When does Yuletide begin? The first snow? The first child's question about Santa? Or is it the photo contest? Who knows. In any event, we are well and truly underway and have more announcements of prizes:

♦ New Jeff Alworth of Beervana, who is madly researching in Europe for his book The Beer Bible just picked up a Westy glass as well as a bottle of 12 for some lucky beer nerd who gets to choose either the vessel for every or the brew for one day.¹
♦ New Adrian Tierney-Jones and CAMRA have offered two copies of Great British Pubs.
♦ New Martyn Cornell, the Zythophile himself, has pledged a copy of his book Amber Gold and Black.
♦ Creemore Springs Brewery - whose prizes I covet. Are they the most generous?
♦ Maximiliano Bahnson, author of Prague: A Pisshead's Pub Guide and a guy I want to have a beer with.
♦ David Selden, 33 books the guide to taking your own drinking life seriously.
♦ Grand Teton Brewing of Idaho, a much welcomed newcomer to the contest.
♦ All About Beer magazine, a great supporter of this here thing.
♦ Narragansett Brewing, home of, yes, my favorite porter and another much welcomed newcomer to the contest.
♦ Roland and Russell, Ontario fine beer, spirits and wine importer.
♦ TAPS The Beer Magazine, one of our finest supporters year after year.
♦ Ron Pattinson, author and YouTube phenom.

More photos. John Lewington is first up. The picture up there is his take on a medieval morality play entitled "strong lager" - or "how I ended up sleeping on a bench in public during the middle of the day."

Peter Collins of Wesmore Digital in Cambridge Ontario has sent in these eight images for your consideration:

Sean Inman of Beer Search Party in, I think, LA Cali sent in this view to the right of a Christmas message hidden in plain view. And Kristin Mayo of North Carolina has provided this reflective view to the left.

There. We are caught up for now. I still have more prize giving prospects to hit up and we need more entries, too. Send your eight best pictures to me at beerblog@gmail.com. The more of you, of course, the merrier.

A beer. Imagine writing about a beer on a beer blog. It's about time. I am finally past a bug and waves of ramifications that have basically hammered me since early October. No more. As Phoenix rises so do I turn to beer for purposes other than medicinal.

A tan head resolves to froth and rim over light orange chestnut beer. A sniff or two gives that nutmeggy, malty aroma the cool kids are all talking about. In the mouth, burlap and 16th century nut and bark spices with sweet grainy pumpernickel. Not all that far off a pumpkin beer in a way. That way being no pumpkin. A slightly lighter take on a dubbel, it is quite tasty with an attractive bright acidity. Bought just across the big river, I may well see if there are more if we go shopping tomorrow for good Vermont cheddar at eight bucks a kilo. Viva! Viva good Vermont cheddar at eight bucks a kilo!!!

The BAers are slightly less enthusiastic. At under five bucks a bomber, I am quite pleased with the value. Govern yourselves accordingly.

Levels of abstraction. That is what this style stuff is about. Not about what it is but how it can be grouped. I think. Two articles got me thinking about this today. In The New York Times, Eric Asimov talked about "sour" beer and got into a range of beers that I would never consider to fall under that adjective. And the great ATJ discussed the challenges posed by grappling with the idea of Abbey beer.

So I get back to the original question: what is an Abbey Ale? Is there such a thing? Trappist is an appellation — it covers dubbel and tripel and very strong dark beer. Abbey? It seems to be 5-6% (but then looking back at my notes I find Silly Brewery making a 9.5% one), sweetish, gold in colour with reddish hints, but then it could be a brighter gold or a darker gold. In one French brewery I was given one with rice in the mix, which gave it an almost ethereal lightness of touch, which didn’t work for me. So is it a marketing device? On the label the picture of a fat cheery monk or a sombre looking abbey and the promise of heaven in a bottle seems to be a popular device. Marketing then. That’s the way my thoughts are going.

