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| Alphonse Mucha, A Winter Tale (1917) |
It is a bright, sunny day outside and not too cold, though wintry enough with a nice covering of snow. Hard to believe that today is the darkest day of the year. All the same, I have found something that has helped me to look forward celebrating today! I recently came across a beer from Montreal brewed specially for this occasion and since the sun will be "over the yardarm" earlier than usual today, I won't have to wait too much longer to enjoy...
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| Photo Credit: Filia Artis |
My snowman is keeping a bottle of Solstice d'hiver by Dieu du Ciel! cold for me.
The website explains: This noble winter beer is brown in colour with flaming red highlights. Its taste is delicately sweet and liquor-like with a hint of burnt caramel coming from the malt and a prolonged boiling time. It is a very bitter beer with aromas of hops and alcohol, and flavours reminiscent of red fruit brought by the English-type yeast we use to ferment it. The aftertaste is accentuated by the wonderful flavour of hops. Solstice d’Hiver is brewed only once a year, and is then aged for 4 to 5 months before being sold. This aging process is necessary to achieve an ideal equilibrium between the sharp bitterness and the other flavours in the beer.
Hard to resist!
The good news? The days will start to get longer from here on forward!
Happy Solstice!
xoxo
Filia Artis
PS. The stereo is playing a mix CD entitled "Scotch on the Rocks" a friend once made for me. Full of Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits, Nick Cave and other "life is tough" singers. Perfect for a "dark" day!
Update: The beer was delicious! Almost as complex tasting as a wine. Shared one bottle between two of us. If you've never ventured beyond basics like Labatt's or Coors, you are missing out big time!!
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