Day 8, a day late

Yeah, I know I missed a day -- I've got a great excuse -- worked 12 hours, came home and hosted a dinner party. There will probably be some more days where this happens. I work some nights in addition to long days and holiday stuff going on. But we will do 31 beers in December even if takes me till January.
So, I blew off blogging but I did not shirk on my beer drinking.
I even forced my dinner guests to give their opinions on this next brew. (And if you think my opinions are vague and inane, wait till you hear theirs.)

Okay. Everybody's got pumpkin in their Fall seasonal beers and I like a lot of them -- particularly Dogfish Head Punkin. But hey, pumpkins aren't the only Autumn vegetable. How come nobody makes a parsnip beer -- or rutubaga? I don't know, but somebody is stepping up and trying something different. I am referring to the Bruery Autumn Maple. (from their website) Brewed with 17 lbs. of yams per barrel (in other words, a lot of yams!), this autumn seasonal is a different take on the “pumpkin” beer style. Brewed with cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, vanilla, molasses, and maple syrup, and fermented with our traditional Belgian yeast strain, this bold and spicy beer is perfect on a cold autumn evening.
(Note to Anonymous: Purchased this ale at the Charleston Beer Exchange for eleven bucks.)

As I said, I was hoping to get a panel discussion going on this beer, but I did not choose my dinner guests on the basis of their discerning tastes in hops and malt. One guest is 7 months pregnant with my grandson so I didn't let her have more than a sip. One evidently can't tell beer from soy sauce, because every beer I give her to smell she says smells like Kikkoman. She's either a hopeless alcoholic who pours alcoholic beverages all over her Chinese food or the Olfactory Fairy who is supposed to favor females somehow passed her by. And the other one thinks that Michelob Ultra is something one should voluntarily put in one's mouth.

So here are some of their comments on the taste and smells --
"Sweet, citrusy."
"Soy sauce." (see?)
"Sour Sunny-D"
"Rotten bread."
"Grass clippings mixed with teriyaki sauce."

Unfortunately I was so busy writing down these words of wisdom I did not have time to record my own thoughts. I remember being impressed by the big frothy head. I remember thinking that sweet potatoes in beer taste a lot like pumpkins. And I remember picking out my old friend cinnamon, something my lazy-ass taste buds are evidently very sensitive to. And I remember feeling and enjoying the sensation of a cold beer somehow magically making you warmer inside.