Beer of the Week: Samuel Adams Old Fezziwig Ale

Beer score: 4.4

Company: Samuel Adams

ABV: 5.9
IBU: NA

This is a seasonal Christmas brew and I haven't seen it this year, so maybe the Sam Adams folks decided against it for other holiday beers. However, as fortune would have it, a buddy happened to have a few of these stuffed in the back of a fridge in his garage. So, I get to try one of these even if they might be a year or so old, and I have had these beers before even though it's been a while.

Anyway, yes, this is a Christmas beer with cinnamon, ginger and a touch of orange flavoring.

Pours a dark red with a foamy head while giving off scents of molasses and roasted nuts and possibly coffee.

On the tongue, this one is a touch too sweet for me and it has too much of that spicy, holiday flavoring. It's not the beer's fault, though, as I simply don't care for these kind of holiday beers. Still, this one is better than most, so if you're searching for a Christmas brew, you could do worse than Samuel Adams.

Books read in 2020: No. 31 -- The Book of Judges, KJV

published by Zondervan

Started: Dec. 18
Finished: Dec. 21

Notes: I began the year reading the Bible without getting very far, so figured I'd continue here.

Mini review: This is a collection of stories related to "judges," figures who helped to guide or rule over the early Israelites before a monarchy had been formed. For instance, the story of Samson can be found here, but there is quite a bit more, mainly concerning figures that aren't likely to be recognizable to the casual reader of the Bible. From a historical or mythological point of view, these tales are interesting in that they show how early Israelites dealt with those of other nations and races around them. Most of the tales here follow a similar vein, the Israelites falling away from God, then God punishes them by allowing outsiders to rule over the Israelites for a while, then a hero ("judge") steps forward to either guide the Israelites to freedom of sorts or to outright fight for that freedom. Many a fan of Sword & Sorcery fiction might find some interesting literature here worth reading.

Books read in 2020: No. 30 -- Conan of Aquilonia

by L. Sprague de Camp and Lin Carter

Started: Dec. 6

Finished: Dec. 17

Notes: Though this looks like a novel, it's actually a collection of four short stories that have been worked together to form sort of a longer story. Not Howard's Conan, but this is definitely old school, so it should be fun.

Mini review: Here comes four tales that tell of the final battles between King Conan and his old enemy Thoth-Amon. This is not Howard, and it shows. The writing is fair, the plot okay, but too often Conan takes a back seat and even has to be saved by others on too many occasions. I didn't hate it, but I sure didn't love it.

Beer of the Week Blast from the Past: Anchor Brewing's Our Special Ale 1996

Beer score: 4.4

Yep, this one comes from all the way back in 1996. For 45 years the folks at Anchor Brewing have been making a different holiday beer each Christmas season, and they're doing the same this year. I just happen to have my notes for their Christmas ale from 1996, and since it's that time of year again, I thought I'd share some of those. Here they are below:

If you happen to be one of those people who likes those spicy, cinnamon-and-nutmeg flavored Christmas beers, then this beer is for you. The texture is strong and frothy like a stout. This isn't the worst of the holiday brews, but I've yet to find a Christmas beer worth drinking on a regular basis, in my opinion. As each Christmas the Anchor Brewing folk offer a different recipe for this ale, then some years might be better than others. Worth trying for something different, but I wouldn't want one often.

Beer of the Week: Skull Splitter

Beer score: 6.2

Company: Orkney Brewery

ABV: 8.5
IBU: 23

Out of the bottle, this one has a fine red, almost nutty color to it. The scent is sweet and rich and dark, but not quite overly sweet.

When this drink hits the tongue, it brings with it a heavy, warm roasted bitterness with hints of fruit and burnt caramel. Smooth and frothy and, again, sweet, but not so sweet for my regular drinking taste.

A real Scottish ale, and worth your time to try.

Books read in 2020: No. 29 -- Tasha's Cauldron of Everything

by Wizards of the Coast

Started: Nov. 29

Finished: Dec. 2

Notes: It's another rules book for Fifth Edition Dungeons & Dragons. This one is supposed to focus more on character options.

Mini review: A lot of interesting new options for D&D characters. Most of them really aren't my thing, being a bit too esoteric for my taste, but I could see how others would find them interesting. Still, any Dungeon Master could also make use of this information.

Books read in 2020: No. 28 -- The Lady of the Snowmist

by Andrew Offutt

Started: Nov. 28

Finished: Dec. 5

Notes: I just finished the second book in this trilogy, so I thought I'd go ahead and read the third.

Mini review: While this was a decent fantasy read, I had some issues with it. For one thing, it was too repetitive, going back time and time again to past events concerning the main character. Being the third book in a series, I realize the author wanted to include a little background material for those who might not have read the first two books, but here there was too much, in my opinion. Also, disappointingly, this book ends really where everything should be beginning. A war has begun, but all we get to see is the first battle, which is really little more than a skirmish. And no, there aren't any other books in this series. So, the prose here was decent, though I have to say the second book in this trilogy was the best of all three books. The plot here jumped around a bit, but towards the end, things came together. But then they ended just as everything was heated up. Argh!