A new holiday offering from Sierra Nevada is our next featured beer, time to get Hazy for the Holidays….
Holiday Beer # 5 – Kris Kringle from McMenamin’s
Out Tuesday holiday beer comes from the McMenamin’s chain from Oregon and Washington. It is the jolly man himself….
Holiday Beer # 4 – Winter Warmer from Rahr & Sons
Rahr & Sons from Fort Worth, Texas brews up a Winter Warmer that is our 4th holiday beer of the season. An English Dark Ale for cold days or nights.
Holiday Beer # 3 – Christmas Ale from Bell’s
Scotch Ale is the order of the day with the annual Bell’s Brewery release of their Christmas Ale. Thanks to increased distribution a lot of the country can now have this malty treat.
Holiday Beer # 2 – Faux Snow from Angel City
Back to my DTLA backyard with this new this year release from Angel City, Faux Snow….
Holiday Beer # 1 – Jubelale from Deschutes
Each year, I “Advent” calendar selected beers starting the day after Thanksgiving and going until Christmas Eve. This year, I start with the reliable and re-labeled (with new artwork) Jubelale from Deschutes Brewing.
Christmas in a Barrel
I have always wondered why Anchor never had multiple variants of their Christmas Ale. Maybe they thought that recipe tweaks were enough.
Now they have gone and aged the 2016 version in “whiskey and wine barrels for a year, and then tasted all of the individual barrels to select this very special blend.”
What really perks up my ears is that combo of wine and whiskey barrels enough to talk Christmas beers before Thanksgiving. I really think a strong red would add so much to this beer.
Merry Christmas!
Have a great Christmas celebration filled
with good cheer and even better beer!
The Beers of Christmas – Last Day
We close out the BSP annual focus on holiday seasonals with Evil Twin and their somewhat hopeful or doleful (depending on your Christmas cheer) named stout.
Holiday Ale Review – Christmas Ale from Anchor
The 2016 recipe seems more spice forward than the past couple of years. I am catching more rye notes as well as more of the spruce/tree aroma and bite. I’m tasting a bit of clove as well. The malt seems to be more of a burnt roast. Overall, more hearty this year.
Of course part of the allure of the beer is the tree on the label, discussed as much, if not more than the recipe. Here is the 411 on the 2016 label: “Our tree for 2016 is the “1,000 Mile Tree” or the lone pine found during westbound construction of the transcontinental railroad. Discovered in 1869, it was a lone pine amidst a vast and desolate landscape. The tree on this year’s label was hand-drawn by Bay Area artist James Stitt, who has been creating Anchor’s Christmas Ale labels since 1975. His charming illustration of the 1,000 Mile Tree includes a person at the top of the tree with a mug of beer, honoring an old legend that railway passengers sometimes attempted to climb the tree.”
You can see all 42 of the Christmas “trees” in the collection right HERE.