Today’s beer pick comes from the great beer state of Pennsylvania: Sly Fox Christmas Ale. I first featured this beer way back on the original 2005 Beer Advent Calendar and I thought it was high time it made another appearance.

As with many Christmas seasonals, each year the beer is slightly different (due to seasonal variations in spices and ingredients used) and each year’s vintage has a unique label. And interestingly, there is a difference in alcohol between the bottled and draft versions: draft is 5.5% abv, and the bottled version is 6.5% abv.

This malty, full-bodied red ale is made with traditional mulling spices: Ginger, Clove, All Spice, Cinnamon & Nutmeg. If this one doesn’t get you into the Christmas spirit, you truly are a Scrooge.

The mulling spices listed above bring to mind mulled beer, and I’ll wager this would be a fantastic base beer for such a drink—and it’s hard to get any more “holiday” than that!

Untappd. Facebook. BeerAdvocate: B+ (2010 vintage). RateBeer: 3.32/5, 84th percentile.