     Harvey's Christmas Ale (Harvey and Son Ltd.)
One of the older Christmas Ales available, this is a straightforward celebration ale with a high ABV and a truly festive, yet subtle, label. No true holiday party would be complete without a bottle of this traditional offering from Harvey's over in England. From the Harvey & Son site: "This strong dark barley wine is reminiscent of the strong 'stock' ales drunk during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and should be treated with respect!" Here we go... Pour - dark, murky brown. Low carbonation levels, almost like a cask pour. The head is reminiscent of an oil slick. Bubbly froth clings to the inside walls of the glass while islands of oily looking foam cover the top of the beer.
Aroma - wow. I can smell this a good 2-3 feet away. Strong dark, dried fruit smells and oxidization emanate from the glass. It also provides some medicinal aromas along with strong alcohol.
Taste - plums, figs, prunes and raisins galore. Tons of dried dark fruit flavors. Sweet concentrated flavors. There is also brown bread, toffee and an essence of brandy. This is sweet but not cloying, thankfully. The oxidization I smell did not translate into this beer being bad either.
Overall - Warm and smooth with a good deal of flavor. This is one to sip by the fire and/or enjoy with a nice dessert. Great for a cold winter night and definitely a good candidate for sharing.
Would I buy more of it? - yeah maybe, not totally sure. There are way too many other beers out there that I'd love to try before I go back to this one. It would make a nice gift for any beer lover on your Christmas list!
Note - Harvey's brews quite an array of different ales, a bulk of which would make great session beers. They produce six beers under 4% alcohol but balance that out by producing one of the most sought after Russian Imperial Stouts, which weighs in at 9%. Harvey's is the oldest brewery in Sussex and has been in operation for over two centuries.
Posted by Russ Labels: Christmas Beers, Winter Beers, Holiday Beers, Winter Warmers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
  Christmas Ale 2009 (Abita Brewing Company)
Abita changes up the recipe for their Christmas Ale each year. They've been doing this for quite some time now although I've managed to miss out on all of them until now. I finally grabbed a bottle to see what I've been missing. From the Abita site: "Generally, this beer is a dark ale, however, the recipe changes each year, offering a unique product crafted with special care. Enjoy your holidays with Abita Christmas Ale. The spicy character is excellent with traditional holiday foods such as gingerbread or spiced nuts. Try some Blue cheese or a creamy Camembert with a Christmas Ale." Here we go... Pour - pours a reddish brown with some auburn highlights. Moderate fluffy foam on top.
Aroma - graham crackers! Who would have thought. There is also some vanilla and toffee and some sweet biscuity scents.
Taste - some of that graham comes out in the flavor along with a slight bit of citrus. Not a lot of malt backbone leaves this tasting a bit thin and watery. Its got some toasty flavors and a bit of sweetness but not enough "ooomph" in my opinion. Be malty or be hoppy. Choose one.
Overall - lacking in complexity and body. Its got some sweetness and some tanginess but it just doesn't do it for me. Something is missing for sure.
Would I buy more of it? - since they change the recipe from year to year I'll grab a bottle next year to see what changes.
Note - Abita Brewing was founded back in 1986! They are located about 30 miles north of New Orleans in the town of Abita Springs.
Posted by Russ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
  Our Special Ale - Christmas 2009 (Anchor Brewing)
This year marks thirty-five years of Anchor Brewing Christmas beers. Its amazing that Anchor has been around producing craft beers for so long and what is even more amazing is that each year they've crafted an entirely original recipe for this seasonal release. Cheers to Fritz and gang for keeping us guessing year after year! Here we go... Pour - very dark brown with some slight ruby hues. Looks like a strong brown ale with a big chunky head that is not quick to slink away.
Aroma - dark toasty malt, black cherry, caramel and a tad bit like cough syrup.
Taste - sweet and sour. Its a dose of sweet malt upfront but followed by a dose of sour cherry flavor and some vanilla extract. It really does remind me of cherry cough syrup or black cherry soda and creme soda combined. There are some other flavors to this beer that are very hard to place. Maybe its some spice like cinnamon or nutmeg, its very subtle.
Overall - interesting. Maybe its just my personal dislike of black cherry I don't know. I found this somewhat underwhelming and was hoping to get something else from it. It is by no means a "bad" beer, it just seemed to exhibit some characteristics that I didn't really enjoy a whole lot.
Vintage - Christmas 2009
Availability - November - January
Would I buy more of it? - sure, I'd like to see what they do different each year.
