The Brew Site
December 9 is Christmas Card Day, commemorating Sir Henry Cole of England who created the first commercial Christmas card in 1843. Yes, honestly it’s a bit of an arbitrary holiday but didn’t all holidays initially start out somewhat arbitrarily? To celebrate the day and the messages that typically appear on Christmas … Continue reading
“I’m dreaming of a White IPA” doesn’t quite have the same ring as “White Christmas” but the intent in today’s Advent beer pick is the same: Accumulation White IPA from New Belgium Brewing. “Accumulation” as in snow, of course! Or an accumulation of IBUs and/or hops, according to the brewery: … Continue reading
Today’s Advent beer pick is a Belgian strong dark ale from Brouwerij Het Anker out of Belgium: Gouden Carolus Christmas. The venerable old brewery is also home to a hotel and distillery, and produces the Gouden Carolus line of ales as well as several others. Their Christmas ale is 10.5% alcoho … Continue reading
December 6 is both Saint Nicholas Day and the day that Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer first aired on TV in 1964, so I thought it was only fitting to go with a reindeer-themed beer for today’s Advent pick: Reindeer’s Revenge from the Iron Hill Brewery chain of brewpubs and restaurants. Billed … Continue reading
December 5 in the United States is Repeal Day, celebrating the repeal of Prohibition on this day in 1933. It’s an important milestone on the history of beer (and alcohol in general) in the U.S., so to commemorate the day, today’s Advent beer pick comes from Frankenmuth Brewery out of … Continue reading
Today we travel to Stratford, Connecticut for our Advent beer pick, featuring a Bière de Noël from Two Roads Brewing—their Holiday Ale. This Christmas specialty is 7.3% alcohol by volume and is an award winner from the Great International Beer Festival. The brewery says: Two Roads Holiday Ale is inspired … Continue reading
For this third day of December, we travel to England and the venerable JW Lees for our Advent beer pick: JW Lees Christmas Plum Pudding. Billed as Christmas in a glass, this is a “fruity ale” that’s 4.8% alcohol by volume. The brewery says: Every family has a few Christmas traditions … Continue reading
On this second day of December I’ve selected an old favorite with a new twist for today’s Advent beer pick: Rogue Ales Santa’s Private Reserve. This holiday seasonal used to be a hoppy red ale, but this year Rogue has reinvented it as a Belgian strong ale, brewed with cherries … Continue reading
It’s December 1st and that means the return of the annual Beer Advent Calendar tradition here at The Brew Site! I began this in 2005, and in the tradition of Advent calendars each day of December leading up to the 24th (Christmas Eve) I reveal a new holiday beer each … Continue reading
Merry Christmas Eve! Today is the final day on the Beer Advent Calendar and I hope you enjoyed it this year! Today’s beer comes to us from Birra del Borgo in Italy, and their annual Christmas beer 25 Dodici. Birra del Borgo has been brewing distinctive beers with Italian sensibilities … Continue reading