On this day in 1964, the iconic television special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer aired for the first time. It was a staple of TV holiday specials for Gen-Xers and let’s be honest, in retrospect has a bit of a delightfully dark and creepy side to it. In honor of the release of Rudolph today’s Advent beer comes from Three Creeks Brewing in Sisters, Oregon: their Rudolph’s Imperial Red Ale.

This is a hefty 8.6% abv ale that’s rich and warming, and might well leave you with a red nose of your own. And this beer will cellar well; each year Three Creeks hosts a vertical tasting dinner with previous vintages of Rudolph’s.

Rudolph the character originally appeared in print in 1939, and the song was released a decade later, in 1949. While everyone is familiar with the song, I suspect it’s the stop-motion puppet version from the TV special that most of us (of a certain age, at least) think of when we hear “Rudolph”:

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