What I was doing while I drank it
Drinking beer. And eating Mexican food, I think.

Reactions and Insights
Good old reliable Palm. It’s not great, it’s not bad. It’s light and drinkable, but not insultingly tasteless. It’s just Palm.

Would I drink a case of it?
Nah.

Okay, but would I drink a six-pack of it?
If someone gave me the six-pack, sure.

Did it contribute to my holiday spirit?
Don’t feel bad but no.

Beth’s Grade
7

Objective Grade
7.25

Label Notes
I continue to love this label in a very visceral and irrational way. The fat font, the diamond shape, the slightly darker green lines against the green background, the horse outline, the gold and red. It adds up to magic for me. I wish I liked the beer more because I feel cool drinking it.

Label Grade
9.0

Style: Doppelbock
ABV: 7.7%

NOTE: I have erred. I got the Snow Blind mixed up with Ellie’s Brown Ale in my memory. This post is about the real Snow Blind Doppelbock. I think. It doesn’t really matter.

What I was doing while I drank it
Sitting in a chair, as is my wont!

Reactions and Insights
Only just now did I realize that this was included in last year’s calendar. The label has undergone a much-needed redesign. I’m not going to read what I said about it last year until I finish this review.

So, okay. I kept thinking, “This wouldn’t be bad if it weren’t so watery.” It had flavor, and it went down easy enough. It just felt weak. Last year I said it was like eating milk chocolate when you want dark chocolate, and I stand by that.

Would I drink a case of it?
No.

Okay, but would I drink a six-pack of it?
No.

Did it contribute to my holiday spirit?
It didn’t not. (This inspired me to look up the “It wasn’t not funny!” clip from Real World Los Angeles, which I am not going to link to here because it is somewhat depressing.)

Beth’s Grade
6.5

Objective Grade
7

Label Notes
The previous label was a fun disaster that reminded me of the type of kid who draws the Megadeth logo in notebooks. This new logo is gentle, tasteful, almost feminine, like a poster for the Starbucks holiday CD. The colors are nice. The fonts are nice. The polar bear is nice. It’s a little too boring for the beer inside. But I do approve of the way they’ve handled the logo.

Label Grade
6.0

Style: German Pilsener
ABV: 5.0%

What I was doing while I drank it
I drank this as a companion to Thai food. It worked out fine.

Reactions and Insights
This is reliably inoffensive. It would be the beer I’d drink at a party if they didn’t have anything I liked. But usually the beer that fills that slot is Stella Artois, which is a bit more popular and maybe just a little better than this. It’s just bland. Not bad.

Would I drink a case of it? 
Probably not.

Okay, but would I drink a six-pack of it?
I guess.

Did it contribute to my holiday spirit?
Chris warned me in advance that he threw in some beers from his regular stock, and this was one of those. So it didn’t make me feel especially Christmas-y, but that’s okay.

Beth’s Grade
6.75

Objective Grade
7.0

Label Notes
There wasn’t a standard label on this, just the small strip of logo paper around the top. I liked the clean bottle; more beers should feel so confident. I wouldn’t love a world without bottle labels, though, so maybe only a few more beers should do it.

Label Grade
N/A

Style: Brown Ale
ABV: 5.5%

NOTE: I mixed up the Starr Hill Snow Blind with Ellie’s Brown Ale. This post has been corrected to the best of my limited memory.

What I was doing while I drank it
Sitting in a chair, as is my wont.

Reactions and Insights
This hit the spot. It’s been warm out—I actually had a gin and tonic at a bar last week—but I really want to feel Christmas-y and wintery. This is malty, but not oppressively malty. It’s also mildly spicy and bready, dark and belly-warming. It’s a good beer.

Would I drink a case of it? 
Another way of phrasing this question is, “Would I drink this beer 24 times in a row?” I can only drink IPAs 24 times in a row; that’s why the answer is usually no. But if I had a giant fridge and could rotate among four different cases, other styles of beer might make the cut.

I also think my beer palate is expanding and I’m proud of that. I’ve recently more than once thought, “Good for you for liking this, I don’t think you would have last year.”

Still, I probably wouldn’t include Ellie’s Brown Ale in my dream case rotation. But a half-case, maybe, during December and January.

Okay, but would I drink a six-pack of it?
Sure.

Did it contribute to my holiday spirit?
Yes, it did, and I wished I could have another one to kick me even closer to the holiday feeling.

