December 25, 2007
Dear friends and Delegates,
A very happy Christmas to one and all. I hope your day is going really well and you are planning to have a beer or two before the festivities are over!
United Nations of Beer Christmas statement
As your Secretary General, it falls upon my shoulders to unite our world of beer drinkers at this time of year with a rousing speech. Something strong, yet touching that will give you pause for thought.
Unfortunately, I got into the beer cellar rather too early this morning and, with nothing but a dozen great beers and several hours between me and dinner, things could get quite messy if I embark on such a speech.
And so, let me merely say this. Take a moment out of the day's excesses to find a quiet corner. Open and pour the beer you've been saving for a special occasion.
Close your eyes and hold your nose above the glass, letting the heady perfume fill your mind with happy thoughts.
Now, picture an absent friend. Be they separated from you by circumstance, by geography or by the gauzy curtain separating this world from the next, dedicate the first sip of your beer to them.
Am I alone in believing that such a beer moment can be spiritual?
Cheers.
The 12 Beers of Christmas
In case you've been too busy shopping and enjoying the silly season to notice, the United Nations of Beer has been compiling a 12 Beers of Christmas series. Here's the articles we've already published:
Pairing beer with Christmas dinner
Rudy Lasher suggests some beer choices for the biggest meal of the year
Warm Welcome Nut Browned ale
Ashley Cotter-Cairns would like another shot at this brown ale, in case cellaring it had an adverse effect on the alcohol content
Snoreau Winter ale
D'Arcy Gray and Ashley Cotter-Cairns find Snoreau too weird for words
Schell SnowStorm
Bill Cassidy ponders the Belgian for Santa Claus while drinking this fine seasonal Dubbel
Rousse d'Hiver
Ashley Cotter-Cairns grabs one of a 2,000 bottle limited edition winter ale and finds it the darkest red ever
Young's Christmas Pudding ale
Nathaniel Tapley fills his mouth with robot cloves and is punched in the face many times -- yet still prefers the experience to this 'beer' from Young's
Bad Elf ale
Ashley Cotter-Cairns survives a close encounter with an overhopped 'little helper'
Schoune Biere de Noel
Ashley Cotter-Cairns says this seasonal should be repackaged and available all year round
Lump of Coal stout
Ashley Cotter-Cairns has been very, very bad this year and expects this stout to be the best gift he's going to get
Coming over the rest of Christmas...
In case you aren't paying attention, that's not 12 beers -- and the series has expanded a little! We had to start well before Christmas Eve to cram in all the beers.
The Twelfth Night is January 5th, so by then you'll also be able to enjoy these other contributions from UNOB Delegates:
Father John's Christmas ale by Steve LaRue, Utah
Wild Goose Snow Goose Winter ale by Dominic Perry, Maryland
Samuel Adams Cranberry lambic by Matt Dodson, Alabama
Breughel Biere de Noel by Ashley Cotter-Cairns, Quebec
Samuel Adams Old Fezziwig by Dominic Perry, Maryland
Wychwood Christmas ale by Kate Dalgleish, Nova Scotia
and anything else we can scrounge up in the meantime!
Have a fantastic holiday and thanks for reading.
Ashley Cotter-Cairns
Secretary General, The United Nations of Beer
www.theUNOB.com