We've nearly made it! My presents are wrapped and, as soon as my kid goes to sleep, they'll be placed beneath the tree. Santa's bringing someone an orange monster truck, fulfilling a Christmas wish.

The season's been hectic because, well, it always is. I'm taking a quick break before diving back into work (those cookies and milk won't consume themselves!). This evening's beer was in the advent calendar Michelle put together for me: HighGrain's Pho King Christmas Ale. Does it taste like pho? Let's see!

HighGrain, based in a converted municipal building in Silverton, OH (just up the road from where I lived in Cincinnati), is a brewery devoted to sustainability (they also have a second brewing location out in the Brentwood area of Finneytown, OH). They use renewable electric at the brewery, have EV charging stations, a native plant garden, and more. You can hit up their "Our Story" page for further info on who they are and what they do.

Pho King has a little spot on the brewery's Silverton Drinks Menu (as of this writing). This lists the 9.3% ABV Winter Ale (that's what it's called on the menu, not "Christmas Ale") as being brewed "...with Santa's Special Pho King Spice Blend." So, the pho in the name is for a joke. I get it, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't down for a pho-inspired Christmas beer. My can says that the special spice blend contains star anise, clove, coriander, black cardomom (this is how its spelled on the can), cinnamon, and fennel. That's a spice combo that's new to me!

I was worried that the anise would be too heavy in the bouquet, drowning out everything else with black licorice. Fortunately, this isn't the case. The spice blend is decidedly Christmassy, even if it's not what I would immediately think of when I think Christmas. The thing smells like a good, dry mead (which is especially weird since, to me knowledge, there's no honey in the ale). There's no indication of the booze, which might be why Purrl gave my can sixteen whiffs.

The anise is a little heavier than the other spices on Pho King's palate, but that's not a bad thing. I can easily pick it out and set it aside, leaving room for me to find the cinnamon, cardamom, and clove. I can't separate the fennel or coriander from the rest of the spices, but I don't doubt they're in here. The booze hits in the finish, lingering long with the malt of the ale.

What a Pho King mouthfeel on this ale (you know I had to do it to 'em). It's robust and almost creamy, with only little of the standard ale bite. 

When my brother lived in Cincinnati, Michelle and I drove into the city proper to visit him one winter's day. I want to say it was sometime in early-January, when the last vestiges of the holiday season were slowly giving away to the brutal cold of the month. We hung out and grabbed some pho from a Vietnamese place around the corner of his apartment. It was a fun time and the pho was great. My brother lives on the other side of the world now, but maybe we can grab more pho from the place when he's in town next to visit.

Although it doesn't have anything pho about it, HighGrain's Pho King Christmas Ale is good! Like, 9.0/10 good! Michelle killed it all season with the beer advent calendar she put together for me. It's a bummer I'll need to wait eleven months before she does it again.