Next up is what to wear when holiday weather starts to chill the fingers that hold the beer. Mount Tabor’s Checkered Flannel Brown Ale.
Distance Christmas Beer # 3 – Mount Tabor Brewing Checkered Flannel
Distance Christmas Beer # 2 – The Bruery Barrel-Aged Twelve Days Collection
Day 2 of our keeping distant but staying in the holiday spirit is a big ol’ box of barrel-aged beers from The Bruery.
“12 years, 12 beers. This limited edition collection includes a 2019 version of all twelve of our original 12 Days of Christmas Series releases. From Partridge to Drummers, we’ve got you covered. We took the original recipes and created a fresh version for you to taste in this collectible box. Finish your collection, or try side by side with your original. Creating this box was no small feat, but conversely this release is extremely limited and available only once, every 12 years.”
Distance Christmas Beer # 1 – Deschutes Super Jubel
Let’s start the annual BSP Holiday Beer Tradition with a classic of the style (with a twist) from Bend, Oregon it is Deschutes Super Jubel….
Beer description: “Malt forward with notes of toasted caramel, raisins, dates and figs that are complemented by spicy and herbal hop aromas.”
Personalized
Christmas shopping was going to be difficult this year but Los Angeles Ale Works has solved the problem for you. Personalized cans of beer! Way better than an annual Christmas card. Buy a case and pass out holiday spirit this year.
Do Not Add Ornaments
One of the powers of collaboration is that a small idea can grow. One hotel in the Netherlands (Hyatt Regency Amsterdam) teamed up with a brewery whose beer they served (Lowlander) and turned out of work Christmas trees into a special beer to serve.
Per news reports, “Lowlander collected as many trees as they could, stripped the spruce, and brewed them with juniper into a sustainable 5% white-style IPA.” The idea grew so fast that commercials were made for it and around 1,000 trees were upcycled into beer. Then the idea leaped forward again to include money donated from the beer sales and efforts to re-plant the trees. You can read more in this article on Fortune.
Christmas Beer Review – Samuel Smith’s Winter Welcome
It does feel like Christmas when the Christmas beers from foreign shores show up on shelves and one that I haven’t had in awhile is the Samuel Smith Winter Warmer.
This Shakespeare labeled beer pours a bubbly light amber color. Very British from the first wafts of the aroma to the first sip. For a beer low in ABV it is surprisingly a bit warming too. I am also getting a small touch of metallic note here. More dominant are notes pear and a bit of spice. Earthy with a good amount of hop bitterness.
Christmas Beer 2019 # 25 – Land-Grant (2) beers
Let’s end the winter beer cavalcade with two beers from Land-Grant Brewing Company.
Cranble Jamble “is brewed with Cranberry and Raspberry making it a friendly companion for snowy night rambles, ambles, jingles, and jambles of all varieties.”
La Superiora – “Legend has it that Molé was improvised in the Mexican state of Puebla by a convent of nuns, Who Threw any and Everything in the pot ahead of an Archbishop’s visit. Mother Superior named the concoction for its molé (mix) of ingredients. Dried chiles provide heat, chocolate lends richness, and patience imparts a deep complexity. It’s a hearty dish, oft enjoyed at celebrations, full of flavors that translate joyously in this cozy, soul-warming Holiday Porter.”
Christmas Beer 2019 2019 # 24 – Saint Arnold Texas Winter
As a child, I would get citrus in my Christmas stocking. Navel oranges or tangerines and now it is Satsumas. But Saint Arnold has a different citrus for their Winter IPA, grapefruit.
Christmas Beer 2019 # 23 – Hofbräu Winter Spezial
Nearing the end of the Christmas beers for 2019 but there is time to visit Germany for something special, Hofbräu Winter Spezial. The “specialty brewed with roasted Munich malt; therefore appearing dark brown up to black color. Large, persistent light brown head. Taste is intensely malty and toasty. Dark chocolate notes with a touch of berry flavor.”
Christmas Beer 2019 # 22 – Sun King Electric Reinder
Santa shouldn’t get all the Christmas credit and thanks to Sun King Brewery, the engine of the sleigh gets an upgrade with this ginger and molasses ale Electric Reindeer.