One thing pops into my mind when I read that passage. And it is not intended to give the dim and greasy hope. But is it so bad to consider that marketing might have some actual work to do? Maybe the idea that you can find valid maltiness with a pinch of thoughtful Belgian yeasty spice is enough to be Abbey. Can't we gather around that cause?

Yet Eric Asimov's inclusion of Goose Island Sofie and Ithaca White Gold as sour? That goes further, doesn't it? Does marketing need to make sour out of, you know, tang? I had that great CNY beer last year and mentioned "I had one the other night that had spent a long time in the stash and was gorgeous, showing lots of tangy beer gone bad quality." Is tangy beer gone bad sour or is it something else? And is Sofie sour? Really? Stan wrote a great post this summer about the weird things we love in weird beer. But does that make for sour?

I've undertaken my sour beer studies and included a lot of things... but now I wished I called it "Acids I Drink" or some thing like that. Tangs, sours, twings and twangs? They all have their own worthy place. But by bundling them under "sour" are we not treating them like we treat Abbey beers, labeling them with a euphemism? And if we do - but do so to aid in understanding by adding an abstraction... is that so wrong?

I will inundate you for a bit here. The prizes and entries do flow in and I have to get them out of the inbox and into the... hmm... what would Protz call it... the information super highways. Plenty to do. No time to doddle bothering with that sort of thing. First, here is the updated prize giver list:

♦ New Grand Teton Brewing of Idaho, a much welcomed newcomer to the contest.
♦ New All About Beer magazine, a great supporter of this here thing.
♦ New Narragansett Brewing, home of, yes, my favorite porter and another much welcomed newcomer to the contest.
♦ Roland and Russell, Ontario fine beer, spirits and wine importer.
♦ TAPS The Beer Magazine, one of our finest supporters year after year.
♦ Ron Pattinson, author and YouTube phenom.
♦ Creemore Springs Brewery - whose prizes I covet. Are they the most generous?
♦ Maximiliano Bahnson, author of Prague: A Pisshead's Pub Guide and a guy I want to have a beer with.
♦ David Selden, 33 books the guide to taking your own drinking life seriously.

There will be more. There are two major publishers considering their options. Yes, there are. OK, go on. Go about your business.

And way up there is what I like to call a strategic move. It appears that John Lewington of England is sending in a photo a day at a time to coax me into highlighting his entries. The bastard. If they were not so good I would not buy it. Not at all. He tells us it's not "strictly a beer photo but if you close your eyes, you can almost smell the fumes of real London ale and vinegar, we put put on our chips here in England, emanating from the doorway of this wonderful pub." That is just cheating. Because you can. You can smell that smell. Cheater pant John.

Green sign? Is it for running towards when you really have to pee or run under if you are a CAMRA organizer and see a keg or bottle of beer? Not sure.

It is fun when I get to see these entries for the first time every autumn. The first blizzard of the season is just missing us to the south tonight but it is starting to feel Christmas around here. Think I will mull me a little something as I consider what we have received in the inbox. First, above is an entry from 2007 Grand International Winner, John Lewington of England. Is that green sign over the door directing me where to go if I really need to pee?

Fellow Engerlanders Boak and Bailey - of the surprisingly well named Boak and Bailey's Beer Blog - have sent in these eight entries. I like like the train compartment shot. I should have a category for beer and trains, too:

Max Bahnson of Pivní Filosof out of Prague is one of that happy happy tribe, those who submit entries as well as prizes. He sent in this set of six photos for your consideration:

Regular participant Patrick Hirlehey of Ontario sent in these entries with titles like "Baby Vomit Supreme," "Tempest, Saaz, Spice," and "OMG WTF DDH IPA LOL" - which code I am somewhat pleased to say I can read... but only because he told me what it meant

There you go. The first wave of entries. If no one else joins in, well, these guys get all the prizes. Do you want that? No you do not. Send in your own pics to beerblog@gmail.com. Do it.

