Yule Grog 2015 Part 4: Samuel Adams Merry Maker Gingerbread Stout.

My fourth and final beer of the 2015 Yule Grog is the Samuel Adams Merry Maker Gingerbread Stout. I've looked forward to drinking this beer for quite a while. Typically, I'm quite happy with other Samuel Adams brews, especially their Cherry Wheat Ale. In fact, the first beer I ever purchased when I turned 21 years old was a Samuel Adams Boston Lager. Needless to say, my expectations are high when it comes to the Merry Maker. Let's hope this stout succeeds.

As with all of my Yule Grog reviews, I will actively be taking notes as I drink the beer for the first time. My notes will be divided into two sections -- cold out of the fridge and at room temperature. No matter what I experience, I will notate and share it in my review. I have not been coerced or influenced by the brewer in any way. My review will be honest and straightforward.

Merry Maker Gingerbread Stout is ready for purchase annually in November. It is 9.0% Alc. by volume and available nationwide in limited release 22 ounce bottles. The Merry Maker is brewed with cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. And now... it's time to drink!

Cold out of the fridge:

• It's very dark and quite syrupy in consistency.
• Has a foamy, creamy head.
• Smells faintly peppery.
• The initial swallow is rich in roasted malt flavor.
• The bitterness is light, but especially noticeable on the sides of my tongue.
• Roasted flavor is quite strong and overpowering.
• I am unable to taste the spices at all.
• Tastes pretty much like any run-of-the-mill stout beer, like a Guinness.
• It doesn't taste bad, but it's definitely nothing special.
• I might as well be drinking the average stout beer.

At room temperature:

• I thought I could taste the cloves for a sheer moment... maybe?
• The smell of the spices has risen only ever slightly.
• Unfortunately, I still can't actually taste any of the spices whatsoever.
• The flavor profile has not changed at all.

Well... at least I didn't pour this beer out. Honestly, the Merry Maker was unimpressive and boring. The label might claim to have seasonal spices involved in the brewing process, but I couldn't taste them at all. I spent eight dollars on this 22 ounce beer, with nothing to show for it. For much less, I could have bought a standard Guinness and had the exact same experience. Never again would I buy the Merry Maker because the price doesn't warrant the lacking flavor. I expect better from Samuel Adams. Unfortunately, the Merry Maker fails to deliver on the promise of robust, spicy holiday flavor. Ordinary, drab and lackluster, the Merry Maker does not receive my approval.

Well, this wraps up the 2015 Yule Grog. Sadly, only one of the four beers I reviewed was approved. Perhaps I'll have better luck next year!

Yule Grog 2015:

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Potential Mass Shooting Averted at 2015 Pokémon World Championships.

Boston Police provided this photo of the weapons, ammunition and personal items found in possession of Norton and Stumbo, the accused attackers at the 2015 Pokémon World Championships.

A lot of nerds take their various hobbies and interests way too seriously. Dressing up in fur suits, getting My Little Pony tattoos, standing in line for hours to obtain free comic books... the list goes on an on.

But these two geeks? They take the cake.

Two morons from Iowa were arrested on Saturday at the 2015 Pokémon World Championships in Boston, Massachusetts. Before arriving at the tournament, Kevin Norton (18) and James Stumbo (27) allegedly made threatening comments to other tournament attendees via their social media accounts. They also shared photos of various guns with those remarks. These threats were then provided to security officials at the convention center where the event was being held. Within hours, the pair of Pokémaniacs were in custody. They were found to be in possession of a 12-gauge shotgun, an AR-15 rifle, several hundred rounds of ammunition and a hunting knife. Thankfully, the duo was apprehended before they could sneak the weapons into the event.

The terrifying part? Norton and Stumbo were both official attendees of the tournament. They were to take part in the Masters Division and were invited to participate in the tournament by its organizers. This was clearly not a case of two strangers raiding an event -- they had the proper credentials to be there. If not for the convention center officials being tipped off, this could have gone horribly wrong.

I've played video games in the Pokémon series for as long as it has been in existence -- since 1998 to be exact. In that near twenty-year time span, not once have I ever taken the games this serious. Sadly, this is yet another example of socially-inept geeks not understanding how to process reality, nor communicate with other humans beings. We've made it too easy for such people to exist in modern society.

The Importance of Christmas Cards.

A very old Christmas card featuring Santa Claus in a make-shift zeppelin.

If it's not already abundantly clear, I like to write. Writing is therapeutic, as well serving as exercise for my brain. It keeps my noggin loose as a goose, you know what I'm saying? When it comes to your mind... if you don't use it, you lose it.

One of my most favorite things to write are holiday cards. Between Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years, I probably mail out a couple dozen greeting cards to family and friends. Odds are you've probably received one from me at some point (or you're about to). I write and send holiday cards because I want the recipient to know how important they are to me. Though many miles and difficult schedules may keep us apart, I am thinking of you.

But where did holiday cards come from?

The world's first Christmas card.

The origin of the Christmas card goes back to London in the year 1843. Sir Henry Cole commissioned over two-thousand cards to be printed with an illustration by John Callcott Horsley. Henry Cole was already notable in his day for inventing the Penny Post, which was a cheap and effective means of sending a letter for only one penny. Horsley was a well-respected academic painter and illustrator in England. These two men could not have known the phenomenon they were about to unleash upon the world. Ever since, Christmas cards have been in constant production (which also spread to other holidays on the calendar throughout the year).

Jump ahead to the year 1873. Christmas cards were not yet a ritual in the United States. Prang and Mayer, a lithograph company located in Boston, Massachusetts, began to sell greetings cards for Europeans, which they then followed up with the first commercially available Christmas cards for Americans in 1874. Louis Prang, the owner of the company, is known as the "Father of the American Christmas card". If you're an artist, the Prang name should sound familiar to you. Louis Prang was an outspoken art education advocate, to which he developed and sold art supplies and educational materials through is company. His name graces the Prang brand of art supplies, which include colored pencils, watercolors and crayons! Every time you use a Prang watercolor set, you can thank Mr. Prang in due part for creating the American Christmas card!

For over a hundred years, Christmas and holiday cards remained a common seen item in folks' mailboxes. Though, in the advent of the modern technology age, Christmas cards have take a back seat to emails and virtual greetings. Such electronic messages are fine and dandy... but they just can't replace the warmth that comes from receiving an actual card in the mail. To know that someone took the time to write a card, put your address on it, affix a stamp and take it to the post office... that shows initiative, authenticity and purpose. A recent study by the Heritage Foundation was not promising, though. In 2013, they confirmed via the US Postal Service that the volume of greetings cards mailed had shrunk over fifty percent since 1987. Even worse, the volume shrinkage between 2010 and 2013 was ten percent! As evidenced, the rate at which people are not mailing cards is rapidly sinking.

All is not lost, though. You can take part in sending a personal holiday message of love and affection. Grab a pen, get a holiday card from your local pharmacy or department store, slap a stamp on it and put it in the mail! Write your mom, your brother, your best friend from high school! I promise you this - a card filled with warm wishes and season's greetings will mean much more than any e-mail ever can.

Want to get on my greeting card mailing list, but don't believe you're already on it? Send me a message (Facebook, text, email, etc.) and let me know your address. I want to mail you a holiday card!