Christmas Libation.

Tis The Season, Fa La, Fa La, Fa La!

 

By Oiznop

 

 

      Contrary to popular belief among my family and friends, I love the Christmas season. I love the wondrous sights that include beautifully decorated trees, wreaths, colorful lights, and other holiday décor found in almost every window. I love the sounds, including the traditional Christmas songs that fill the air (unless they are destroyed by pop artists like Christina Aguilera and Mariah Carey. Oh, my ears!). Now don't get me wrong, there are parts to the holiday season that still turn me into a bah humbug, such as the cold weather, shopping, crowded malls, credit card debt, and poorly sung holiday tunes. But for the most part, it is still one of my favorite times of year.

      The thing craft beer consumers like myself most look forward to when the calendar hits December is the large variety of Christmas and winter beers that arrive at the distributors and bars.  The variations of this style of beer are astonishing as breweries from around the globe create fabulous seasonal suds with numerous ingredients and different flavors.  As we gear up for another yuletide, let’s take some time out from the hustle and bustle to sip and explore some of the specialty ales and lagers made to take away the winter chill and promote an enjoyable holiday season for beer drinkers world wide.

Penn St. Nikolaus Bock:  We start off our Christmas drinking frenzy by pouring a hearty glass of a local favorite among us Pittsburghers.  St. Nikolaus Bock is brewed by none other than the Pennsylvania Brewing Company in the author’s hometown of Pittsburgh, PA.  I realize that I keep touting the virtues of sampling the German style lagers from the Penn Brewery ad nauseam.  The reason for that is because of the quality of the products Penn puts out.  All of their beers are brewed according to the German purity laws, and they make for a tasty beer drinking adventure.  St. Nick’s is no different.

      This hearty European-style dark münchener dunkel is out in the stores and bars before Thanksgiving, but is officially tapped some time around the feast day of St. Nicholas (December 6^th).  In Germany, the feast day of St. Nicholas is traditionally the start of the Christmas season.  On the weekend that falls on or near the feast day, the brewpub celebrates the official tapping of this holiday treat with a St. Nikolaus party that includes lovely Christmas carols played by an all brass band, a special German Christmas food menu, and a visit by St. Nicholas himself (not Santa Claus) to man the first pour.

      This Christmas beer is very malty, and delicious.  St. Nick’s has a thick head from the bottle, but when it is tapped, the foam evaporates quickly.  The color is dark reddish to burnt amber, with an aroma of Christmas spice.  Dark malts are used in creating St. Nick’s giving it a deep flavor that includes hints of chocolate in the over all mouthfeel. St. Nick’s is sweet and spicy, with the sweetness and spiciness blending in with a well balanced hoppiness.  Like many holiday seasonal brews, St. Nick’s also has a fairly strong alcohol content, so drink this one sparingly whilst celebrating the yuletide.  It is a shame that this beautiful lager is not served year round.  It truly is a solid reason to look forward to the holidays, especially here in the steel city.

Anchor Christmas “Our Special Ale”:  As we leave Pittsburgh and the Penn Brewery, we now journey to the west coast where the mircobrewing phenomenon in the United States was born.  Our holiday beer tasting adventure puts us in San Francisco, the home of the Anchor Brewing Company.  This well-known suds creator is best noted for a product line that includes Anchor Steam Beer, Anchor Porter, Old Foghorn Barley Wine, and Liberty Ale.  But every Christmas season since 1975, Anchor Brewing Company produces their holiday gift, known as Anchor “Our Special Holiday Ale.”  As with most Chirstmas seasonals, this wonderful reddish brown beverage is released around or just before Thanksgiving, and is available until New Year.

      The first distinguishing characteristic that the beer connoisseur will notice (that is if he orders this beer from the bottle) is that Anchor’s “Our Special Ale” has a label depicting a tree that accompanies a holiday greeting.  Every year since Anchor introduced this holiday brew, it has changed the bottle label to show an image of a different tree.  They do this annually not only because of the holiday season, but it is also to show that when pre-Christian societies existed, those societies gave trees sacred status as a symbol of the winter solstice and its arrival.  The different labels each year sure are attractive, especially if the drinker is a beer bottle collector.  One has to wonder, though, whether or not this is an attempt by the brewers to be politically correct.

      The label is not the only thing that is annually different about Anchor’s holiday ale.  The ingredients that are thrown into the brew kettle vary from year to year as well.  The holiday ale is almost always spiced, but in previous years, beer drinkers have been known to taste ingredients such as chocolate, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, nutmeg, vanilla, and licorice while imbibing this festive goody.  With such variety, you just never know what you are going to get when you taste an Anchor “Our Special Ale.”  It’s almost like a box of chocolates.

