I'VE RECEIVED THE GIFT OF THE MAGI

I sent my poor pregnant sister into the wilds of Santee, California to procure me a set of LOST ABBEY BREWING rarities. Figured, she lives down there, I don't; she can't drink beer, I can; I have money for baby toys; she needs baby toys. It all worked out, and then some. She got me three 22-oz. bottles of splendor, all three of which will be reviewed on this blog either presently or in the near future. Let's start with what I now believe to be the finest beer ever created by incredible, world-beating brewer Tomme Arthur and his Lost Abbey team: GIFT OF THE MAGI. I'm going to get my 10/10 rating out of the way, and then tell you why.

I drank this with another teetotaller, my wife, who demanded none of the beer and yet persisted with my lip-flapping and political ranting as the 9.5% ABV warmed my noggin. GIFT OF THE MAGI is, as they say, "a burnished gold elixer", and a dry-hopped biere de garde. It is a muted orange in color - a burnished gold, you might say - and it contains both a deep roasted taste and a very (very) mild bit of funkiness. The primary flavor is honey, I'd have to say, but not honey like you find in some Trader Joe's contract-brewed knockoff, but the finest and most rare of honeys, brought to Jesus Christ himself along with a pot of frankencense or whatever. I swear to g*d, I'd drink this just about every time when put up against any other beer. It immeidately goes into my favorite beers of all time list, and I'll do anything to get another bottle of it. Again, 10/10 if you're skimming. Wow.