It’s Christmas Eve. I spent the afternoon watching Home Alone, and one of my favourite musical moments is when they borrow Russian Dance from Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker. You remember the scene; the family wakes up, realizing they slept in, and mayhem ensues as they rush around the house like lunatics trying to get ready to leave for their Christmas en Paris.

Go listen to Russian Dance and let your mind drift back to that scene. So easy. So clear. So. Not. Tchaikovsky.  That’s right. I assume you’re as fooled as I. Turns out John Williams (he of the most famous film scores of all, Jaws, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park, etc etc) was clearly just very ‘inspired by’… Mhmm.

Alas, I digress.

In the spirit of [what I thought was] Russian Dance, I went out an bought a bottle of Russian Imperial Stout from Propeller Brewery – an ol’ faithful brewery of mine (from back in the days when I lived in Halifax). I was definitely expecting the coffee and dark chocolate flavours, as that’s quite typical of this style of brew. I was not, however, expecting quite this amount of gorgeous dark fruit quality. There are hints of black cherries, dark plums, maybe even a burnt orange characteristic in this beer that all come through especially once the beer has warmed up to about room temp. Makes it incredibly complex and helps cover the 8.0% ABV. This is a beer to keep you warm when you’re sat beside the fireplace with your family. In other words, the perfect Christmas brew.

Za tvo-yoh zda-rov-yeh!

(*to your health*)