      The 2004 version of this wonderful beer has a nice dark reddish brown body sitting underneath a latteish ¼ inch head with a good sudsy leave as it settles in the pint glass.  This year’s ale seems to have a slight raisin like quality to the flavor, almost like Corsendonk Monk Brown.  Sweetish chocolate malt and candy sugar tastes are very prevalent.  Some of the Christmas spices that were mentioned above seem to blend in with a very well balanced hop/malt character.  The finish has a nice spicy bite to it bringing out the hops in a subtle fashion.  With an ABV hovering around 5.5 – 6.0, Anchor’s “Our Special Holiday Ale” is a must try for any lover of gourmet seasonal drinking.

Anderson Valley Winter Solstice:  We remain in California on our holiday beer excursion.  The Anderson Valley Brewery is located in Booneville, and is the maker of some beers that yours truly has not yet tried, but plans to in 2005.  The reason why is because after tasting this micro’s Winter Solstice, I was completely blown away.

      Anderson Valley Winter Solstice has big flavor in both the hop area and in its chocolate aftertaste. From the tap, the head is sudsy and small, but leaves a decent ring around the pint glass once it settles. The coppery bronze hue is very inviting. A malty hoppy nose is detectable. But the real defining signature of this winter ale lay on the tongue with a very well balanced sweetish character mixed with a mild hoppiness that was very smooth and nutty, and had acidic chocolate and caramel notes to it. Some low key spices were detected by the buds, as well. The finish was very bold, but not objectionable. Like I mentioned before, this is the first time I sampled an Anderson Valley product. Because of their Winter Solstice, I hope to taste more very soon. What a great way to warm you up on those cold winter nights!

Sierra Nevada Celebration:  On now to Chico, California to sample an award winning festive treat.  The 23-year-old Sierra Nevada Brewery, nestled in the mountains that it is named after, has a reputation for creating beers full of character and complexity.  Their signature Pale Ale has found its way into bars and distributors across the country, thus leading to a cult like following within the micro circuit.

      Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale is not your daddy’s (or Santa’s) typical Christmas seasonal.  It is very aromatic, with lively strong hop flavors bursting on to the palate.  The most distinctive hop flavor this reddish orange holiday ale has is that of a lemon hop bitterness.  It is so hoppy, that Celebration is more reminiscent of an India Pale Ale than it is a Christmas brew.  Sierra Nevada uses Two-Row Pale, English Caramel, and Dextrin malts, mixed with Chinook, Cascade and Centennial hops to give it a puckery bitterness. At almost 7% ABV, along with 62 bittering units, this holiday brew will definitely raise the spirits of Christmas past, present, and future.

Sam Adams Old Fezziwig and Holiday Porter:  Heading back east, we now make our way to one of the mircobrewing industries pioneer brewers.  In recent years, the Boston Brewing Company has become commercial in their endeavors, but that does not mean it has gone the way of the big three macros regarding the quality of their products.  Known throughout the land for Sam Adams Boston Lager, Boston Brewing comes out each Christmas season with a holiday variety pack.  This pack includes their signature lager, Sam Adams Light (don’t ask me why), a very fine winter ale, a cranberry lambic that tastes more like a fruity wheat beer, and the two holiday specials we will now feature, Old Fezziwig Ale, and Holiday Porter.

      In the Charles Dickens holiday classic story “The Christmas Carol”, Old Fezziwig was Ebenezer Scrooge’s superior when Scrooge was a young business apprentice.  This was all brought back to Scrooge’s memory when he was visited by the first of three ghosts in an effort to save Scrooge from his miserable old self, and not face the same fate of his late counting house partner Jacob Marley.  Old Fezziwig was a jovial and kind man, who was a stickler for business, but also loved to celebrate when the time came.  He would most definitely enjoy this wonderful Sam Adams Christmas ale that bears his name.

      The head from the bottle is big and long lasting and leaves good lace once melted. Hearty malt and fruity aromas are akin to Old Fezziwig, as they waft from the dark reddish to amber body.  Flavors of bold caramel and chocolate malts rest on the tongue, with nice smooth spicy overtones.  Orange, ginger, and cinnamon are used in the brewing recipe, but the bitey aftertaste gives off hints of cloves and some slight peppery flavors. Old Fezziwig would be proud, as this brew might even put a smile on old Scrooge’s face.

      From the bottle pour, Sammy A Holiday Porter has a mocha like head that sticks around for a while, leaving a very nice ring of foam around the glass.  This porter’s appearance is typical of the style.  Dark, rich, thick, and very stout-like.  A dark brown to black body displaying no signs of carbonation gives it its character.  Heavy coffee, and light cocoa aromas are detectable.  Burnt roasted malt, and the thickest coffee and molasses flavors are present on the buds giving it that holiday warming feel and making it extremely full bodied.  A mildly bitter aftertaste that is also typical of a porter is noticeable, along with some hoppiness.  If you are a fan of the porter, Sam Adams Holiday is a Christmas treat that you will definitely want more of in your beer stocking. Be sure to tell Santa, that is if he hasn’t consumed it all himself!

