Haverhill Brewery Whittier White

“For all sad words of tongue and pen, the saddest are those, ‘It might have been.’ “
– John Greenleaf Whittier

The back label of Haverhill Brewery’s Whittier White begins with the Whittier’s line above, and the label continues:

There are no regrets with Whittier White. This wheat beer with citrus undertones is a cool breeze on a hot day. You will want to keep this taste of summer even when you are snowbound.

Indeed, this Whittier White proves “wittier” than the common beer — making a literary pun of John Greenleaf Whittier‘s masterpiece, the poem “Snow-Bound”.

If you’re not into poets, then the label may yetl catch your attention if you are into blond women or white dogs. Or beer. Yes, I do believe there’s a glass of beer shown on the label too…

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Playing Catch Up

A few recent beers are missing from my chronology.

I’ll catch up soon, but in case you were wondering: I had Avery Salvation on Sunday (preview – loved it), and Avery India Pale Ale for IPA Monday. On Tuesday, I had another IPA from Boston Beer Works near Fenway Park — after watching the Boston Red Sox dispatch the Toronto Blue Jays.

Since I am behind on those posts, here’s a quick photo of me and my wife after a long night at the park and one drink at Boston Beer Works.

Not quite an even trade, but hey…

Dundee Honey Brown Lager

Silly me. I read the name of this beer and immediately jumped to the conclusion that Dundee Honey Brown was a Brown Ale with a touch of honey — a concept that seemed both blasphemous and dangerously intriguing.

But don’t let the “brown” part of the name fool you — Dundee Honey Brown tastes like a lager, through and through. That is, a lager with a generous dollop of honey.

You’d think that by this stage of the game, I’d be adept at reading beer labels; and yet, somehow I missed the “Lager brewed with pure honey” line written immediately below “Honey Brown”.

My first clue came when the beer poured a pale, honey-colored orange. But the real clincher came when my nose hovered above the glass — because Dundee Honey Brown smells like a fizzy lager, yeasty and malty, with very little character.

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Back Bay IPA – Boston Beer Works

Before heading over to Boston Beer Works later in the evening, I pulled off one of the most amazing feats of my life: I watched an entire Red Sox game at Fenway Park without drinking a drop of beer!

Every ballgame I’ve been to has been accompanied by plenty of cheap beer with high price tags. Spending more than $7 on a Coors Light is one of those ridiculous economic realities that only present themselves at sporting events, theme parks, and recurring nightmares.

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Avery India Pale Ale

IPA Monday just got off to a great start, with Avery’s India Pale Ale.

Much like the New World Porter, Avery’s India Pale Ale label shows a cartographer’s work. This map is a touch more modern than the New World Porter’s, and it’s decorated around the frame with images of wondrous new lands and colonial scenes.

I poured the beer into a pint glass, and the IPA poured pale gold and not-quite-clear with soft suspensions glinting through the otherwise pristine ale. As for the head — if a beer could create a meringue, Avery’s India Pale Ale is the one. The off-white, whipped foam poked up out of the glass and never completely disappeared, thickly lacing the glass as all the way to the bottom as I drank.

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Last Consumed:

My wife and I usually select a Christmas Tree during the weekend after Thanksgiving, and we were thrilled to discover the farm down the road from us is selling trees this year. She and I stopped by the farm while walking our Boston Terrier, Caesar, who helped us sniff out a good one. After my wife and I dithered over the best tree for several minutes, Caesar weighed in with his selection by lifting his leg on a plump Fraser Fir.

I hope that means he liked it.

The tree went up on my shoulder, I carried it home (drawing chuckles from several people driving by), and our Christmas season officially began. We’ve been listening to Christmas music, drinking hot chocolate, and generally sickening all humbugs spying through our windows.

So it should come as no surprise that I’ve selected the “Hoppy Christmas Ale” from Belgium’s Brewery De Ranke. The beer — Père Noël (imported by Shelton Brothers) — intimates the reason for Father Christmas’ jolly cheeks and rosy nose; the label depicts Santa embracing the frothy, 7% ABV Strong Pale Ale.

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