My Favorite Beers of 2005

Has anyone tried any commercial beers of note, this past year? Here are some of my favorites that I've enjoyed in 2005:

Local: This year's Nutcracker Ale by Boulevard Brewing, Kansas City. It's a bottle-conditioned ale that they produce for November and December only.

2005 Celebration Ale from Sierra Nevada. Always a good bet. If you can find their Harvest Ale on tap somewhere, you've just got to try it, as well. It's brewed with "green" hops, fresh from the hop harvest.

Yeti Oak Aged Imperial Stout by Great Divide (in Colorado).

Duchesse De Bourgogne from Brouwerij Verhaeghe (a traditional Flemish red ale).

Most of the beers that I tried while in Seattle at Elysian Brewpub and Bigtime Brewery & Alehouse. These are two of my all-time favorite beer establishments in the Northwest US.

All of the fresh beer on tap at The Rogue in Portland, Oregon, Especially the Imperial India Pale Ale, Menage Frog Belgian Style Tripel, and the Morimoto Imperial Pilsner.
Also, some of the beers I enjoyed and the relaxing time I had at Tugboat Brewing in Portland.

My favorite lager of the year: Leavenworth Friesian Pilsener (similar to those brewed in the Friesland region of Northern Germany) by Jenn Gridley of Fish Brewing Co., Olympia Washington. I'm going to try to reproduce a version of this in "Sputnik", my new fermenter.

These were just a few of my faves. How about you?

Great Trail Run in the Cold, Last Night

Six of us showed up to run our normal Tuesday night trail run, last night. The surface was glazed with mud that was half-way between frozen and wet, making for slick conditions in a few spots. It seemed darker than usual, because the wet mud is darker than the surface we are normally used to. My flashlight seemed dimmer, because of it.
I was leading the charge and started off slow, but felt crappy on the first 5-mile loop. On the second loop I started getting into a rythym, and felt pretty good. I slowly poured on the speed through that whole loop, and we finished strong. I didn't think that I was going that fast, but was told otherwise by some of the usual suspects.
All in all, a great 10-mile trail run.

When I got home, I had a great surprise. My daughter had come to our house earlier in the day and made some great soup out of Thanksgiving leftovers. My grandson was also there to greet me, (we were watching him 'til about 11:30pm). I sat down in front of the TV and poured myself a Boulevard Nutcracker Ale, which is especially good this season. A wonderful evening.

Side note: On Tuesday my son worked-out with the personal trainer (Igor) at my place of employment's wellness center. He will have a dietary consult with him on Wednesday, and plans on working-out 5 days a week. He told Igor that he is tired of having his dad being able to out-run and out-lift him. Maybe he will give up smoking. We can only hope. :-o