Winter

Today marked a seasonal change. Fall / winter is here, for real.

Now how do I know this? For most people that read this, a seasonal change is obvious. Leaves change color. Snow falls. Snow melts and stuff starts to grow again. And then everything is lush and green and warm.

But here none of these things happen. There is no color change. Snow is this magical stuff that only happens in far away, exotic lands. The only thing that melts is whatever you remove from the freezer. The growing season is all year - although growth rates are faster in the summer. But even in the "winter" the lawn needs to be mowed.

But there are two important markers that let people in South Florida know that a seasonal change has happened.

The first is hurricane season. When it starts, this signals that summer is here. When hurricane season ends, it is "winter". Shortly after winter begins, there are less bugs - so it is safe to venture into the Everglades again.

But it is still hurricane season. Hell a tropical storm is out there right now! It missed Florida, but not by that much. We got some winds here. Nothing too bad, only 20 - 25 knot winds with higher gusts. But just a little bit offshore and seas were 15 - 20 feet. But as for those on land, it was just enough wind that you noticed it and a bit of rain here and there. Nothing too horrible.

But there is another seasonal change marker! Beer. The Boston Brewing Company, makers of the Samuel Adams line of beer, produce seasonal beers. When you see the seasonal beers in the supermarket, you know that a seasonal change has happened.

And today, I saw Samuel Adams Winter Lager on the shelf. So I bought a six pack.

Here is the Sam Adams seasonal lineup and what signals each season.

Fall - Octoberfest

Winter - Winter Ale, Holiday Porter, Cranberry Limbic, Old Fezzywig - NOTE, Holiday Porter and Old Fezziwig are associated with the Christmas Season. The Limbic is just nasty - do not buy it.

Late Winter (mid January to early spring) - White Ale

Spring - Double Bock

Summer - Summer Ale.

This year I do not remember seeing any Octoberfest beer. But I may have seen it and just not bought any - it is not one of my favorite styles of beer. Too malty. I like more hops.

But I do like the winter selections. The Winter Lager is pretty good. It is probably my favorite of them all. But the Holiday Porter is not bad. It is more malty, but what the hell. It is the holidays! Old Fezziwig is spiced with all the flavors of the season. Namely nutmeg, ginger, and cinnamon. It is not bad. The Cranberry Limbic is just too darn sweet. I do not like it. They put maple syrup in the shit and that just brings the sweetness through the roof.

The spring selection, White Ale, is OK. It is cloudy (caused by wheat proteins and some yeast not filtered out) and this gives the beer a different taste.

The summer seasonal usually ends up as the official boat beer of the summer. It is light and refreshing - without being watery and shitty. A really good hot weather beer.

I need to load up on the winter seasonal beers, because they will go away by the end of January. Well they linger past that, but the brewery stops production by the end of January. So one has to load up while they can. Winter Lager seems to linger around longer than the Holiday Porter, Old Fizziweg, and the Cranberry Limbic.

So Winter is here. I guess. Even if it is still technically hurricane season for another few weeks.

TRACKING UPDATE! The thing I ordered is on the way to Jacksonville FL, ground from California. So that means it is on a truck somewhere, 24 hours out of Anaheim CA. Could be anywhere. So no more updates till there is something to report on.

Still got no place to put the thing. So why the hell did I order it? I don't know - maybe I am crazy. But it was a really good deal.