It's Cinco De Mayo Weekend! What are you sippin'?

Hola, Beer Amigos!


Happy Cinco De Mayo! As an ongoing tradition, I am always open to discuss what everyone's drinking for this one day where, although a Mexican Holiday, everyone and their mama celebrates! I mean, hey, it involves drinking, dancing, and celebrating an ass-whoopin'! What could be more fun than that? In case you unaware of the history I am referring to, take a gander at last year's first installment of my Cinco De Mayo coverage here. 
Anyway, what are you sippin'? Margaritas? Sangria? Moonshine? Whatever it is, try to party hard with a team player who is willin' to conduct the wagon. As for me, of course it's a high quality brew. Last year, I kept it real with our southwest neighbor and pounded a few Negra Modelos, one of my favorites out of Mexico. 
This year, I let the beer gods decide. When I got home from a whirlwind of a tour to Thailand, Utah and Virginia, I was welcomed by a package from Samuel Adams which contained a couple samples of their new release, the Grumpy Monk Belgian IPA. 

From what I get from the title and kickass artwork, the Monk's pissed because someone was ballsy enough to fuse the standard Belgian recipe of a spicy, semi-sweet, fruity ale with the boldness of a hoppy, citrusy Imperial Pale Ale. After reading the bottle and commercial description, I was right. That was their intention. 
Scoping the 12-ounce bottle's label a bit more, I noticed that Mr. Grumpy was also ironically disturbed that there was only a drip of this hybrid left to sip, so maybe he dug it after all! I am actually enjoying this one while typing this, although I tend to be a purest when it comes to messing with my ales. This one seemed to work pretty well, however, and I applaud Samuel Adams for continuing their campaign of broadening their vast portfolio of suds. The Grumpy Monk does well on the balance meter by making sure its hoppy character does not overwhelm the traditional tasting properties of a Belgian brew, and at 5.7 percent, it's borderline sessionable so a couple will be consumed before I go hardcore this evening! 

Yep, since my boy Floyd Mayweather is about to whip up on Cotto before serving his jail term and then hopefully (and finally) step in the ring against Manny Pacquiao, I should also be a tough guy of sorts, so it's going to Epic Brewing Co.'s Belgian-style Brainless On Peaches! At 10.5 percent, this French oak Barrel-aged concoction boasting the essence of fresh peaches promises to be damn good and I wholeheartedly thank my homies in Salt Lake City for sending me back with this 750 ml. bottle of liquid bliss! With only 1,800 in production, I feel pretty blessed!


Anyway, like I said, be safe and enjoy your weekend. I know I will!


Adios!
Ale


Oh yeah, and here one side of Epic's Brainless On Peaches. Nuts!