Troegs Mad Elf Ale:  This microbrewery is an up and comer if it isn’t already.  Located in Harrisburg, PA, the Troegs Brewery was founded in 1996 by two visionary brothers, who produce some quality suds like beverages.  Come holiday time, Troges creates and breaks out their Mad Elf Ale, a fruity, spicy and very strong elixir with a significant warming feel.  Oh, yeah, the label is just as attention grabbing as is the ale itself, depicting a cartoon like elf seeking to take part in some mischievous behavior.  He is certainly not Hermy from the “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” holiday special, that’s for sure.

      The head on this Christmas seasonal is basically non-existent, dissolving quickly and not giving anything to the leave. The body is copperish to ruby red.  Fruity aromas of cherries that mix with malt like scents are noticeable. The tastes are bold, fruity (cherry like) and dry, with an almost wine like quality.  Medicinal is a good description of this beer, but the fruitiness definitely stands out.  Cherries and honey are thrown into the brew kettle along with the pilsner, Munich and chocolate malts, and Saaz and Hallertau hops, but I really didn’t taste anything resembling honey.  A spicy bite was detected along with an oaky aftertaste.  Be sure to have a glass of water on stand by, for Troegs Mad Elf Ale checks in at 11% ABV and packs a wallop if sampled in large quantities.

      There are certainly a wide variety of seasonal Christmas beers available from the wonderful breweries overseas as well.  Less we forget about Belgium, that European low country that accounts for probably the largest variety of beer styles on the planet. Here are three just to name a few.

Delirium Noel:  According to world renown beer guru/journalist Michael Jackson, flippant names such as Delirium are akin to the Belgian spirit of eat, drink, and be merry.  What better time of year than the yuletide to put forth this spirit.  Noel is brewed by the Huyghe Brewery near Ghent, which also produces Delirium Tremmens and Delirium Nocturnum.  These are two very strong ales that are fermented with three types of yeast, a variety of hops, and are made not for the faint of heart.  Both are sweet, spicy, strong and perfumy.  Noel is not that much different in character from its year round siblings.

      The head on this holiday brew leaves good lacing, but it vanishes quickly into the reddish bronze body.  Nice spicy malt aromas with a small perfumy like base rise from the tulip glass.  Noel is a classic Christmas Belgian ale giving off a strong warming sweetish alcoholic quality.  Hints of pepper and candy sugar, as well as other spices rest on the tongue.  A nice fruitcake like aftertaste that is not real dry is also present.

Affligem Noel:  Made by the suds masters at the DeSmedt Brewery of Opwijk, this Belgian Christmas ale is named after the Benedictine monastery of Affligem, located west of the capitol city of Brussels.  This ancient abbey did at one time brew on its own way back around the 9^th century.  DeSmedt carries on the abbey’s tradition with their year round dubbel and tripel ales displaying the Affligem name.  All of Affligem’s products have deliciously rich flavors ranging from fruit to spice to orange peels to caraway seeds.  They all undergo fermentations in the bottle, resulting in a big foamy head after the pour.  But the 9% ABV Affligem Noel is probably the most flavorful of these strong ales, giving off a prune or raisin like flavor coupled with a sudsy off-white top and a dark brown body.  Affligem Noel is definitely a powerful and enjoyable holiday adventure.

Corsondonk Christmas Ale:  Like the Corsondonk Monk Brown, the Christmas ale that is produced by the Du Bocq Brewery has a dark burgundy brown hue with flowery aromas, medicinal flavors and notes of raisins, prunes, vanilla, anise, and an alcoholic character.  The only difference is that Corsondonk Christmas is a lot sweeter and has a fuller body along with an 8.5% ABV count.  This yearly seasonal is by far one of the best among the holiday imports.

      No matter what your pleasure, be it full body, sweet spiciness, strong alcoholic content or fruit flavors, there is a holiday seasonal beer that is just right for that festive holiday gathering, or for that cold wintery quiet night at home.  No doubt we have only scratched the surface with these fine beverages.  There are certainly other festive suds consumables capturing the yuletide spirit that we did not mention.  The variety, as we said at the beginning, is just astonishing.  You don’t even have to celebrate Christmas to enjoy the multitude of holiday and winter seasonals that are available to the beer aficionado.

      As always, this festive season is for spending time with family and friends, for exchanging gifts, for sharing the joy and true meaning of the holiday, and for indulgence.  No matter what you drink beer wise, please celebrate responsibly.  All the best to you and yours for a safe, joyous, festive and happy holiday beer-drinking season!