Earlier this week was the store Christmas party. Usually, these kinds of events make me cringe. A few hours spent in a room with the people you are with all the time anyway? Gaakk. But this year I was obligated, having been promoted to a department manager a few months ago.
The party started out like they always do, a few people awkwardly standing around making awkward, idle chit chat. There are lots of good people that work at that store, but sometimes meeting outside of the workplace can be a little weird. So I waited until some friends got there and we staked out a table end, got a couple beers, and had a blast.
You know it’s a good party when your throat hurts from laughing at the end of it. After the first beer, Craig, Ethan, Bob, Mark and I were laughing, joking and having a good old time. The first beer of the night was the classic Salmon Fly Honey Rye, can’t beat that one. But when it was time for another round, I couldn’t help but try one I’ve been eyeing for a while now.
Dragon’s Breath from Bayern Brewing in Missoula certainly has an eye catching label.. A green headed dragon wreathed in flame. I’ve seen it around for a while now, and have always meant to try it out. Last night was my chance, and I took it. If you ever get a chance to try this beer, I recommend you take it too.
Dragon’s Breath is a dark Hefeweizen brewed in the traditional Bavarian style. Bayern’s beer meister Jurgen Knoller has a long history with this beer, brewing it in Bavaria since the early 1980s. Since then, it has won an impressive collection of awards, including the Gold Medal at the 2011 US Open Beer Tasting Championship.
It’s a dark beer, but wasn’t as strong as I would have guessed. It has a mild flavor, with just a bit of a hoppy bite but without the bitter aftertaste. Sadly, I only had time for one of these dark beauties, but it fueled a good hour of fishing stories, bawdy jokes, and plans for next year (I think someone even mentioned putting together a team for an upcoming ice fishing derby).
Dragon’s Breath is one more to check off my list, but it has earned a place in my fridge any day.
