On the ninth day of Christmas...

Stoudt's Brewing Company brought to me: a 12 oz. bottle of Stoudt's Winter Ale, a 6.2% abv. red ale.

Well, we're getting down to the nitty gritty. One six-pack has already been torn through, and the second one's numbers are dwindling. We've traveled to San Francisco and the fields of Belgium, stopped in the Philly suburbs and even made it to Kalamazoo and back, all the while testing my palette in ways both good and bad.

And it's time for a break. Well, a semi-break. I've maxed out my ability to write flowery, saliva-inducing reviews, so today I'll leave you simply with this: drank beer with some old friends, enjoyed said beer but the the company even more.

Now if you'll excuse me I have to go get the pole -- always aluminum, high strength-to-weight ratio-- out of the crawl space.