While you’re out picking up all these great beers shipped in from all over for your yuletide enjoyment, don’t forget the local brewpub around the corner. No doubt the brewer there has been working on a tasty seasonal beer. Drop in for a taste and maybe buy a growler. Nothing makes you more welcome at the annual Christmas party like a jug or two of beer under your arm!
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If you can’t settle on just one style of beer for your holiday party check out the sampler packs that many brewers put out this time of year. For example, Samuel Adams always makes a nice pack available that features porters, winter warmers, fruit beers and, of course, their classic Boston Lager.
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Fans of Avery Brewing Company in Boulder are familiar with the big, untamed beers put out by the brewery. The expectation for their holiday brew might be one crammed with fruit, nuts, candy canes and gingerbread cookies. But Old Jubilation is a classy English strong ale. The blend of malts used in making it results in a rich, tasty brew with hints of toffee and chocolate. The big flavor and 8% alcohol will certainly make you slow down and enjoy the holiday season.
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This annual offering from Pyramid is available from October through January. The winter warmer from Pyramid is a rich, dark beer with a full, chewy, sweet flavor. Some hops are present but the overall impression of this beer is similar to a sweet stout.
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This traditional winter warmer is a pleasant, unassuming English ale. Unlike its brethren yuletide beers, Samuel Smith’s Winter Welcome Ale doesn’t scream out with spice, fruit, or any other sort of in-your-face Christmas cheer. It is content to be a nice, mellow ale with hints of toasty biscuit. A very agreeable companion for a cold winter evening.
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This is a rich, tasty winter warmer from Boulevard Brewing Co. in Kansas City. It has a nice, full malty flavor balanced with plenty of fresh hops character. Nutcracker Ale is made with just barley, hops, water and yeast. Tasty and pure, what could be better?
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First, let’s clarify something here. A butt is a large cask that can hold 126 gallons of beer. Get it? This beer caused some trouble a few years ago when the state of Maine tried - and failed - to ban it’s sale. Apparently a cheeky picture of Santa’s cheeks was just too much for Mainers.
As for the beer itself, it is a sweet porter. Dark, roasty, and flavorful it’s a nice beer for yuletide quaffing.
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This is another of my annual favorites. There’s nothing overtly holiday-ee about this brew - no spices or candy canes added to the brew pot - but it is a great ale made by a great brewer and marks their contribution to the season.
Celebration Ale is rich and malty with plenty of the characteristic hoppiness that marks Sierra Nevada’s beers. At 6.8% alcohol it is one of the more modestly alcoholic of these seasonal beers but it is so rich and flavorful that one is still compelled to sip and savor it slowly.
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This rich dobbelbock is an annual favorite of many beer lovers. It is brewed by Schloss Eggenberg once a year on December 6, Santa Claus Day, thus the name. It is then aged for 10 months before bottling. The result is a rich, malty brew with a whopping 14% alcohol, once the highest alcohol beer in the world.
Unlike many other Christmas beers which are based on fresh spices and fruit, Samichlaus is a made strictly of only barley, hops, water and yeast. It is also a vintaged beer, meaning it can be kept and aged in the bottle like a fine wine.
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This is a tasty, spiced wheat ale put out every Christmas season by Bethlehem Brew Works. The beer is crammed with traditional holiday spices - cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, etc. - and Belgian candied sugar. The special Belgian ale yeast used by the brewer packs in even more spice and flavor. Given that, plus the 10.5% alcohol, this is a slow sipper.
Rude Elf used to be known as Rudolph’s Reserve but fell victim to one of those law suits that hit small brewers from time to time. After the company that owns the copyright on Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer went after Bethlehem for copyright infringement, the brewer dropped the original name. The new label clearly expressed Bethlehem’s dissatisfaction with the whole affair. Besides the red-nosed elf and the cartoon reindeer, check out which finger the rude little fellow is flying!
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