Ugly Christmas Sweater Bar Crawl

We started the evening at The Boiler Room in Logan Square where I had the pleasure of drinking  Anderson Valley Brewing Company's Boont Amber Ale. My favorite place in the world is the Mendocino Coast, which is about a five hour drive from where I grew up in California. The drive is long and the second half is unbearably windy. Anderson Valley is a small spot of flat ground between two coastal mountain ranges. Booneville was the spot we stopped to get gas, mentally prepare for more winding roads, pick up fruit, and for my parents, have a beer at the Anderson Valley Brewing Company.

No wonder they always insisted on stopping! I really loved the Boont Amber Ale. It's one of the tastiest beers I've ever had. So drinkable. A little hoppy, a little fruity. It sounds weird, but it reminded me of a soda, only alcoholic and not carbonated. It probably had something to do with the can it came in. Being the hippy that I am, I know that aluminum cans are the greenest option, and have the added benefit of preventing light from ruining the beer. Still though, I usually choose draft, then glass bottles. This made me realize the error of my ways. Good beers can come from a can!

Second stop was Cole's. I was boring and cheap and had a $2 PBR. Can't complain.

At the Two Way Lounge I split a pitcher of idk what. It was a light and cheap lager. I know it wasn't Old Style and it wasn't offensive so I know it wasn't Miller Light. I judge, but should admit that my absence from blogging has something to do with my grad school diet of splitting a pitcher of the cheapest beer, which at "our bar" (Drum & Monkey) is Miller Light.

My final stop (sorry Bonny's, not tonight) was The Rocking Horse. A lovely bar I'll be returning to (despite the door nazi). I started with The Great Lakes Brewing Company's Edmund Fitzgerald Porter. Cause it was the special. I'm not super into darker beers, but my group insisted I had made a good decision. It's true, I generally think the the hoppier the better, but the combination of oatmeal, chocolate, and coffee was good. I generally feel like porters are a little thick, and unpleasant to swallow, but this felt good going down. The only beer I can think to compare it to would be Founder's Breakfast Stout, which I recently had at Lillie Q's, and I think the Edmund Fitzgerald is 1000x better. And because this blog is an effort to educate myself, I will soon explain the differences between stouts and porters. But, spoiler alert, I probably liked this one more because porters are hoppier than stouts. Also, if I wanted chocolate I'd eat cake.

My second beer at Rocking Horse was Dogfish Head Brewery's Sah'tea. Possibly the best beer I've ever had.  To think I was initially disappointed when the waitress said they were out of my favorite beer, Firestone Walker's Union Jack. Sah'tea tasted like Christmas. Well, like the beer version of the mulled cider my aunt makes around Christmas. It smelled amazing and half the group had their nose in the glass, enjoying the scent. It was spicy with strong cinnamon, clove, and tea flavors. I highly recommend getting it if it crosses your path.

And as soon as the ugly christmas sweater pictures come back, I'll obviously add them.