Today’s pick is a French beer, hailing from Brasserie Larché in north-central France: Thomas Becket Bière de Noël. (Also referred to as Le Brassin de Noël on the website.) This Christmas Beer is 6.5% alcohol by volume, and the brewery says (loosely translated):

Brassin Christmas is the heir to a centuries-old brewing tradition born in Northern France.

In this region, the Master Brewers made a habit of concocting this brew specially for Christmas, enriched with a number of spices, including coriander, cardamom, cloves… it was intended primarily for employees of the brewery, its best customers, and more generally to its nearest neighbors.

Thomas Becket was the Archbishop of Canterbury whose murder in 1170 propelled him to Sainthood and (among other things) is the inspiration for The Canterbury Tales; I don’t know the connection to either beer or Christmas for this French brewery, but I’d be happy to enjoy this spiced Christmas ale with a bûche de Noël.

BeerAdvocate: A-. RateBeer: 2.6/5.