Day Two in the fridge clearout (see the bottom of the post for an explanation) has been hanging around for ages. I’m not sure when I bought it but I know I picked up this bottle of Houblon Chouffe Double IPA Tripel from Dan Murphys – I remember that much.

It would have been a ‘‘nothing new’’ purchase. I’m prone to checking out Dan’s to see if there are any new beers. If there’s ‘‘nothing new’’ then I’m likely to buy something, anything, just so I don’t feel like a dork walking out of Dan’s empty-handed.

‘‘You’re walking out without buying anything,’’ I imagine the Dan Murphy’s staff thinking, ‘‘We’ve got loads of alcohol here. Loads and loads. And yet you’re telling me NONE of it took your fancy. My God, how much of a snob are you?’’

Yes, I have a vivid imagination.

Anyway, I bought this one because the idea of a double tripel was amusing.

I may have left it in the fridge too long because it had what I can only describe as a dusty flavour. Dusty and cloves and bubblegum – not the idea flavour combination. I could also really feel the nine per cent alcohol, in an unbalanced way. That’s the beer that was unbalanced, not me after drinking it.

I didn’t finish the 750ml bottle. In fact I didn’t finish the first glass I poured myself.

What’s going on here: Well, we need my beer fridge to store food for Christmas lunch. So, to avoid having to remove a fridge-full of beer in the week before Christmas, I decided to gradually chip away at it in the weeks before the festive season. Pretty smart, huh?