Today’s beer comes from Southampton Publick House in New York: French Country Christmas Ale. However, you’ll notice that I have a picture of their Biere de Garde instead; that’s because they are in fact the same beer, and I can’t find a picture anywhere of the Christmas Ale in bottles … Continue reading

The pick for today’s beer comes from Pennsylvania: Weyerbacher Winter Ale. This is a traditional Winter Warmer that has either 6.1% or 5.6% alcohol—the review sites say 6.1, the description (below) say otherwise. At Weyerbacher we’ve created a Winter Ale that is a must for any malty beer lover. Winner … Continue reading

Today’s beer is St. Benedict’s Winter Ale, an "abbey-style ‘winter warmer’" from Stevens Point Brewery in central Wisconsin. The beer is 6.2% alcohol and is inspired by the historical figure of St. Benedict: St. Benedict of Nursia lived in the late 5th to early 6th centuries. Legend has it while … Continue reading

Today we head over to Belgium to visit a strong ale from Brouwerij Huyghe: Delirium Noël. That’s right, it’s the Christmas offering of their famous pink elephant Delirium Tremens. Their description of this beer is entirely in French, but here’s a (rough) translation: Born in 2000, this beer is brewed … Continue reading

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 … Continue reading

Today’s pick is only available on tap from one of my favorite Oregon breweries: Bad Santa from the Pelican Pub & Brewery in Pacific City. It’s an "India Black Ale" (or Black IPA), the relatively-newish style that blends the roasty, dark malts from something like a Schwarzbier with the Northwest … Continue reading

Today we travel to England to discover a yuletide barleywine from Harveys: their Christmas Ale, of course. This is an 8.1% alcohol brew with lots of malt sweetness and dark fruit notes. This description from the B. United site speaks to the tradition behind this beer: Harvey’s Christmas Ale has … Continue reading

Today’s beer is another with a secret, variant recipe: August Schell’s Snowstorm, out of Minnesota. They call this style of beer a "Weihnachtsbier" (Christmas Beer) rather than any traditional, given style (I think that’s a neat way to style it), and it’s 6% alcohol by volume. Here’s their description: Much … Continue reading

Today’s pick comes from France: Brasserie de St-Sylvestre‘s Bière De Noël, a Christmas Bière de Garde. This is a hearty 8.5% alcohol ale produced in the Flanders region of France. Here’s a description from RateBeer: St. Sylester’s Flander’s Winter Ale is a rich Hearty winter ale top fermented in the … Continue reading

Each year doing this Beer Advent Calendar I’ve included Anchor Christmas Ale (their "Our Special Ale") and this year I’m continuing the tradition. However, today is also Repeal Day—and not just Repeal Day, but the 75th anniversary of the Repeal of Prohibition—and what better holiday beer to celebrate with than … Continue reading