In Pre-Christian Rome, Saturnalia Was

In pre-Christian Rome, Saturnalia was the annual winter solstice celebration coinciding with the feast days for Saturn (the god of sowing and the harvest), Consus (god of the storage bin) and Opa (goddess of plenty).

Many of our contemporary winter holiday traditions derive from 6DWXUQDOLD·VSDJDQURRWVLQFOXGLQJWKHKDQJLQJRIZUHDWKVDQG garlands, donations to the needy, prayers for peace, time off work to be enjoyed with family, and of course eating, drinking and merriment. NABC pays tribute to these ancient pagan origins with Satur- nalia, our holiday draft celebration. Dozens of special kegs from the USA and around the world ² some rare, some seasonal and others just plain festive ² will be pouring at our Pizzeria & Public House at 3312 Plaza Drive. When the doors open at 11:00 a.m. on our new Saturnalia kick-off day, Plaid Friday (November 28), the first wave of sacrificial MMXIV Saturnalia selections will be tapped in the traditional, ritualistic manner, and the hedonistic pleasures will begin. The remaining kegs will be deployed as the days pass, and the revelry is expected to con- tinue throughout the month of December.

3ULFLQJDQGSRUWLRQVL]HVYDU\DFFRUGLQJWRDOFRKROFRQWHQWDQGVW\OH'XULQJWKHIHVWLYDO·V run, information and updates will appear on our web site: www.newalbanian.com

Santa needs daze off, too. A rich, full-bodied holiday spiced seasonal, as designed by David Pierce, director of brewing operations at NABC. Malts include Rahr pale, Castle aromatic and Crisp medium crystal, with Hosey autumn gold and midsummer day honeys. Hops are German Hallertauer Magnum. Sweet and bitter orange peel, fresh ground ginger, Vietnamese cinnamon and West Indies nutmeg are the spices (with dry- JLQJHULQJLQWKH%ULWHWDQNV 1$%&·VKRXVH&KRXIIH yeast completes the scene. 8% abv.

5(0(0%(51RWDOOWKHVHEHHUVSRXUDWWKHVDPHWLPH&KHFNZLWKVHUYHUVWRVHHZKDW·VRQWDS1 Pricing and portion sizes vary according to alcohol content and style.

Anchor Christmas Ale, 2012 ([SHFWDIHZ´VXUSULVHµNHJVWRPDWHULDOL]H Bell's Christmas Ale Boulevard Nutcracker Ale conceptual links with trees (on the bottle la- Breckenridge Pandora's Bock bels) and the winter solstice have endured Brooklyn Winter Ale throughout. In 2010, Fritz Maytag sold the Dark Horse 4 Elf brewery to two former designer vodka execu- Dark Horse Homosapien Trip Ale tives who pledged to preserve the artisanal Dark Horse Perkulator 2012 heritage. My fingers remain crossed. 5.5%

Great Divide Hibernation 2013 abv. Haandbrygerriet Bestefar Mahr's Christmas Bock %HOO·V&KULVWPDV$OH Mikkeller Santa's Little Helper This ale contains no spices. Rather, the idea Mikkeller To/From is to construct a showcase for the 100% Mich- NABC Holly King igan-grown malt bill, with subtlety and bal- NABC Naughty Claus ance coming from hops from Michigan and N'ice Chouffe the Pacific Northwest. At one percent too high Ommegang Adoration Ale IRU´VHVVLRQµVWUHQJWKDWDEYLW·VUHDOO\ 6KPDOW]+H·%UHZ5HMHZYHQDWRU only a matter of time until Joe Maddon is do- Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale ing promos from Wrigleyville. Stone 12/12/12 Stone Ruination Ale with Blonde Roasted Boulevard Nutcracker Ale Coffee Beans 7FKDLNRYVN\·V1XWFUDFNHULVDEDOOHWZLWKPX Struise Tsjeeses Reserva sic known all over the world, from Kansas Three Floyds Alpha Klaus Xmas Porter City to Breendonk, Belgium, home of the Duvel Moortgat brewery ² owner of Boulevard. Descriptions are by Roger A. Baylor 'XYHO0RRUWJDW%RXOHYDUG·V1XWFUDFNHULVD classic winter warmer, but with a distinctly $QFKRU&KULVWPDV$OH ´0HUU\&KULVWPDV American twist of freshly harvested Chinook +DSS\1HZ

