Seasonal beers are hard to sell after certain dates and holidays—pumpkin beers and Halloween for instance, or (as in this case) themed winter beers and Christmas. Once the holiday is past, sales tend to drop sharply, regardless of how good the beers are. Yet in the case of the winter beers, there’s still three months of actual winter following Christmas; I suspect those beers that don’t have names tied to the holiday fare better in sales.

All of which is a roundabout way of getting to Wreck the Halls, the winter double IPA from Full Sail Brewing, whose name is a play on a lyric from a certain yuletide carol. Yes, I know we’re a week and a half past winter, I’m okay with that; think of this review as the 12 weeks of Christmas if that helps.

Wreck the Halls is 8.5% ABV with 68 IBUs. Here’s a pull from the website with a bit of description:

Wreck the Halls is our traditional holiday favorite and four-time gold medal winner, because it’s just not the holidays unless you Wreck the Halls. A sublime hybrid of an American-style Double IPA and a Winter Warmer, Wreck the Halls has comforting notes from pale and crystal malts and copious quantities of Centennial hops for a bold brew that celebrates the season.

Appearance: Dark copper-amber color, bright, with decent clarity. Off-white head, finely structured, with decent legs.

Smell: Piney hops with a touch of orange; malty with some honey, biscuit character and just a hint of caramel (crystal malt). Clean, but with an old-school northwest DIPA vibe.

Taste: Good hop flavor with earthy, piney character that’s a bit forest floor, a bit spicy resin. Some citrus oil and a solid bitterness. Clean bread crust malts, dry, with a touch of alcohol (slightly estery). