It's a very balanced winter ale. Clove, Chocolate, and Hops are held in balanced harmony like a nice meaty chord from a symphony by Brahms. Its full flavor and hearty texture it well suited to get through a hard winter. This beer, a roaring fire, a thick novel with a romantic period symphony blaring from your stereo is the way to go.
Preaching wise the Gospel this week is the parable of the persitent widow from Luke's 18th chapter. It is paired with Jeremiah's vision of the "the days [that] are surely coming". I can't read that passage without hearing my favorite band Tangled Blue's rendition from their advent album. Check that track out! It's good stuff, and also a good compliment to the Jubelale Winter Ale.
The challenge with this reading is to not make God seem like a concierge that is at the ready to answer half prayerful whims. Rather the story is about being faithful to God even when there appears to be evidence against a loving God. Paired with the Jeremiah reading which promises divine amnesia toward our sins, and we should be inspired to be faithful and respond with persistent trust and striving for justice for the oppressed.
Next up is the is the Shipyard Pumpkinhead Ale.
This one hits you with a lot of pumpkin on the front end. The spice is all on the backend, but the finish is clean so the allspice and clove are discernable. Shipyard suggests pairing it with pumpkin pie. I think that would be way too much pumpkin. They also recommend a BLT which makes way more sense, it needs a salty food to compliment the sweet of the beer.
Well, I didn't get to do the side by side comparison of Odell's Eugene and the Samuel Smith Chocolate stouts. BUT, I did float the idea with the bar tenders and hopefully that will happen this winter.
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