Franklin was a multi-talented, Colonial-era creative legend who brewed and drank plenty of beer. In his writings, he referred to various types of ale and concluded that its consumption was healthy in moderation ² an observation with which modern medical science concurs. What did these ales of old taste like? Nine years ago, as part of a nationwide promotion on the occasion of the Benjamin Franklin Tercen- WHQDU\1$%&·VEUHZHUVWZHDNHGD&RORQLDO-era recipe provided to members of the Brewer Association, and the result was our first ever batch of Old Lightning Rod.

%HQMDPLQ)UDQNOLQ·VELUWKGD\LV-DQXDU\7KHUHOHDVHRI1$%&2OG/LJKWQLQJ5RG is Sunday, January 18, at Bank Street Brewhouse. Old Lightning Rod will pour at the Piz- zeria & Public House beginning on Monday, January 19.

2 fermented, but lagered for three whole months prior to release. Doubtless Hiberna- (Continued from page 2) WLRQLVRYHUVKDGRZHGE\WRGD\·VH[WUHPH Breckenridge Pandora's Bock ´FUDIWµFUHDWLRQVDQG\HWLWLVHQGXULQJ The recipe tells a straight and narrow tale of unique and worthy in its own right - deep, German beer-think: Two row pale, Munich nutty and smooth. An annual, personal favor- and caramel malts; Strisselspalt, Columbus, ite of mine at 8.1% abv. Northern Brewer and Hersbrucker hops; Ba- YDULDQODJHU\HDVW-XVWWKH%RFNPD·DP Haandbryggeriet Bestefar 7.5% abv. If Nissefar is Father Christmas in Norway, then who is his father? Bestefar, who in this Brooklyn Winter Ale instance is Grandfather Christmas, or in this ´%DVHGRQWKHVDWLVI\LQJPDOW\DOHVRIEOXVWHU\ case, a spiced winter ale. It makes me both 6FRWODQGµ%URRNO\Q·VZLQWHUWLPHVHDVRQDOHQ thirsty and hungry. Herring in Madeira sauce try follows a more traditionalist path than «QRZ7+$7VRXQGVOLNHDSDLULQJDEY many, and deserves to be commended for do- LQJVR,I\RXUXQLQWR*DUUHWW2OLYHU,·PVXUH 0DKU·V&KULVWPDV%RFN he can direct you to some haggis or Scotch From the historic Mahrs brewery in Bamberg broth food pairings ² maybe even a deep-fried comes a pale-to-amber bock, malty and per- Mars Bar. 6.1% abv. haps longer in balancing hop than most ex- amples, and fully in keeping with the glorious Dark Horse 4 Elf local Franconian holiday tradition of Heller Turning to the abundant solipsistic expertise Bock before Christmas. I long for the Café Ab- of RateAdvocate, we were unable to specify a seits and its superb holiday selection of coherent review apart from frequent refer- drafts. 6% abv. ences to cinnamon, and so the brewery must EHJLYHQWKHILQDOZRUG´$VSLFHG:LQWHU 0LNNHOOHU6DQWD·V/LWWOH+HOSHU Warmer brewed with nutmeg, clove, allspice If recent vintages are any indication, SLH is a and other holiday flavors. 9% abv. dark and strong Belgian-style ale with spicing (orange peel and coriander, and perhaps co- Dark Horse Homosapien Trip Ale coa and cinnamon). Mikkeller is a gypsy Dark Horse likes to vary the routine, using brewer and creates beer in many places, often Sapient Trip (Belgian-style Tripel) as a solid in Belgium. Circa 11% abv. base, and then to drive the beer nerds abso- lutely wild by adding aphrodisiacs and sealing Mikkeller To/From ZD[«RULQWKLVLQFDUQDWLRQUDVSEHUULHVDQG Christmas Porter brewed with: water, malt hibiscus. 9.5% abv. (pale, caracrystal, pale chocolate and chocolate), flaked oats, dark cassanade, hops Dark Horse Perkulator, 2012 (Centennial and Cascade) & spices (star anise, 7KHUHLVODXGDEOHKXPRULQWKHEUHZHU\·VGH cinnamon, clove and coriander seed). 8% abv. VFULSWLRQ´7KLVLVDWUXH'RSSHOERFNDQG 'DUN+RUVH%UHZLQJ·VRQO\SXEOLFO\GLVWULEXW NABC Holly King HGODJHU,WZDVVRQRUPDOWKDWZHFRXOGQ·W 5 'EUHZHU%HQ0LQWRQ´It's a malty dark stand it, so we made it into a coffee Doppel- brown ale made with English crystal and bock. Ha, take that Germany, with your Rein- chocolate malts. I added brown sugar and KHLWVJHERWSXULW\ODZµDEY molasses for some sweetness, and a light ad- dition of Willamette hops for a slightly spicy Great Divide Hibernation Ale, 2013 QRVHµDEY Hibernation is a classic winter ale, top- (Continued on page 4)

