Tonight is Krampus Night! Krampus is something of the antithesis of as well as an assistant to Saint Nicholas, appearing in European eastern Alpine folklore. From Wikipedia: “Assisting Saint Nicholas, or Santa Claus, the pair visit children on the night of 5 December, with Saint Nicholas rewarding the well-behaved children with modest gifts such as oranges, dried fruit, walnuts and chocolate, while the badly behaved ones only receive punishment from Krampus with birch rods.”

There are variations, but in general Krampus is usually depicted as an anthropomorphic goat-like figure, with horns and cloven hoofs, and sometimes he grabs children to stuff into his sack, sometimes he gives out coal as punishment. As a nod to the Krampus tradition, today’s Advent beer is Krampus Nacht from Black Abbey Brewing of Tennessee.

Black Abbey draws inspiration from monastic brewing and creates largely European-styled beers across a range of styles. Krampus Nacht is a Bock-styled beer with 7% ABV and 18 IBUs. The description says:

Full bodied and malty, Krampus Nacht binds chocolate, bready, and roasted malt flavors together with hints of raisins and stone fruit. German Saaz hops complete this bock-style beer, making it the perfect companion for scary ghost stories and tales of the glories of Christmases long, long ago.

The Bock style is an apt choice, as it’s often associated with goat imagery, which helps to tie it all together. It’s an Old World style for an Old World tradition, and a great winter style to boot. And it’s much better than a lump of coal!

Find Black Abbey Krampus Nacht on:

• Untappd
• BeerAdvocate
• Facebook

Image credit: Black Abbey’s Facebook page