2 Beers to Christmas

Founder’s Double Trouble!  My countdown beers typically start the night.  Tonight, it ended the night, which presents its open unique set of obstacles.  After work we met with the guys, as well as my brother and sister who had flown in for Christmas, at Boston’s.  It was tapping night, and Dave tapped a Stone Dry Hopped Double Bastard (which I didn’t have) and a St. Bernardous Christmas Ale (which I did have).  The St. Bernardous was really excellent.  From there we sojourned down to Jay’s Seafood in the Oregon District.  Besides typically having a good meal (I say typical because my blackened mahi-mahi was a little too dry for my liking), I always look forward to the Great Lakes Dortmunder Gold they have on draft.  It is so much better from a keg than a bottle.

By the the time we got home, I knew I had to squeeze in the Founder’s so I asked Matthew to share it with me.  Double Trouble taps in at 9.4%, so I didn’t mind the sipping company.  When I think of Founder’s, my mind immediately goes to their Breakfast Stout or Old Curmudgeon.  These are two great stouts.  I totally missed the “IPA” on the bottle, because when I made my pour it was obvious this wasn’t a stout.  Although the bottle says IPA, it is really an Imperial IPA.  It packs a punch.

For an IPA, the hoppy-ness one would expect is drowned out by the power of the alcohol.  I don’t know, my mouth was exhausted by the time I had it and I most likely didn’t give it a fair shake.  It just didn’t move me and my recollection is slim.  I will shelf my final judgment on Double Trouble for the future.