It's now, officially, the holiday season here on the blog, folks. December 1st has finally rolled into town, bringing with it chilly weather, yuletide cheer, and dark evenings.

I (might, depending on illnesses on the home front) have a big Chirstmassy weekend lined up: hanging lights, getting and trimming the tree, piecing together a Christmas list, a maybe a little more present shopping. 

Despite all that, I'm making time tonight to do up the first Christmas beer post of 2023. I have a small smattering of holiday brews to discuss (Anchor went under, so their Christmas Ale will, for the first year since I started blogging, not be featured as there isn't one), so we might as well get started now! To start the season off (hopefully!) right, we're settling down with some Vince Guaraldi Trio and West Side's Holiday Ale.

And here we are. Like I promised in this month's first post, I've saved the biggest beer for last, which is especially fitting as I crossed the 50,000-word NaNoWriMo finish line this morning (go, me!). Today, we're taking a look at a special beer from one of my original favorite craft breweries (has it really been two and a half years since they got screen time on the blog? Wow, too long).

Nestle in, friends. Grab a strong maple beer of your own. Throw another log on the fire against late-November chill. Tonight, we're going big and heavy. Tonight, I'm drinking and telling you about Dogfish Head's Wake Up World Wide Stout.

I'm making the second post of 2023's Maple Month a fun one. I try to nab an extra bottle/can of the beers I discuss in November whenever I'm able, in the hope that I'm able to revisit them some Maple Month down the road. I have a small shelf in my beer cabinet dedicated to this.

Do you remember two years back when I did up Goose Island's maple-forward Bourbon County Brand Stout? I loved it, giving it my highest recommendation. Since I'm keeping things compressed this month, I figured I could break into my second (of two!) bottles of the beer today. Let's see if BCBS Special #4 is just as good at three years old as it was at one.

Welcome to Maple Month 2023! Yeah, we're over half-way through November now. I was sick. Sorry. The good news is that I only have three beers slated for discussion this month because, well, I'm doing NaNoWriMo again. After failing to cross the finish line last year (I only clocked 80% of the required 50k words), I'm dialing things back on the blog to make sure I can reach the event's goal this time.