12/24/22: Abomination Brewing Company's Santa's Black Blood
7:29 PMIt's nearly Christmas now. My child's nestled, all snug (for this exact moment) in his bassinet. He has no idea that Santa's coming tonight to leave presents for us to open with him tomorrow.
There's no milk and cookies left out for Old Saint Nick. Instead, I have this can of one of Abomination's holiday beers: Santa's Black Blood. It's a big, bold pastry stout. Let's see how it's drinking.
Abomination, according to the three word blurb on their website, crafts liquid chaos. Their Facebook tells me that they're a nomadic affair (although today's beer was made in North Haven, CT), making them one of two nomadic brewing projects about which I know. That's it. That's the info I've found on the makers of today's beer.
Santa's Black Blood (this is its presence on Abomination's website--use it only to see its label art, as the info on my can contradicts the fine print) is a 13.3% double pastry stout featuring vanilla beans, eggnog spices, and milk sugar.
The bouquet starts off in an unexpected way, with discernable blueberry on the fore. This is followed in quick succession by vanilla and sugary candy; I want to say the candiness I'm getting is sugar plum but, honestly, I've never had a sugar plum before so I can't say for certain. What I am certain about is my surprise at how little booze I'm getting from the nose. At >13% ABV, I had braced myself for a heavy hit. But, no, there isn't really much alcohol here at all. Maybe that's why Purrl gave my can seven whiffs? For a cat, a species that can't taste sweet flavors, she has a sizeable sweet tooth.
This is a stout so, of course, I'm getting the standard stout stuff (dark fruit, coffee, chocolate) from its flavor profile. I'm also finding blueberry, vanilla, and some marshmallow. The eggnog part of the beer finally shows up in the finish, sticky and followed by a slight boozy warmth. Again, given the ABV, I'm surprised at how the alcohol doesn't really come through that much.
Santa's Black Blood is thick and viscous, syrupy and chewy.
Until this year, I've always been the kind of guy to spend a good chunk of my Christmas Eve wrapping presents (got them all done earlier this week this time!). And, let me tell you, I'm not particularly good at it nor do I particularly care for it. Seriously, it's one of my least favorite Christmas activities, especially when I compare the gifts I've wrapped to the expertly precise wrapping jobs of other people. I tell you what, though: Having a beer like Santa's Black Blood accompany my wrapping time sure would make it less of a slog.
Abomination's Santa's Black Blood isn't a beer I looked for. It's not something I'd typically reach for this time of year. However, I'm glad I picked this can up. It gets an 8.5/10 from me. Ho ho ho, and all that.
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