Cheers: Fall in a Bottle

In the dog days of summer, I pine for autumn.

It was one of those icky, sticky humid days in August when John McMahon stopped by the office with a sixer of Door County Brewing’s autumnal seasonal L’automne.

Suddenly, things weren’t so sweaty. Even though fall was still a month away, the thought of drinking a L’automne when I got home from work relieved some of the oppressive humidity. It gave me hope that, yes, this ickyness will end.

Of course, it always does end, but time seems to slow in the heavy molasses air of August, dulling perceptions and weighing souls, and making the freshness and freedom of fall seem impossibly distant.

That’s why I love this beer. It has a deep complexity that finishes with a tangy and puckering-ly dry yeasty bite. The colors of fall seem to dance across the tongue. It’s a lovely and highly drinkable beer.

I think Door County Brewing has captured the season in a bottle, with, I might add, a seven-percent punch.

•••

So how do you follow that? I reached deep into the magic fridge and pulled out Dogfish Head Immort Ale.

Funny, yeah?

It is self-described as “vast in character” with “interwoven notes of maple, vanilla & oak.” Better yet, it weighs in at a hefty 11 percent. What better way to end my autumnal rumination than with a powerful Immort Ale?

Oh, yeah! This, too, is fall in a bottle. Deep, rich flavors. Raw alcohol is one of them. That’s OK by me.

Vast in character? Yeah, I’ll give them that. Lots going on here. You can almost chew this sticky beer.

Don’t you just love the fall?