February 17, 2009: Full Sail Wassail

February is easily my least favorite month of the year. I mean, when you really think about it, what does the month of February have to offer anybody? My post from the other day made it pretty clear how I feel about the whole Valentines day thing. The holiday season by this point is officially dead and buried, but we still have the cold misery of winter to deal with. For those of us in the adult world, after president's day there is a serious drought in holidays for a good two months or so. And even when Easter does come around, it's on a Sunday so you don't even get to miss any work! Yes, that dark period on the calendar that I like to refer to as the doldrums is officially in full swing now, and we can all look forward to grinding out the next three months apathetically as we wait for the approach of summer. Staring into the dark abyss of the doldrums is enough to bring anyone down, so tonight I'm hoping that Full Sail Wassail can lift my spirits a bit and get my mind off of the looming calendar for a while.

What the heck is a wassail, you ask? Well you've come to the right place my friend because it just so happens that I am an expert in the field of wassailing. Wassailing is essentially Christmas caroling with a few minor differences. House-visiting wassailing is essentially the exact same idea as caroling, going door to door and filling your friends and neighbors with the holiday spirit. The orchard variety of wassailing is a bygone practice of 18th century England, where festive wassailers would visit apple orchards and sing to the trees themselves, in order to produce a more bountiful harvest.

As you've probably surmised by now, Full Sail Wassail is a winter ale that was meant to be as festive as the name implies. Winter brews are traditionally very rich, thick ales meant to warm the body and the spirits in the dead of a cold winter. Full Sail Wassail is a formidable medium-dark ale with some very fruity notes in its flavor. You need to be in the right frame of mind when you take on a heavy winter brew, but something about Full Sail Wassail was just so refreshing and drinkable. One of the earmarks of a quality brew is lacing, which are the rings of foam left behind on the glass as the head recedes. Full Sail Wassail had excellent lacing and there were many fruity notes in the taste, most notably apple and hints of cranberry. I was absolutely taken with this winter brew, and would recommend this beer for all ale lovers. If you're a lager person then you're probably not going to like Full Sail Wassail too much, but it's not a bad ale to try if you're looking for something to change your mind. Another enticing quality of this beer is the quirky brewery itself, which proudly boasts of having a "massive brewforce of 47" right on the label. This one get's a solid A from Mr. 365brews.

Cheers,
Ian

http://www.fullsailbrewing.com/wassail.cfm