Monday, December 23, 2013

2013 Advent Beer 23: Low Life Pilsner

Ironically, considering its level of carbonation, the penultimate beer from this year's Advent Calendar left me a little flat. Some of that may be due to the style, since I have never been that big a fan of pilsners, but I am also vulnerable to suggestion, so it is possible that Evil Twin Brewing's copy on the side of the bottle simply set the stage for disappointment:

 

At any rate, Low Life pours a cloudy straw-gold with a tremendous head and a nose full full of grains and a trace of skunkiness (not that unusual in this style). A smooth drink, but a distinctly bitter bite at the end overshadows the rest, at least for me. Not something I would go too far to have again, but if I am being completely honest, I would be unlikely to surreptitiously pour it into a potted plant if my host happened to pour me a glassful at a party either. I will definitely need to try something else from Evil Twin before too long, as they have an excellent reputation.

 

With a star showing up in the Bethlehem sky today, it doesn't take a lot of deductive reasoning or intuitive insight to determine what is missing from this nativity scene. This is not happenstance; Baby Jesus is the only predetermined element of this particular calendar, and he is the last thing brought out, despite the narrative inconsistency.

 

We had a pretty lively discussion about what order the various elements should enter the scene in order to present an orderly narrative, but it's my blog, so I said: The Star should be first (to give the magi time to leave Babylon so they are at the manger by the Epiphany), then the other stars, the innkeeper (showing the royal family to the stable), the cows (who were already there), Joseph, the donkey, and Mary, then Baby Jesus. After him, presumably the angels, shepherds and sheep, and lastly, the magi and their camels.

 

But if you have a predetermined order, you defeat the entire purpose of this type of calendar. For that matter, I certainly look forward to being surprised by whatever comes out of the beer calendar tomorrow!

 

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