3 (Continued from page 3) -hopped, but not neglecting delicious malti- ness. The only question is whether it comes NABC Naughty Claus from the Sierra Nevadas or the Appalachians. Santa needs daze off, too. A rich, full-bodied Shrug. 6.8% abv. holiday spiced seasonal, as designed by David Pierce, director of brewing operations at Stone Vertical Epic 12.12.12 NABC. Malts include Rahr pale, Castle aro- Again, two years on, we turn to Stone to matic and Crisp medium crystal, with Hosey anoint the end of the vertical epic ride: autumn gold and midsummer day honeys. ´&UDIWHGLQWKHVW\OHRIDWUDGLWLRQDO%HOJLDQ Hops are German Hallertauer Magnum. Sweet 1RsOEHHULW·VGDUNELJDQGKHDUW\«EUHZHG and bitter orange peel, fresh ground ginger, with cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, clove, or- Vietnamese cinnamon and West Indies nut- ange peel and rosehips (which turned out to meg are the spices (with dry-gingering in the be so sturdy we had to roll over them with a %ULWHWDQNV 1$%&·VKRXVH&KRXIIH\HDVW IRUNOLIWWRSXOYHUL]HWKHPIRUWKHEUHZ LW·VD completes the scene. 8% abv. FRPSOH[EHHUZLWKPDQ\OD\HUVµDEY

1·,FH&KRXIIH Stone Ruination Ale with Blonde Roasted Thyme, vanilla, orange peel and candi sugar Coffee Beans are among the spices used to accent a dark ,W·VWLPHIRUDUHDOLW\FKHFNZKHQ and brawny winter seasonal, brewed in the DQ,3$ZLWK,%8·VEHJLQV hills of the Ardennes, and owned by those fel- to seem meek by comparison to lows at Duvel Moortgat in Breendonk. 10% some recent entrants in the abv. ever-HVFDODWLQJ´,3$PXOWLSOHVµ &RPSHWLWLRQ«EXWLW·VQRWSDVVLYH Ommegang Adoration Ale at all, and not to be confused with fizzy yellow Coriander, orange peel, mace, grains of para- lawnmower beer. It will be served in a firkin, dise and cardamom are added to a dark, and tapped at 3:00 p.m. on the afternoon of strong Belgian-style ale brewed in Cooper- Plaid Friday, November 28. VWRZQ1HZ

³3OHEHLDLQJHQLDPDJLVH[HPSOLVTXDPUDWLRQHFDSLXQWXU´«³9XOJDUPLQGVDUHPRUHLQIOXHQFHGE\H[DPSOHWKDQE\DUJXPHQW´IURm Saturnalia, VII., 4, i., by Macrobius - 5th century A.D.