Christmas in March?

Beer #107 Jenlain Ambrée / Brasserie Duyck, Jenlain, France

A windy day here in the suburbs meant I had to track my trash can down from four houses away.  In the process, I noticed my neighbor had her Christmas tree lit at 6:30pm.  On March 26, mind you.  For those unfamiliar, this isn't an unusual circumstance - she more or less keeps the tree up all year, and frequently turns the multi-colored lights on throughout the year.

It drives me insane, but I'm working on that.

I guess in my simple mind, the fake pine tree with plug-in lights is specific to a certain holiday, which comes at a certain time every year.  There is an acceptable period to erect and light your tree, and there's an acceptable period for you to keep the tree up before taking down all of your decorations and storing them for another eleven months or so.  Does this woman not understand that social convention?  Is she some form of Christmas anarchist?  Or maybe she's just an old lady who likes Christmas, and I should just mind my own business.

My goal for the year is to stop letting nonsense like this bother me.  Whether or not a little old lady in my neighborhood loves Christmas to an unusual degree really doesn't impact my life, and certainly there's little I can do to change her behavior.  So, while I'm trying to let all of this just slide by, I admit some days it makes me want to call in the Delta Force and cut the power to her house.

Perhaps a beer will mellow me out, so tonight we're both sampling the Jenlain Ambrée, a farmhouse ale from Brasserie Duyck in France.  The brewery dates back to 1922 or so, and originally sold their product in recycled champagne bottles.  Out of a 750ml bottle, this ale pours a hazy dark copper with little head.  The beer gives off aromas of apple, honey, and tea and has flavors of malt, apple, caramel, subdued hops, and brewed tea.  There's a sweetness to this beer, although it has a dry finish.  Very enjoyable, and I can see myself drinking one of these in the warmer months.  You know, with my Christmas tree lit and stockings hung off my patio furniture.  Or... perhaps not....

Bling, bling!

Thing to Think About Today:
Clearly, leaving your Christmas tree up year-round is overkill.  So, with that in mind, let's all take time to think about Overkill, this one courtesy of Men At Work frontman Colin Hay.  Just a fantastic song by any measure.

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

"I can't get to sleep, I think about the implications"

Beer 107: Jenlain or Sounds of Silence

One of the unexpected outcomes of getting rid of cable is the inability to put the television on for background noise.  I never enjoyed being in a quiet space before -- something about it set me on edge.  I’d listen for the most minute noises and become convinced of imminent disaster.  Having the television babbling on in the room rid me of those fears.

And then I rid myself of cable and learned to appreciate a quiet room.  I could hear myself think -- granted I didn’t always like the thoughts rattling around in there.  But there I was, left to my own devices, thinking -- mulling things over, if you will -- and it wasn’t as scary as I originally suspected.  I feel calmer and more focused.  And the silence has spilled over into other areas -- my commute home, for example.

I’ve had several mind-bendingly frenetic weeks at work and it’s not going to let up until at least mid-May.  Today on the drive home, the radio was turned off and the window was opened up a bit.  The sound of the road under my tires and the wind rushing past was therapeutic.  I think I’ll make it after all now that my head’s clear.

***

Speaking of clearing things out, we’ve had some beer hanging around the fridge for a while.  Tonight’s beer is a great example.  It showed up weeks and weeks ago and has moved around the fridge like a vagrant in a public park.  I don’t know what I was waiting for but now’s the time to make my move.

Jenlain comes to us from France -- Brasserie Duyck to be exact.  It is a biere de garde.  The color is copper with a thin off-white head.  It has a bright fruit nose.  The tasted was malt sweetness and nice hop finish.  There was a touch of honey to the flavor and the alcohol was very discernible (7.5% ABV, which isn’t crazy at all but this one has pronounced alcohol presence).  If I had a top 50, it would make the list.  Cheers!