Note - Anchor has produced a unique Christmas Ale every year since 1975 (hard to believe right?). In fact, you can look at all the different labels they've used for this offering by going to the Anchor Brewing site. You'll notice that the tree on the label is different each year as well.
Posted by Russ Labels: Winter Warmers, Winter Beers, Christmas Beers, Holiday Beers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
   Thanksgiving Ale (Mayflower Brewing Company)
I can not imagine a more appropriate brewery when it comes to releasing a "Thanksgiving Ale". Mayflower Brewing is located in historic Plymouth, Massachusetts, home to what many believe was the first "Thanksgiving" meal back in 1621. From the Mayflower site: "Our first seasonal brew! Mayflower Thanksgiving Ale is an inspired blend of two brewing styles: American Strong Ale and English Old Ale. Aged on American white oak, this full-bodied brew warms the soul with hints of caramel, vanilla and spicy nuts." Here we go... Pour - dark auburn with some reddish hues. Head is offwhite, thick and sits atop this pour quite nicely. Its a very clean looking beer, a little viscous as its weighing in at 8%.
Aroma - brown sugar and caramel along with slight hints of vanilla and apples. Its also got just a touch of alcohol heat in the nose.
Taste - sweet, malty and flavorful. Plenty of the brown sugar and caramel comes out in the taste along with some maple syrup, candied apple, cider and a little vanilla. The oak certainly has mellowed this one out and made it super smooth, it exhibits some qualities that remind me of a Belgian-style dubbel. Nice warmth from the alcohol and a dry sweetness in the finish.
Overall - An excellent beer for the Thanksgiving table. The maltiness goes well with everything on the table and the oak has mellowed this one perfectly. Excellent flavors and just an overall great offering from Mayflower. Cheers!
Would I buy more of it? - yes, every Thanksgiving going forward I will do my best to have a bottle on the table.
Note - Click the turkey below for a great article about enjoying beer with a traditional Thanksgiving meal by none other than "the Beerhunter" himself, Michael Jackon.
Posted by Russ Labels: Holiday Beers, American Strong Ales, Autumn Beers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Julöl (Jämtlands Bryggeri AB)
Jämtlands Bryggeri is one of the more popular small breweries here in Sweden, and if you've tried most of their beers you'll know why. They seemingly manage to create great products in a nonchalant sort of way. Their Julöl or Christmas Beer has been given high praise and is a favorite for a lot of people when the season comes each year. I've enjoyed just about everything I've had from these guys and am looking forward to their take on the Scandinavian julöl. Before I start I have to admit that I don't know what the deal is with the sea serpent on the label. It appears on another of their beers called Bärnsten (meaning amber), however I don't see the connection between these two. If anyone knows please inform me... According to the label this contains 5 types of malts and 5 types of hops (the highest quality from all over the world) - in addition to local water. Appearance: Pours a very dark brown/ruby color with a big loose head that leaves a sturdy layer of foam. Aroma: Ahh....that lovely combination of fresh piney hops and biscuity caramel malts. Very nice. Taste: Hoppier than the color would have you imagine with bold citrus and grapefruit followed by a smooth and mellow caramelly back end. The aftertaste is a wonderful swirling of both, not too sweet and not too bitter. The appearance of this beer will certainly fool you at first, despite the dark color it is not dry, thick or heavy. It is smooth with a lot of complexity...and very nice to drink. It's not difficult to see why it is so well received. Overall: This is Jämtlands when they are great, even down to that special something that seems to show up in all their beers that I never quite know how to explain. It may not give off the cliché spicy winter beer essence, but it more than makes up for it with it's taste. If you want Christmas here you'll get it in the pine needles and butterscotch. Another great beer from this brewery, one who deserves more attention than they often get here in Sweden.
Posted by Kelly Labels: Winter Warmers, Christmas Beers, Holiday Beers, Winter Beers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Kalasjulöl (The Nils Oscar Company)
Kalasjulöl can be broken up into three words for simple translation: Kalas: party, feast, general merrymaking If you want to pronounce this, and impress your non-Swedish friends with your mad lingual skills, try: ka-loss-yule-ull. This should not be confused with Nils Oscar's Kalasöl or their simply titled Julöl (2009 version reviewed here.) This beer is a darker, maltier and more "toasted" version of the above mentioned märzen style Kalasöl - according to the bottle. It has three types of hops, and numerous malts (which are actually produced by the brewery here in Sweden.) If you've read any of the previous posts regarding Christmas beers or julöl then I won't need to explain their popularity and attraction. Needless to say they are a staple part of festivities here in Scandinavia and their appearance generally starts the winter/holiday/dark season. Appearance - Pours a nice burnt amber color, clear with a thin head that quickly disperses. Aroma - Fresh, sweetly malted, some citric hops. Taste - Different from the regular version of this beer, hoppier and almost burnt in regards to the malts. More carbonation than the head and appearance led me to believe which gives it almost a tonic like mouthfeel. I keep waiting for something distinctly (or even distantly) Christmas to appear, even winter would be good, but this isn't really doing that. No spice, no dark roasted characters and no real warming feel. This is quite simply a märzen style beer with a hint of bitterness. Overall - Oddly enough I think I prefer the regular Kalasöl, it has a more even balance and actually the malts player a bigger part - especially the caramel ones. I think it's a bit misleading to play this off of that, as this seems like a totally different variety of beer. Not bad as beers go, but not something that will add to the Christmas season if you're looking for that sort of thing. If I could describe this beer in one word it would be: confused. Still, I'm sure there will be people at a julbord that find it quite appealing.
