I made a deal with my daughter. After gymnastics class, we’d run by the beer store (D&Q, 806 Richmond). If I bought a treat, I’d get her one, too. Yes, I bribed my daughter, effectively, for beer.
She’d had a long day and wanted to get home, but I wanted to pop in, just to see if they had a few things I’d heard had made recent appearances. I don’t tend to go out of my way to track down rarities, but if I have a reasonable suspicion and am in the area, I’ll pop in. They didn’t have what I was after, but they did have a few bottles of Prairie Christmas Bomb!. Cost: about $10 a bottle. And a Twix bar.
The question of whether or not it’s worth it is an interesting one in terms of beer. Lately, it seems that chasing down so-called Shelf Whales has become the single-minded focus of beer lovers all over. By “lately” I mean “for as long as I’ve been paying attention to craft beer.” There’s a pervasive attitude that if it’s not rare, it’s not really worth it. If you look at it through a simplified lens of supply and demand, this makes a certain amount of sense. Of course, the entire point of beer (to me) is enjoyment. A beer is “worth it” if it tastes good and provides an interesting experience. This is (one place) where Shelf Whales run into trouble.
See, I hadn’t ever tried Christmas Bomb!, so I didn’t know whether or not I would like it. I was paying nearly a buck an ounce on a bet. That’s pretty much par for the course with special releases and rarities. You can’t be risk averse.
There’s no doubt that Prairie has developed a pretty good reputation since the Oklahoma upstart made its way to the Texas market. That reputation is not without its detractors, though — people quick to poke fun at the headless chickens crowing over this Bomb! or that Noir. Hype begets anti-hype, I suppose. Me, I’ve tried a few of their beers here and there, as I’ve run across them, and have found them generally of good quality, with a few of them verging on outstanding. The “standard” Bomb! toed right up to that line, so my gamble wasn’t without decent odds.
An “Imperial Stout Brewed with Spices,” Christmas Bomb! pours pitch black, with a creamy toffee-colored wisp of foam that quickly recedes to a scant ring.
Right out of the fridge, it’s all coffee liqueur and baking chocolate on the nose. Despite the promise of spices, there’s not much of that to be had. Of course, this is a style best allowed to warm a bit; doing just that brings out a lot more nuance – up to a point.
Bittersweet chocolate leads on the palate. It’s also very boozy, with hints of spice. Nutmeg. Cinnamon. Super dark roasted malts. After the initial apparent sweetness, it dries out significantly, finishing without a bit of sugar, and with a strong roasted malt bitterness. I’d really like a bit of that chile heat that complements the standard Bomb! (imperial stout aged on espresso beans, chocolate, vanilla beans and ancho chile peppers) so nicely.
As it warms, the spices begin to take over. The sweetness comes back a bit, riding a wave of charry bitterness, all wrapped around a fistful of spice drawer. It actually starts to get a bit cloying. All those big, aggressive flavors start to get a bit cacophonous.
It’s not just a matter of big, bold flavors. Standard Bomb! is a giant beer, but supremely balanced. This one feels like it tipped the scales a bit, with a set of dominos perched underneath. Tilt the spices too far and everything cascades. I bet some time would do this one good, pulling back on the booze and the spice, while allowing more of the nuances to shine through. As it is, the nuances tend to get a bit clobbered.
If you let it warm even more, tending toward room temperature, some new flavors show up. Super over-ripe bananas, bourbon-soaked dark fruit, hints of vanilla. Cola. Hazelnut, and a Swiss Miss finish. You really have to search for them, though, and you have to devote a good half hour of warming and “breathing” to get them to show.
If those showed up a bit more readily, if the other aggressive flavors gave just a bit of quarter, this one might show better. As it is, it’s honestly a bit of a letdown. Does that mean it wasn’t worth that extra Twix? I’ve got one more bottle. I’ll let you know in a year.