Last year, a good friend of mine presented a challenge to me; try 20 different holiday beers between Thanksgiving and New Years. I gladly accepted, of course, but the task was harder than it sounded. By the middle of December, I lost count and come New Years Day, I don’t really know if I reached 20 or not. He assures me we both made it to our goal, but I still have my doubts.

This year he has upped the ante; 30 holiday beers. This time, though, we are getting a head start on the competition and kicked it off tonight. So, between now and New Years Day (we might extend that to the 5th of January though, not sure) the goal is to seek out and try 30 different holiday brews.

From now to the end, I will be logging my adventures in the hop-filled land of malt and barley. I’m calling it my Holiday Beer Report. So, without further ado, here’s #1.

Celebration Ale

The long, cold nights of winter are a little brighter with Celebration® Ale.

Could not be further from the truth. This is a really good holiday ale. It’s dark, and crisp with a nice hop and hint of woodsy pine after taste. It hits the back of your throat with a little tingle and then goes down smooth and warms the soul all the way down. If you like their Pale Ale, you will love this beer. Heck, even if you don’t like Sierra Nevada Pale Ale (read: you have no taste buds) you should try Celebration Ale. You’ll thank me for it later.

WARNING: Political rant.

From a cause on Facebook :

We oppose the deterioration of our society and culture by the destruction of marriage by the inclusion of homosexual marriage.

What a crock of shit! The amount of FUD being televised on this is insane. I seriously doubt any school will include gay marriage in their curriculum let alone teach your child to be gay. It’s retarded people. Whether you believe that being gay is a choice or is learned, it’s a fact of life all over the globe and no matter how hard you try, your precious Timmy is going to find out about homosexuals sooner or later. I don’t understand the reasoning.

Furthermore, a lot of this anti-gay marriage bullshit is based on religious beliefs. What happened to separation of church and state? Keep your religious ideals to yourself, do not impose your silly belief system on others (or we will be forced to group you with the rest of the Jehovah’s Witnesses).

Here’s another bit from the description of the cause:

This is a cause for everyone who believes that marriage, as a tradition, should be preserved as between one man and one woman.

Again, you’re imposing your religious beliefs on others. Now you’re excluding Mormons. Fortunately (for you), no one cares about them because they’re all crazy. Hey, if I told you I talked to God in the forest and he gave me some magic stones, would you believe me?

No, you can’t see the stones. They are only for me, but trust me, they’re magic.

If you ask me, there are far more larger issues with this state than gay marriage. Why don’t you redirect your homophobic energies towards something more productive, like say, illegal immigration.