Today’s beer pick comes from Denmark: Mikkeller‘s Santa’s Little Helper. This is a powerhouse of a brew: this year’s version is in the style of a Belgian Quadrupel at 11% alcohol. Check out this description from Liquid Solutions: This 11% quadruple style is a tasty powerhouse. It pours a dark … Continue reading

This year Joe Sixpack (AKA Don Russell) is doing the Christmas countdown thing, too. Each day until Christmas he’s counting down the top 25 beers featured in his new book: Christmas Beer. (Gotta love cross promotion!) The first beers: 25. 2° Below (New Belgium Brewing); 24. Winter White Ale (Bell’s … Continue reading

Today’s pick is Christmas Ale from Colorado’s Breckenridge Brewery. They bring it home with a good old (new?) fashioned Strong Ale / Winter Warmer. This is Breckenridge’s most popular seasonal brew and it has a loyal following that eagerly awaits its appearance each year. The chill of a Colorado high-country … Continue reading

Heath over at Bottles of Barley is again doing a "25 Beers of Christmas" series, counting down the days until Christmas. For the next 25 days, I will be posting notes on various Christmas beers, winter seasonals and treats from my cellar. What’s awesome about his list is that they’re … Continue reading

For Day 2, I wanted to pick something a little different, something with a nod towards the Midwest where the snow and cold have hit (though it’s unseasonably warm here in Central Oregon!). So today’s beer is Hot Chocolate, from Viking Brewing Company in Wisconsin. This is a beer which … Continue reading

It’s December again and that means I’m running my annual Advent Beer Calendar! Each day of the month I pick a Christmas or similar seasonally-themed beer and blog about it, counting down the days until Christmas, advent calendar-style. It’s a fun tradition I’ve got going here that I look forward … Continue reading

Today’s the final day of the Advent Calendar, and you know I couldn’t let another year go by without picking Anchor Christmas Ale! This annual favorite (technically called "Our Special Ale")—perhaps one of the most anticipated and favorite American Christmas seasonal out there—is different from year to year; Anchor changes … Continue reading

Today is my birthday, so like I did last year, I’m selecting a beer that isn’t (ordinarily) a Christmas/winter-themed seasonal, but is more of a "birthday choice": Deschutes Brewery‘s The Abyss. Released as part of Deschutes’ Reserve Series, this phenomenal Imperial Stout is 11% alcohol by volume and aged in … Continue reading

To commemorate the winter solstice today, I selected Pisgah Brewing‘s Pisgah Solstice. Even though they brew this beer year round, it certainly sounds like a seasonal: Pisgah’s year round Belgian. A Tripel ale, this beer contains moderately fruity esters with an alcoholic complexity supported by a soft malt character. This … Continue reading

Last year around this time I picked Young’s Christmas Pudding Ale, and I wanted to pick something from them again—and fortunately, that’s not the only Christmas beer they offer. So today I’m picking their Christmas Ale—the catch is (like some of the others I’ve picked) it’s available on draught only. … Continue reading