Follow Sean Inman to the best in craft beer
Not all holiday celebrations go swimmingly, if you feel like you are turning sour, remember Polite Conversations. The cranberry sour from Inglewood’s Three Weavers. It may not help a conversation into fun but it will pair with both food and walking away.
A sour ale “overflowing with cranberries and buzzing with the perfect hint of pomegranate.”
One of the most highly regarded of the British styled breweries is Machine House Brewery in Washington State and they have a seasonal that I wish I could get my hands on here in SoCal…
“This lovely full-bodied ale was brewed with lots of Rye and Crystal Rye Malt for a rich, boozy sweetness and a complex, tasty finish.”
The U.S. does not have a monopoly on Christmas beers and today we have a sparkling beer with a twist on the Lambic spelling from Belgium’s Oud Beersel.
“Winterlambiek Oud Beersel” is infused with pine buds. The incredible aroma takes you to the evergreen trees of the pine forest. The earthy pine buds give a spicy flavor to the smooth and complex Lambic, which offers a mild, slightly dry finish that will have you looking for the next sip as soon as possible!
“Winterlambiek Oud Beersel” is also very unique because it does not follow the traditional path of a winter beer. lt drinks like a light beer, has a refreshing carbonation and focuses more on the complexity of Lambic to drive the flavour forward instead of the sweetness that typically prevails in a winter beer.”
Now this is a simple but classic label, ornament, check. red and green, check. Name it Holiday Ale and done. Now go find it tucked between all of New Belgium’s VooDoo Ranger IPAs.
“Tis the season for flavors of cranberry and orange, cinnamon and spice, for everyone naughty and nice!”
Off to the Midwest for our next holiday beer as Short’s Brewing brings that staple of Christmas movies, the snow globe, now let’s shake it to see what is inside.
“We saw Grinch Joe Short muttering to himself and glowering from his lair so we concocted this double Sabro hopped hazy IPA and his heart grew three sizes, so now we’re spreading the love by adding Snow Globe IPA to our winter lineup. Hop on a snowmobile sleigh and take a ride towards epic amounts of coconut, tangerine, and apricot notes blended with soft touches of cedar, mint, and cream. This IPA will make you say “whoa whoa whoa”…. You know, instead of “ho ho ho.””
I gotta say that I much preferred the old label for 21st Amendment’s Fireside Chat. Roosevelt and a fire just seemed right for the season, now reindeer are drinking with their hooves. The bow label on cans and some of the packaging is just boring as well.
“We begin with a rich, deep, toffee-colored winter warmer ale and then we hand-select spices and cocoa nibs until we know we have a beer worth sharing.”
I do long for the school days at times, more for the breaks from school that I no longer have access to but Burgeon Beer Company has a Winter Break for us all…
…”This Hazy IPA stuffed with Citra Cryo, Mosaic Cryo, El Dorado, & Nectaron will have you reminiscing about your favorite trips down the slopes.”
Going east from SoCal we find colder snowier winters and possibly Frostbite, as in the Black IPA from Foothills Brewing.
“The official beer of Jack Frost. Skillfully blended barley and roasted wheat malts team up with a big blast of flavor and aroma from Pacific Northwest hops. The result? A Black IPA as refreshingly bracing as a cold winter day.”
Peppermint morphs into candy cane this time of year so no surprise to see it in a holiday stout from Ska Brewing in Colorado.
“A delicious Stout brewed with Animas Chocolate
Company Peppermint Bark – 55% dark chocolate layered with white chocolate and sprinkled with candy cane pieces.”
Never had a figgy pudding, never even had a figgy newton for that matter. The texture of figs is a little weird to my delicate little palate but a figged up Belgian Quad, I will try what Angel City has for the holidays.
“Figgy Quadding is our take on a Belgian-style Quadrupel, or “Quad” for short, modeled after a winter holiday cake Fig Pudding. All the caramel and roasted malts along with Belgian Trappist yeast give it the raisin, plum, molasses and stone fruit flavors known in Quads which are delightfully smooth and tasty. It’s brewed with figs and holiday spices: coriander, nutmeg, tangerine peel, cinnamon and ginger. Then we barrel-age it in ex-Brandy barrels for 5 months for even more holiday warmth and flavor. Enjoy this dessert themed beer around the holidays in the company of others for a cozy, boozy experience.”