Brookline First Light Festival: A Beery Christmas Indeed

Bostonist felt a little old when we checked out the Brookline First Light festival Thursday night. Things started off all right, with a kid-free beer tasting at the Wine Gallery in Brookline Hills. We had an Imperial Stout from Stone Brewing, then moved on to more dastardly territority. We'd flirted with the Arrogant Bastard before, but this time it was its badass brother, Double Bastard (right), that won us over with insistent hops kicking up a storm after some initial sweetness. We almost bought the big $80 bottle, but decided we didn't want (okay, were too weak) to carry it around with us all night.

We then moved on to Edible Arrangements, where free chocolate-covered fruit was distributed with wild abandon, and All of the Animals (above) played some cute hippie-ish tunes, incorporating African drums, tambourine, shakers, ukulele, and more. Initially, we were pleased with the experience, but we slowly began to realize we were the only half-drunk, childless folks in the building (except for maybe the band members, but we can't be sure about that). Feeling awkward, we navigated through the crowds of chocolate-fingered children, then slunk down the street to Matt Murphy's, where we drowned our old age in more bitter brews. Next time, we might just stick to the booze.

Photography and First Light accompaniment by Jill of Fringe.