(Disclaimer, I am not a trained beer critic, these are my opinions. Also, some of the beer was given to me free, but that did not influence the list)

(Counting down)

11. Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA via Fresh Hop Randall at Flying Saucer

Hmm… so I haven’t actually had this beer being it’s 12:49 am Dec. 3 and this beer won’t be served for another 17 hours… BUT I did have it at the Blind Tiger in NYC and it was good. I’ll tell you how good it was in person, but I won’t commit the description to the Internet currently as I am looking for employment. Next time you see me ask me and I’ll tell you. If you read this within the next 20 odd hours, go to the Flying Saucer and drink as much of this as they will serve you. It’s so so good.

10. Victory Yakima Twilight
Tried this last night at the Draught House. Served in a half pint glass, it’s enough hoppy to make you forget you’re drinking from a little person glass. I like it. Second to Amarillo, I think Yakima are my favorite hop variety. It’s an American Strong Ale but hoppier than other’s I’ve tried. Very satisfactory. It leans to the citrus side of the hop scope and the finish preps your palate for more.
I’ve come to learn not to expect anything but great beer from Victory, and this one does not disappoint.
[blame the less than stellar photo on me and my iPhone photo skilz. Our regular photo guy, Shawn, was out of town]

9. 2009 Anchor Our Special Ale in the Magnum Bottle
The. Ultimate. Holiday. Party. BYO.
Anchor always makes an outstanding holiday offering, and the only thing that makes it better is for it to be bigger; ridiculously bigger. I found this beauty at Spec’s on Brodie. Take this baller to your next holiday party and you’ll outshine the Bethlehem star.
Close runners up in the Christmas/Holiday category: I’m a huge fan of the Saint Arnold Christmas (was it just me, or was it sweeter this year?), the Shiner Holiday Cheer (PEACHES!?! PECANS!?!?! WTF!!?!?!), the Deschutes Jubelale (which is currently fueling this post), and the Avery Old Jubilation(PARENTHETICAL!).

8. (512) Bruin Double Brown
We did a whole cussing post on this beer. The recap: it’s good, it’s hot, it’s malty, it’s hoppy, it’s Nate’s, it’s an old homebrew recipe miscalculation, it’s named after a bear, the color brown, and Nate’s parents’ old softball team.

If you went to the Draught House 41st Party they had it via the (512) Hopalope.

7. Breckenridge Oatmeal Stout on nitro at the Flying Saucer
We tried this a few weeks ago when Breckenridge Brewer Todd Usry was in at the Flying Saucer. It’s creamy, smooth, and oh so oatmealy delicious. This is a sexy beer. If you’ve never had a craft porter/stout on nitro, go out and try this. The Breckenridge Oatmeal Stout is already more than drinkable on its own, but the sensual nitro touch makes it all the more better. I can’t decide if I want to pour it on pancakes or drink it out of a rose. I’m pretty sure there are multiple benefits to using this on your skin. Are you uncomfortable yet?

6. Live Oak Primus
I didn’t have any original images of the Primus so I did a Google image search for “live oak primus” and found this photo (is that Andy Samberg?)
Spot on, Google!
Really, this is a great beer, and I am very happy the the terrific folks at Live Oak decided to bring the Primus back this year. It’s a huge, boozy, spicy, chewy, weizenbock made by some of the best german style brewers in Texas, IMO.

Last year, Julie (one of the Live Oak brewers) let me try some of the still aging Primus out of the tank at the brewery… if only I’d have known how incredible that baby beer in my mouth would grow up to be.

They were serving it at the Black Star Co-op location reveal and I had it at Draught House. It should be on all around town, at this point. Go out and get some.

Imma going to break this post into two parts cause Im getting tired, I’m done drinking beer, and my writing’s not getting any better. I know, it’s a cliff hanger! To the four of you who get this far in the post, I promise will try to finish it up before the weekend…

Welcome to Over a Pint Episode 12, our dozenth of the inconsistent, informative, amateur, awkward, improving, technically malnourished, DIY attempts at talking beer and drinking beer with the people who make/sling/influence the beers we drink and love.

The fine folks at Flying Saucer hosted Breckenridge Brewery’s brewery director Todd Usry and invited us out to drink some beers and shoot some video. Todd was on a Lucky U IPA mini tour, promoting the new IPA, as well as the Oatmeal Stout on nitro tap, both very nice.

Todd is very proud of the Lucky U and boasted it has seven hop varieties, including my favorite, Amarillo. Todd described this as a “hop waterfall.” It’s a snappy beer. Coming in at 6.2% ABV, it’s more session-able than the 471 Small Batch IPA. And here is a word of advice on drinking/trying the Lucky U, it’s not the 471 IPA and if you drink it in comparison, or after the 471 IPA, you’re going to miss out on what the Lucky U has to offer. From my understanding, it was created to fill a gap in the Breckenridge line up, not to replace or even be a smaller version of the 471 IPA. But the fact that the 471 IPA has been on the scene for a while now makes it hard not to compare the two.

On to the nitro Oatmeal Stout. Creamy, smooth, creamy and delicious. Aside from the normal nitro beers (Guinness, Bodingtons, Young’s Double Chocolate, etc.,) it’s a pretty special thing to be able to get to try some of your favorite beers on nitro. The craft beers I’ve had on nitro prior to this have only been served on premise where they were made as a tasting room special.

Austin is one of eight accounts in the world that get this beer on nitro tap.

Flying Saucer GM Ted said it would be on nitro top for a limited time, so go out and try it.

Todd also talks up his Christmas Ale and his history at Breckenridge.

Gah. Enough with the writing. Watch the video.

I’m drinking a Lucky U IPA, then switch over to the Oatmeal Stout on nitro and Todd is drinking the Breckenridge Christmas.

Enjoy!