As American and world markets tumble headfirst into ruin, not only are the movers and shakers and owners of various institutions affected, but the little guys, like you and I feel the pinch as well.  Besides the fact that we (and our children...and our children's children) will be paying off a $700 billion mortgage for the next 30 years, many poor souls are already experiencing direct repercussions of a broken economy  whether it be in the form  unemployment, an empty gas tank, a runaway interest rate on an adjustable rate mortgage, or even foreclosure. Personally, this writer and his has been affected by the former--unemployment--and has had to make many sacrifices.  After months of combing the want ads and countless application, I am happy to report I start a new and better paying job this coming Monday.   However, as the past several months have necessitated meager living, beer has been left out of the budget--it missed the cut as a necessity.  Keeping food on the table and the house from foreclosure was certainly a much higher priority than quaffing a pricey palatable beer.  So when beer did happen to find its way into my arid oral cavity, it was usually not ...

Hopefully there are more people drinking it "with us Friday."  A special thanks to you, Dave, for sticking to our "regiment."  Here are my impressions of the beer.  I started with the pour, which produced a rich light brown and creamy head.  What is nice about this is that the head stuck around.  I noticed that the carbonation bubbles were very fine in this beer.  Although the beer appeared to be brown, it had some gorgeous deep amber tones, which match the colorfully dark label on the beer.  It got on swimmingly with the glass (I actually drank it out of my Unibroue glass).  Next I smelled the beer.  Delicious.  There was a definite grapish/wine smell to the beer.  No doubt (the expression, not the group), the beer got this quality from the lees.  It also had a sweet, malty smell with little noticeable hops qualities.  There were tons of wine characteristics in this beer, not only in smell but also in taste.  The smell reminded me of ripe fruit (as the bottle suggests).  Pinpointing the fruit was not easy, but I caught cherry or strawberry.  (Unibroue actually makes a cherry driven ale called Chose.)  I suspect that the yeast helped promote ...

Here is the "drink with us Friday" beer...Trois Pistoles (three towers).  Look for it in a four pack or a 750 ml bottle.  The 750 ml bottle might run around $7.99, so share it with a friend.  The four pack may run you about $9-11.  The 9% ABV is plenty for you both.  This beer from Canada (Quebec) has a reputation for brewing its ales on lees, which are grapes used in making wine.  For a good apologetic on why their beer costs what it does (or any good beer costs what it does) check out Unibroue's website.  Their main page wil also allow you to read about their beers and methods.  I've had the pleasure of having multiple beers of theirs on tap (including this one).  Leave it to a French Canadian brewery to use grapes and come up with a delicious result.  I can't wait to drink this.  We may feature another one of their beers before too long. P.S. I want to encourage those who try this beer to try it with one or multiple friends.  I'm actually excited because I'm planning on drinking this locally with some people from work.  YUM!