Bring on the fall and winter seasonals

While it may have been sunny and 70 in Portland last week (freakish!), some of my favorite seasonal beers are available again despite the unseasonably warm weather.

I found Bridgeport Brewing’s Ebenezer on sale for $6.99, so of course I had to buy some. Bad news: this isn’t a great Ebenezer year. The brew has an every-other-year success rate as far as I can tell, and this year the beer has a strangely bitter tangy finish that wasn’t there last year. I’ve tried it with sweet foods, savory foods, cheese, you name it – nothing clears out the strange finish. It seems to be at its best tonight… and I burned half the tastebuds on my tongue on some hot soup a few hours ago. Sorry, Bridgeport!

New Belgium’s 2º Below was on sale for $13.99/case, so I couldn’t resist! The good news is that 2 Below is every bit as delicious this year as last year. Not too heavy, not too sweet, a little caramely and malty in the finish, a hint of cream soda flavor but not so much that it’s weird. It’s really well balanced, like a crisp fall night with the scent of wood smoke in the air. I could drink this all night long! And I sure won’t waste any on my burned tastebuds tonight.

And of course, there’s Elysian’s Night Owl pumpkin ale. Yum! I don’t even like pumpkin beer, but this one is just so darn good that it surpasses the nature of the style and sets a new standard of deliciousness. That one warrants a review all its own.

I haven’t gotten around to buying any Deschute’s Jubelale yet, but it’s never my favorite seasonal. There’s something too hoppy and floral about it for my palate.

I’ll have more seasonal favorites soon, as fall has just begun and there’s plenty of great beer to try this season.