The Beer Year

As a huge Syracuse Orangemen (My apoligies to the powers that be at SU. They will always be the Orangemen.) fan, I frequently visit syracuse.com for stories on the teams at 'Cuse. Occasionally, I will come across some good beer related material as Syracuse is a nice craft beer city with Middle Ages Brewing Company, Clark's Ale House, and many other great places to visit.

With the new year here, Don Cazentre wrote a interesting article on what beers go best with each passing month. Cazentre does a nice job pairing the months with beer styles and offers several examples of tasty beers for each style. He also offers a local example for New Yorkers to try.

January - Scottish ales
Middle Ages Kilt-tilter

February - Chocolate Beer
Landmark Vanilla Bean Brown Ale

March - Stout
Middle Ages' Black Heart Stout

April - Bitter
Saranac Pale Ale

May- Maibock
Sackets Harbor Brewing Company's Maibock

June - Saison
Ommegang Hennepin

July - German-style hefeweizens and Belgian wits.
Hefeweizen at Empire Brewing Co. in Armory Square.

August - Pilsner
Victory Prima Pils

September - Harvest Ales
Southern Tier Harvest Ale

October - Oktoberfest
Saranac Oktoberfest

November - Belgian-style Trappist or Abbey ales
Ommegang Abbey Ale from Cooperstown.

December - Winter Warmers
Wizard's Winter Ale from Middle Ages

Cazentre's local offering for Febuary was for those who do not like mixing chocolate and beer but for those who do, I would suggest Brooklyn Brewery's Black Chocolate Stout. These beers are vintage dated and age quite nicely so it is fun to buy a six pack and sock it away each year. Brooklyn also offers a pilsener if you are looking for a local beer to try in August.