Posted by Kelly | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
  Underlig Jul (Nøgne Ø)
According to Nøgne Ø's website: "This spiced Christmas ale is strange - and indeed a fusion beer. We have gathered inspiration from the Norwegian drink “gløgg”, and as such this is quite an uncompromising brew." The "gløgg" in question is a type of mulled wine that is spiced and served warm, often with raisins and almonds in Scandinavia around Christmas. Underlig pretty much translates as odd, strange, peculiar or weird. You pick it. Perhaps they were eluding to the great English beer Old Peculiar.... Jul of course means Christmas in modern times - and is where the likes of yuletide and yule log come from. These types of beers abound in Scandinavia in the months leading up to Christmas, however with Nøgne Ø's reputation I expect this to be something very different, special, even peculiar. In addition to the 4 types of malts and two types of hops, the bottle says this contains English yeast, local water and 4 types of spices (the website says 5). I smell a guessing game... Appearance - Dark, dark brown and nearly opaque with a big, thick and solid head of espresso like foam. Aroma - You can smell this beer a good meter away. And, yes, it smells like...Christmas. If you've ever had "gløgg", then you'd say it reminds you of that...only bolder. This is spicy like gingerbread with cloves, nutmeg, coriander, cardamom and cinnamon. (I'd wager this has none of those things in it however...or well, maybe nutmeg and coriander.) Taste - Not nearly as sweet and spicy as the aroma would have you believe. It is full bodied, almost thick with a chewy mouthfeel and a dry aftertaste. The spices are definitely present, but they don't run rampant. The malts do make an appearance and you can discern the chocolate and caramel. What works well is the aroma combined with the taste...just add snow, a fire and some bad Christmas music and you've got a fine amount of holiday cheer in the making. I'm sure this amount of spicing is going to throw some people off, even put them off this beer completely. But, if you've been around these types of beers before and sampled the usual bland brown ginger soups that are often presented from the big breweries of Scandinavia you'll understand why this one sticks out. Where many have failed, this is actually a spicy - immediately Christmas - ale with a malty, thick back end made for winter. And, at 6.5%, it won't put you on the floor before the akvavit and herring show up. Overall - No, I don't suppose this is for everybody. It is a spiced beer, and those can be all over the shop. Despite the bold aroma, this is actually a more subtle beer than your nose will tell you...and more complex than the first couple sips lead you to believe. I enjoyed it, and for all of those that go looking for Christmas in a bottle I can recommend it. This is a good way to kick off the juløl season here in the north...and if this is your first ever juløl then it's a good place to start. Nøgne Ø's website suggests you drink this with goro or fattigmann - two types of cookies. The links are to their recipes if you want the true experience...uff da!
