What a month November's been! I'm sprinting to the finish line of NaNoWriMo (50k words is calling my name) and just about ready to deck the halls around the blog to ring in the Christmas season. But before we start the Old Saint Nick welcoming procedures, we have one Maple Month offering to make.

We're finishing Maple Month proper as we started it: With a barleywine from Jackie O's. But, it's more than just a barleywine, it's a barleywine cuvée. It's Cellar Cuvée 15.

Surprise! It's another cider post!

Seriously, I had such a rough time finding maple beers to get to this season. Luckily, the cider makers have come through for me. 

Maple syrup and hard cider has been one of my favorite flavor combinations since I first stumbled upon it. I'm excited to see how Shacksbury's Sugar Shack, today's cider, plays into the combo.

The maple train keeps a-rolling this month. Today, we're looking at one of two maple ciders I have slated for Maple Month '24. I found this single can nestled in the shelves of a nearby bottleshop some few months back. Pleased to see it (I hadn't had much luck in finding maple beers or ciders for this year), I immediately grabbed it and headed to the checkout.

Happy November (I know this is the second post this month, but it's the first true post)! This is a big month for me. It sits right between my two favorite holidays. It's National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), a challenge where I (and many other similarly-inclined fools) attempt to write fifty-thousand words of a novel in just a short thirty days. But, most importantly for the blog, it's Maple Month, wherein I explore beers and ciders crafted with my favorite adjunct, maple syrup.

We're starting off strong this month with a barleywine from Jackie O's. Calling back to Southeast Ohio's history, Iron Furnace is an ode to the Hope Furnace, a spot near and dear to my heart. Let's see if I'll hold the resulting beer in equal esteem.