About a month after my first Beer For Babes meeting (now don’t you wish you knew what that was all about…maybe I’ll share in another post soon!) I was ready and primed for the fall/winter brews. I decided to hit my local liquor store the other day, really feelin’ the season and ready to peruse the porters, winter warmers and spicy holiday ales, much like a kid in a candy store. Now, normally I don’t get impressed with beers that try to sound devilish, mean, or crazy-the beer behind the label tends to be all bark and no bite (or taste for that matter). But there was one beer that called to me that day, and I decided to take a chance and bring it home for a grown-up’s treat.
Rude Elf’s Reserve is a Belgian style holiday ale that is brewed by Fegley’s Brewworks (a small operation in the Lehigh Valley that apparently has 3 brewpubs in the area); but it wasn’t the ugly elf on the label that sold me. 
What got my attention was the proclamation that it was “brewed with aromatic spices and Belgian candy sugars.” Now, before you go thinking this is just a gimmick thrown into some mediocre beer, note that it’s also made with 2-row pale & caramel malts, three Belgian yeast strains, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger & clove, and hopped with German Tettnang hops. And it’s “bottled conditioned” -which would mean that it has a whole mess of those “tiny bubbles” that Lawrence Welk was so crazy about. To top it off, they apparently won a bronze medal for this one at the Great American Beer Festival back in ’09. However, it wasn’t until I got this puppy home that I happened to glance at the ABV 10.5 %. No, that’s not a typo. This beer is 10% alcohol by volume. Oy! You’ve been warned.
So let’s just say John and I saved this one for after the kiddies were abed- and we shared one. When it’s first opened, the first thing that struck me was the gorgeous auburn-red color. But even before this one got to my lips, I was seduced by the richest, most caramel aroma, blended beautifully with fragrant hops. Bliss. When it finally hit my tongue, there was a malty, gentle sweetness combined with a rich mouthfeel. The middle was all spice and everything nice, mixed with a true caramel (a burnt sugar flavor, much like the syrup that tops a flan); but lest you think this is some sickeningly sweet concoction, there is a wonderfully dry finish with a slight hoppy bitterness. An absolutely delicious, wild ride.
I urge you to go out and give this one a try. It may not be South Jersey-made, but it is a fairly local brew that may just blow your mind. Or pickle it, if you’re not careful enough to share it.
Now I’m thirsty… I want one!
I just read this post to Bob, and he is sitting here drooling, and trying to figure out which distributor can get him this beer for the bar!
Shari – Yes, you do want one – but only one. The alcohol content will hit you pretty hard.
Holly – Bob will like this one.
Yes, Lisa, why don’t you write about Beer for Babes?!