Today my pick is the Christmas Ale from Great Lakes Brewing Company, a "holiday ale brewed with honey and spiced with fresh ginger and cinnamon." Nicely moderate in alcohol (7.5%—compared to some of these picks, anyway!), this beer has won two gold medals and one silver at the World Beer Championships.

On BeerAdvocate it’s well-received with a score of 87/100 and 97% approval. Look for honey and ginger notes, spices, vanilla and caramel/brown sugar.

And I know this is entirely subjective, but I really like the label design on this beer for some reason. Simple and straightforward.