Posted by Kelly | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Jacobsen Golden Naked Christmas Ale (Carlsberg Danmark A/S)
This is part of Carlsberg's, shall we say craft, enclave that exists within the walls of the original brewery in Copenhagen. Jacobsen has been around since 2005 and with their unique bottles and original beers they do a fair bit of good for their giant lager brewing father. Golden Naked Christmas Ale is only available for a few months of the year and continues to find a home amongst the Christmas beers here in Sweden year after year. The tiny label has the daunting words: "...brewed just like a Nordic Christmas beer seasoned with Christmas spices and oat malt to bring out the golden brown colour and thi(c)k foam. The aroma is one of lemon scent, liquorice and caramel. The taste is rounded, creamy and cinnamon-like with a moderate bitterness." Well, that's what it says anyways. Appearance - Pours a nice deep auburn color with a nice thick head that sticks around for quite some time. Not a lot of carbonation - then again this is supposed to be an English strong ale. Aroma - Very sweet and fruity, some caramel (as mentioned above) as well as citrus. This sounds bad, but I want to say fruit punch, although somewhere in their are the malts and I am hoping the spices. Taste - Sweet, smooth and rich with lots of cherries and jams and dare I say brandy. Whatever spices they were counting on don't fully come through, but some of the caramel malts do find a home at the very end of the aftertaste. Not a rich and full bodied beer, this is an easy sipping (despite being 7.5%) ale that is much more English than it is Scandinavian (where the winter ales tend to be darker and spicier.) Not overly dark or overly powerful, this will find a wider audience than most winter beers do. Overall - Meh. Jacobsen gets to play around with Carlsberg's toys, do what it wants and put out some more interesting beers. Unfortunately when it comes to this you feel it falls short. Denmark does some really nice Christmas beers - even Tuborg has a massively distributed version (also owned by Carlsberg) - so one expects a bit more from a moonlighting brewery that has so much history and knowledge at its disposal. This is almost sickly sweet and doesn't make enough way for the malts. They should really take a stab at a more traditional earthy ale. BUT, if you like sweet strong ales with buttery malt ends then you came to the right place. Different it is to the common line of Nordic Christmas beers, but it will certainly find a home with some people. If you don't know what to serve it with, may I suggest cherry pie.
Posted by Kelly | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Fra Til (Mikkeller)
Call it marketing, or call it genius, this simple bottle from Mikkeller lets you give away good taste in beer. Just add your name to the guys who made this and who you are giving it to and you are done. No wrapping, no nothing. Who on earth could be disappointed either giving or getting such an ingenious gift this holiday season? Fra Til - From To - should not be confused with a previous release that was titled Til Fra, they are two different animals. This year's offering, brewed at De Proef Brouwerij in Belgium, includes brown sugar, aniseed, cloves, cinnamon and coriander. Oh, and 5 types of malts and 3 types of hops. For a baltic porter that is pretty potent... Appearance - Dark, nearly black, with a gravity defying dark beige head that threatens to engulf the planet, leaving massive amounts of lacing and concentric yeast circles. Aroma - Smells spicy and even hoppy, with coffee and caramel malt tones. None of the spices really dominate, but if you concentrate you'll find notes of them. Perhaps they come through more in the taste? Taste - Serious, serious, dark, strong beer. Amazingly thick and rich. Wow. It takes a few seconds to really grasp how solid this is. Tastes of black coffee with sweet notes that come into play right at the end. Very earthy and robust with more stout factors than porter qualities. Despite the run down of cookie ingredients they really don't come overly into play. Better pallets than mind may find them, but I expected something much more along the lines of typical Scandinavian Christmas beers. This is anything buy typical. Overall - If you like stouts or porters (or beer) you'll find something in this to tell people about. If you haven't got a gift for someone that likes beer this will do the trick. If you want to give yourself a gift then this should do nicely whenever you feel you need one - just leave the rest of the From part of the label blank and consider it a present from Mikkeller to you...it even comes corked and will age for up to four years.
Posted by Kelly Labels: Porters, Winter Beers, Christmas Beers, Holiday Beers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
  Halloween Ale (Gritty McDuff's Brewpub)
One of very few Halloween Ales on the market, in fact there are more Belgian beers that involve the name Halloween than there are American ones. Its become a ritual for me to buy a six-pack of this every Halloween and sit back and relax and pass out candy to the little costumed kiddies. From the Gritty's site: "From its humble beginnings in 1990 as a small-batch seasonal in our Portland Brew Pub, Halloween Ale has grown to be one of the year's most anticipated beer releases. This robust brew has a deep amber color, a bold, malty palate and a well-rounded hop finish. The perfect beer for a crisp autumn day!" Here we go... Pour - Clean, clear, dark chestnut with some ruby highlights and a perfect inch of dense foam on top. Nothing scary about this pour. Aroma - Frightfully malty, with some baked apple and cinnamon along with brown sugar. This is NOT a spiced beer nor does it contain and pumpkin. It just happens to give of a bit of a spicy aroma. Taste - Starts off sweet with some fruit esters (apples and pears) and quickly turns bitter (but not hoppy bitter). There is a certain dryness to this beer along with a faint bit of buttery flavor from the staple yeast of Maine - ringwood. Overall - Great ESB. Easy drinking and refreshing with just enough ABV to keep you warmed on a cool Halloween night in New England or the Midwest or Alaska or wherever you might be. Would I buy more of it? - Next Halloween I'll go back and buy some more. If you have access to this, give it a shot.
Posted by Russ Labels: Extra Special Bitters, Autumn Beers, Holiday Beers | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