Beth’s Grade
7.75

Objective Grade
8.25

Label Notes
It’s thoughtfully, but not trendily, designed. It’s got a lot of shadows and textures, which wre common in design about seven years ago. The illustration of the Great Dane (I think it’s a Great Dane, I am bad with breeds of animals) looks a little doubtful and forlorn but also can’t help looking stately, and transfers the stateliness to the beer. My least favorite part is the big A on the Avery label.

Label Grade
7.5

Style: Fruit beer
ABV: 4.2%

What I was doing while I drank it
Waiting for banana muffins to finish baking. Writing a blog entry over at All Over the Place. Getting sleepy.

Reactions and Insights
I accidentally thought that Palm was for Day 5 and took it out of the fridge, thinking I’d have it with dinner. But then I noticed a 9 on the cap. When I saw this I thought I’d better save it for a non-food moment.

It’s pretty good, though! Light and not too fruity. It’s refreshing.

Would I drink a case of it? 
It’s a little too shandy for twenty-four bottles.

Okay, but would I drink a six-pack of it?
I would, but I wouldn’t buy it.

Did it contribute to my holiday spirit?
It felt the most holiday-esque so far. So yes. But I realized that I probably won’t really have holiday spirit until we get a tree.

Beth’s Grade
7.0

Objective Grade
7.0

Label Notes
It’s a busy label, with an illustrated winter scene in the background, cranberries in the foreground, a seal with a Native American in a headdress above a needlessly large logo, and a very lazy rendering of the name of the beer. I’d peg this as a mid-1990s design. There’s some comfort and charm to its mess, like a die-hard small-town restaurant that serves substandard food, but it’s a mess.

Label Grade
4.0

Style: German Pilsner
ABV: 6.0%

What I was doing while I drank it
Finishing up my review of Prism Red Zone.

Reactions and Insights
It tastes like watery apple juice. There’s almost no carbonation. Someone on Beer Advocate says it feels “slimy,” and while I wouldn’t go quite that far, I know what he’s talking about. It seems almost everyone hates this beer.

That said, it isn’t hard to drink. It doesn’t really taste or feel like beer. I had no drive to keep sipping it… and yet I sipped.

Would I drink a case of it? 
I would not.

Okay, but would I drink a six-pack of it?
No. You wouldn’t, either.

Did it contribute to my holiday spirit?
I was IMing Chris while drinking this to complain about how bad it is, and he apologized, and I told him I actually like getting a few bad eggs in the batch. It’s entertaining to be surprised in either direction. And in some way, just getting deeper into the beer list is bringing me closer to feeling like it’s the holidays. But I don’t feel like it yet, still. Where is the magic? It’s out there.

Beth’s Grade
4.0

Objective Grade
4.0

Label Notes
My bottle was not wet like the one pictured. I’ve been trying to avoid taking my own photos this year because cutting out the backgrounds is a pain.

When I pulled it out the fridge, I said, “Oooh.” It’s a sexy bottle and label, entirely black and white but for the “crest,” a red gemstone with a somewhat cartoonish silver key overlaid on it. Chris said he bought the Sapphire because it looked like it would be good. Too bad the beer doesn’t deliver on the label’s promise.

Label Grade
8.5

Style: Spiced Ale
ABV: 6.6%

What I was doing while I drank it
The place: A chair.
The vibe: Super BACZ-y vibe. I was totally in the zone.
The work: I think the Red Zone started going to my head, because at one point I hit CTRL-F to find a something on a page so I could edit it and caught myself typing “bacz” by accident.

Reactions and Insights
You know, this is pretty good. I wasn’t expecting it to be. It’s very flavorful, but not too strong in any direction. Sometimes spiced beers can feel too herbed up. This does not.

Would I drink a case of it? 
No, in part because of the label. But it’s a little too much flavor for a workaday beer.

Okay, but would I drink a six-pack of it?
Sure.

Did it contribute to my holiday spirit?
I’m inching toward the spirit.

Beth’s Grade
7.5

Objective Grade
7.5

Label Notes
There are a couple of things going on here. One is the reference to bygone Philadelphia premium cable channel Prism, which existed from 1976-1997. (The Prism brewery is located just outside Philadelphia.) My family subscribed because it broadcast Phillies home games. But I also loved it for playing movies like Little Murders and The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds. Prism the channel was weird and great.

I’m going to guess this is from 1986.

But more, um, prominent on the label is the porny illustration. Is it done with a wink? I can’t tell. It’s so overtly sexist that I want it to be a joke. But I actually feel like the beer is telling me it’s not meant for me. BRO DUDES ONLY

Fine, I don’t need your Red Zone. I have the BACZONE.

Label Grade
3.0