Back to the Midwest today, where we’re visiting Michigan’s acclaimed Jolly Pumpkin, and their Noel de Calabaza. Jolly Pumpkin specializes in Belgian-style artisan ales, so it’s no surprise that their Christmas seasonal is a Belgian-style strong ale.

And at 9% alcohol, you can bet that it is strong. Their own description is a little sparse, but I like it:

Deep mahogany and malty, layered hops, figs, raisins, sugar plums, cashews betwixt rum laden truffles.

It strikes the appropriate yuletide imagery, I think.

Interestingly, Jolly Pumpkin posts a bottle log of their beers online… looking at Noel de Calabaza’s log, it looks like there have been five batches/blends brewed this year, all with different characteristics. Which will you get? Like a Christmas present, you might not know until you open it up.

BeerAdvocate grade: A-. RateBeer score: 3.74/5, 94th percentile.