Today we hop the pond to find our next Advent calendar pick, and discover a Scottish brewery established in 2001: Fyne Ales. They brew a dark amber Winter Warmer that they describe as:

An antidote to Christmas. No strange spices, just a really good stronger beer with a crisp fruity hop flavour and plenty of malt. A refreshing beer to clear the palate.

Thus we have Holly Daze, a 5% abv ale brewed with pale and crystal malts, roast barley, and wheat, along with Challenger, Perle, and Spalt hops. Their tasting notes ties it all together:

Clear amber coloured beer with a white head. Aroma is malty and fruity with some caramel. Flavour is of caramel malts with fruit, has a good bitterness and a slightly dry finish.

I don’t know about an “antidote” to Christmas, because Holly Daze sounds just right for Christmas to me—in fact it sounds like the perfect accompaniment to a holiday movie comedy along the lines of “Christmas Vacation” or “Elf.” Happy Holly Daze!

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