Christmas Party Surprise

Christmas time brings us lots of once a year specials. We all know about the fantastic selection of brews available, but my personal favorite perk of the holiday season is the company Christmas party. But free beer, wine and food have nothing to do with this blog, well the beer does. This is about the trip to the bar before dinner.

First, it’s a great surprise when you ask the server for their selection on tap and a favorite comes along, but it’s hard to explain the feeling when 2 of your favorites come up. First the excitement, then the anxiety of which to choose. Finally, the decision. This night, the two beers to duke it out were Russian River’s Damnation and Anderson Valley’s Poleeko Gold.

For those not familiar with either beers, Damnation is a Belgian Strong Ale that is always a treat. Russian River is known for big, giant, huge, IPA and Belgian inspired pales. Damnation is one of the few beers that they bottle, and finding it on tap outside of the brewery is usually a treat of it’s own. Poleeko Gold is not nearly as rare a find, but to be on tap is a nice surprise, especially since Anderson Valley is easily one of my favorite breweries.

Now, forgive me for not going through a proper tasting. The room we stayed in offered a free bottle of wine and the wife and I had to enjoy that before hitting the bar. Either way, I started off with the Damnation. What an enjoyable beer. It screams Belgian, which isn’t always my favorite thing, but on this night worked well.

It was so enjoyable I finished it with still a half hour until the company party began. So, bring on the Poleeko Gold. And this is where I introduce you to the point of this blog. With the Damnation as a setup, the Poleeko Gold was absolutely unbelievable. I couldn’t help but gulp the beer down. The contrast of the two beers made for something wonderful. The malt character of the Poleeko Gold jumped out in the aroma and really shined as I drank it.

This is definitely a combination to try if you have the chance. I plan on trying this again on my own when a little more clear-headed and promise to do a better job of relaying the experience.