The Christmas season is the traditional time (and setting) for the popular ballet The Nutcracker, and so today’s pick is, accordingly, Boulevard Brewing’s Nutcracker Ale: a rich, malty Winter Warmer that is 5.8% alcohol by volume. Boulevard describes it thusly:

Nutcracker Ale is Boulevard’s holiday gift for real beer lovers. This hearty, warming brew is a classic winter ale, deep amber in color, with hints of molasses balanced by the “spiciness” of freshly harvested Chinook hops.

About the “freshly harvested” hops mentioned above: the site lists “Wet Leaf Chinook” in the ingredients and the description from the box says:

We schedule the brewing of this seasonal specialty around the annual harvest of Chinook hops, flying them in wet from the fields to capture their pungent flavor and aroma.

Which certainly sounds like this is a Fresh Hop beer to me—something I wouldn’t have expected! Is this perhaps the only such fresh hop holiday beer?

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