The Year of the Cock (Rooster)

Yo, Gung Xi Far Chai (Mandarin), Gung Hay Fot Choy (Cantonese), Say Hay Boke-Mahn He Pah Du Say Oh (Korean), Chuc Mun Nam Moi (Vietnamese) and Akemashite Omedeto Gozaimasu - Kotoshi Mo Yoroshiku Onegaishimasu (Japanese-A belated one at least). Keeping it simple and real, we are celebrating a family affair, a time of reunion and thanksgiving. Why can't we do it like the Cinco De Mayo or St. Patty's Day?? Getting all soaked up with Soju, Sho-Chu and Taiwanese Moonshine. How many days do we need to honor the Heaven and Earth?? Why not just do that in two days and then feast our a*sses off. AzianBrewer got a head start and slammed couple of brewskies last night at David Copperfield to kick off this spectacular 15 days of celebration. In complying to the Chinese tradition, I decided to order any beer associates with the word "Red". Red symbolized luck and good karma (Is that why you see so many Chinese folks carrying red grocery bags and doing the third world squat?).


Happy New Year


RedHook WinterHook and Harpon Winter Ale are the two highlights on the happy hours beer list. For $3 a pint, you really can't say anything harsh about these 2 winter style ales. However, I will still bash both of them with humbleness. The mohagany red Winterhook is too cascade hopped right of the start with a nice kick of that 6.11% abv. The mouthfeel is kinda thin comparing to some other winter lagers or ales. I didn't expected it to be a hardcore winter brew but this is weak stuff. Just lack of the pounding taste of Sierra Nevada's Celebration Ale. Moving on to the next beer is Harpoon Winter Warmer-decent and harmless petite brew but lack of the big taste of winter style. The moral of the story, the word "Winter" is getting to be used as gimmick brew from the months of December to March.

Cheers!