soda. There are also notes of lightly roasted coffee in there along with a nice general nuttiness. It's sweet but not sugary and very easy to drink.
And you wonder how this relates to my childhood? My grandmother always had Faygo soda in the fridge. If you're familiar with this brand, you'll know they made the most ridiculous flavors of soda. My go to Faygo? The chocolate, of course.
Today was one of those days where everyone who I talked to had an emergency that needed to be solved yesterday. I won't bore you with the details, but let's just say not every emergency was solved, so I'm looking at more fun and games tomorrow. You know what would have helped? Air support. Someone laying down friendly fire so I could buy some time to seek cover. So I went ahead and called in the bombardier.
Not just any bomber, either. I called in THE Bombardier, as in Wells Bombardier, an English bitter from Wells & Young's Brewing Co. This has been a favorite beer of mine for some time, as Teresa's Next Door has carried this by the awesome 500ml bottle since the day they opened. This beer pours a reddish amber in the glass, and you get hit with a rich, malt aroma when you inhale. The taste has peppery notes, with malt and toffee sweetness, and some hop bitterness on the finish. A fantastic session beer, Bombardier is one of my go-to beers, and may find its way to a tailgate this fall when the weather starts to cool. For now? It finds a home in my Top 25. Not the most complex beer, but this isn't a contest to find the most unusual flavors crammed in a glass. Sometimes, the best beers keep it simple and delicious.
Bombs away!
Cool history behind this beer - Charles Wells was a sailor in the British Navy who fell in love, but found out his future father-in-law wouldn't let his daughter get married, as he wasn't happy that his future son-in-law was going to be at sea most of the time. So, Wells decided he'd get a steady, stable job: he bought a brewery. And with that, Charles Wells Family Brewery was born in 1876. More recently, Wells merged with another local brewery, Young's, to form the current entity. For history buffs, Young's may be an even cooler story, as their history dates back to 1550.
Thing to Think About Today:
So, today is February 29th, the extra day in a leap year. Leap year, you say? I had promised earlier in this post that I was calling in air support, so let's go ahead and see what happens when LaVar leaps over the line and the bomb gets dropped in from above:
