Spiced Beer

I've had this beer once before, and it cost me $40... Well, I think the check actually got split at the end of the night, but there was definitely a charge on there for one (1) $40 bottle of The Bruery's Autumn Maple on there somewhere. It was after a long drive from Kansas City to Denver, followed by more than a couple rounds of beers at Falling Rock and then another round or two at Euclid Hall... so my recollection is a little hazy, but I remember thinking this was the best fall beer I'd ever had. That was a year ago, almost to the day. This bottle of Autumn Maple has been in my basement for a couple weeks now and I've been eagerly awaiting a 60 degree fall day so I'd have a good reason to crack it open.

This bottle of L'Affriolante is a stowaway from a recent trip to Omaha, Nebraska. I hadn't ever heard of Le Bilboquet Microbrasserie before since they aren't distributed in any of the states I've been two in recent memory, so I figured I'd bring something back with me. The label on this beer says it is a beer brewed with honey and spices, which is all anyone ever needs to say if they want to sell me a couple bottles of beer. The bottle itself is a 500ml portly brown bottle with a dark red label, it's elegantly different without being terribly unique.

This bottle of Baladin Nora has quietly been hiding in the basement for the past year. I forgot all about this beer. It's a bad habit, but I often buy more beer than I have time to drink at home... and some of it sits around a bit longer than it should before I get around to opening it myself or sharing it with friends. Being a Spiced beer, I wasn't sure how the Nora would hold up. I'd always heard that spice levels drop off, like hops, as a beer ages. That can't be good for a beer that derives most of its flavor from spices...