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North Branch Land Trust honors Volunteer of the Year

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Sunshine, cooler temperatures expected into the midweek

<p>Tradition: The transmission of customs or beliefs from generation to generation.</p><p>The Holiday Season is upon us and many families are steeped in traditions that date back through many generations. From jolly old St. Nicholas to adorning the top of the tree with a star, year after year we all feel the need to keep up with old family traditions. We decorate the house, put up the tree and maybe even a platform with an old Lionel train. I have an old Lionel my mother gave to my father for their first Christmas together. Don&#8217;t ask me the exact year, but it was in the mid 1940s.</p><p>My family has kept with several holiday traditions. I have three little cloth elves that go back to my grandmother&#8217;s day. These elves date back to the early 1920s and look like the Elf on a Shelf sold today. Um, I wonder where they got the idea for the shelf sitting elf? Every year, someone in the family has to hide these elves somewhere on or in the Christmas tree after all the lights and decorations are placed. As the days leading up to Christmas pass, we have to find these elusively placed pixies. When you see one you yell out to let everyone know that you found one. My son Greg has become an expert in hiding these imps. There have actually been years that no one in the family could find at least one of these.</p><p>Another tradition is the placing of the &#8220;Alien Eye&#8221; ornaments. These two ancient bulbs are about as big as a softball and have three huge eye like decorations adorning their three sides. Before any other ornaments go on, I bring in the Alien Eyes and carefully place them on the tree. These two decorations date back to the early 1900s. My wife hates these ornaments. Every year she asks my why do we have to put these ugly things on the tree? I tell her tradition, it&#8217;s a tradition. Over the years I have waited to hear them smash on the floor followed by an oops. It would be like the leg lamp in the Christmas Story getting mysteriously broken.</p><p>Along with our holiday traditions, I like to make sure I have a tasty traditional winter beer on hand. One of my favorites is Harpoon Winter Warmer. This winter brew is crafted by the Harpoon Brewery in Boston, Massachusetts. Harpoon was started in 1986 by three friends, Dan Kenary, Rich Doyle and George Ligeti who loved drinking beer together but found their choices were somewhat limited. In June of 1987, a warehouse on the Boston waterfront was transformed into a brewery where they could brew good beers and drink them with friends. This was where the first Harpoon Ale was made. Since then, Harpoon Brewery has come a long way. While they kept their original trade mark beer the same, Harpoon now has several brews including seasonal offerings such as their tasty Winter Warmer.</p><p><strong>Sight:</strong> When you pour Harpoon Winter Warmer you see a beautiful, dark copper color with a soft white head that pours about an inch and a half thick. The head will dissipate quickly so make sure you get your fill of this eye candy. Even though this beer looks dark, it is still transparent through the entire glass.</p><p><strong>Aroma:</strong> Harpoon has blended several spices together to create a heavenly aroma. At first sniff, you get the aromas of cinnamon, nutmeg, clove and ginger with strong toasted malt. It is almost like smelling fresh gingerbread coming out of the oven.</p><p><strong>Taste:</strong> At first sip you get hit with the cinnamon and nutmeg followed by the clove and then a slight back note of ginger. The after-taste combines all of these flavors together. As you continue to sip this Winter Warmer you will continue to enjoy its complex flavors.</p><p>Harpoon Winter Warmer is one of my favorite beers to sip on Christmas Eve while enjoying the lit tree with all of the gifts piled high around it.</p><p>I recommend you give this beer a try. Harpoon makes a few other good winter beers like Chocolate Stout (5.9% ABV), Czernobog Russian Imperial Stout (10.0% ABV) and UFO Gingerland (5.2%ABV). You can pick up Harpoon Winter Warmer at any of our local beer distributors.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Jim McCabe The Beer Meister </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_james.jpg</photo0><caption0>Jim McCabe The Beer Meister </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_harpoon.jpg">
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>Jim McCabe</p><p>The Beer Meister</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p>The Beer Meister is a new column that will appear twice a month in the Times Leader</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p style="text-align: left;">Jim McCabe is an avid beer enthusiast and the circulation manager for the Times Leader.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

The Beer Meister: Holiday traditions and good beers. What are you favorites?