While this contest gets some traction, there are other things worth thinking about. Well, other things that are about beer. Plus, I want to do more fancy bullet pointy lists on this blog. Fancy lists are a clear sign of quality. You agree, right?

Θ Is it just me or is it great that the Charlevoix Downtown Development Authority of that Michigan town is declaring their economic need for a microbrewery? Has anyone told them about that brewery in Quebec called Charlevoix that makes those beers I like? Two words: branch plant.

Θ I am really impressed with Greg Clow announcing that his brew newswire about the brewing industry is branching out into a dinner series. What I like about it is that Greg is acting as impresario, the orchestrator who neither brews nor cooks, neither retails nor wholesales. He's been blogging the TO beer scene since 2006 and has logged more photos of plates of food with a drink next to it on Twitter than any other Canadian. Should be good.

Θ I find this rather extended article on the branding of booze for women really quite odd. It's like an anti-binge, anti-sexy beer ad theory. Why use women to sell booze to men when you can use women to sell booze to women! Your thoughts may differ.

Θ And finally, let's talk about Lew. Lew announced he is seeking funding through Kickstarter for a TV show to be called American Beer Blogger. He is exactly the right guy to do this and is going through it in entirely the right way. Pledge. Pledge a lot. Make it happen.

There. As you have read that even more gifts have been pledged for the beer blog Yule, Xmas, Kwanzaa and Hanukkah 2011 photo contest. More picture have come in, too. Enter. Offer a gift. But most of all, pledge a chunk of change to Lew's great idea.

I always wonder if anyone might participate in this contest. I get slightly anxious 'round about early October. But it begins. Entries arrived by email this very morn. I have yet to truly begun hitting people up for prizes but so far we have the following fine folk pledging:

♦ Roland and Russell, Ontario fine beer, spirits and wine importer.
♦ TAPS The Beer Magazine.
♦ Ron Pattinson, author and YouTube phenom.
♦ Creemore Springs Brewery.
♦ Maximiliano Bahnson, author of Prague: A Pisshead's Pub Guide
♦ Update David Selden, 33 books.

Have I left you out? Put a note in the comments or by email to beerblog@gmail.com if you are able to give a prize from your brewery, of your book or in some other wee giftie in reasonable form. Direct prizes only, please. Gift certificates from beer stores are well loved. But the pumping of a website's URL in exchange for the false promise of getting something from a friend? That is so 2007. Not doing that again. And why should we with such great legitimate sponsors as these and those who have supported in the past?

And let me know if there is anything in particular you would like me to seek out for you. Creativity is rewarded. Seek and ye shall find. Doesn't hurt to ask.

Stan announced it, too. Send your entries to beerblog@gmail.com. Some rules here. More later if required. Up there is one of Andrew Mason of Illinois's entries from 2007. You can do that. Couldn't you? Could you? Have you?

What prizes do you want? Many confirmed already but many more to be sought out.

I am not a professional beer writer and this column is a good example of why. Pete Brown achieves a balance in this column that I don't think I could in my writing - but it is a challenging one.... which is why it is a very good read:

...I think this proves that you can perhaps take beer too seriously. Yes, there are times when I want to scream with rage at the way beer is disrespected, commoditised, trivialised and patronized. But I’ll admit there are also times when I want to say, ‘Guys, get a grip – it’s only beer.’ At the top of my beer blog I have the strapline, ‘Treating beer with the respect and irreverence it deserves since 2003’. I believe both are equally important...

Know what he is talking about? Go have a read. What I like is how he takes two forms of respect related to beer and balances each against the other and against balance, too. I like it structurally but his point is also worth considering. So far over 5% of entries in the OCB have received reasonably interesting annotation of some sort - few of which have to do with the grinding of axes. After just a month or so. What if it gets to 17% or 23%? I don't think it means that much except for my original point that the Oxford Companion to Beer and thinking about beer deserves taking on. Because respecting beer includes respecting thinking about beer and facts about beer.

But - like Pete says - not to the point we forget it is fun. And it is fun to think about beer, too.