Nora McGunnigle

My Christmas gift to you is lots of interesting articles about beer! Bayou Teche's Karlos Knott sitting behind a pint glass full of cracklins, because why not.

I went to Elio's the other day and saw some cool special Stone bottles that just came in: So according the the websiite, the Crime and Punishment release is "our chile-infused bastardizations of two of the more robust members of the Arrogant Bastard Ale clan, are more than just spicy. They are downright incendiary." Crime is Lukcy Basartd Ale (a blend of Arrogant Bastard Ale, Double Bastard Ale and OAKED Arrogant Bastard Ale) brewed with freshly harvested peppers and aged in bourbon barrels. Like a criminal act, this capsicum-laced temptation—brewed with jalapeños and black nagas, to name but a few—provides entrée into the seedy underbelly of Stone’s pepper-induced purgatory. Similarly, Punishment is 2013 Double Bastard Ale brewed with freshly harvested peppers and aged in bourbon barrels. Brutally hot and unyielding in its imposition, this intensely hellish spawn of Caribbean red hots, fatalis and Moruga scorpion peppers is a just dessert for any spice-

Winter beers are still my bread & butter right now: check out my writeup on the Alcohol Professor . I'm pretty sure next week I'll have yet another one published online. For my weekly Gambit column, I discussed Parish Brewing's upcoming Grand Reserve Barleywine release .

How was your Thanksgiving? Uh-huh, uh-huh, that's cool, I don't really care. So much is happening in the wide world of beer! My cover story for the current edition of Southern Brew News FIRST of all, NOLA Brewing is gearing up to release their newest New Belgium collaboration called Black Strap Chicory Stout. It's a milk stout made with black strap molasses and chicory. Brewmaster Peter Cadoo and brewer Mike "Indy" Grap went out to Fort Collins at the end of October/start of November to brew the beer. Stay tuned for info on its release.