Today, December 6, is St. Nicholas Day, a festival observed in many European countries that celebrates St. Nicholas as a bringer of gifts to children. “Santa Claus” of course is derived from the St. Nicholas legend, and some of the regional celebrations of St. Nicholas Day are strikingly familiar: children place shoes or boots outside on the night of December 5, and St. Nicholas fills them with sweets and toys if the children have been good. In some German-speaking cultures, St. Nick is accompanied by Krampus, “represented as a beast-like creature, generally demonic in appearance. Krampus is thought to punish children during the Yule season who had misbehaved, and to capture particularly naughty children in his sack and carry them away to his lair.”

Accordingly this served as the inspiration for today’s Advent calendar pick: Southern Tier Krampus, a 9% Imperial Helles Lager that will surely raise a few eyebrows.

This Christmas season, enjoy a Krampus Imperial Helles Lager and decide whether you are naughty or nice. Finished with lager yeast and aged cold for no less than 30 days, it is the medley of rich, dark malts and aromatic hops that make this a diabolical brew, threatening to warm even the most frigid of hearts.

Naughty, nice, a little bit of both? Open a bottle of this and see where it takes you.

Happy St. Nicholas Day!

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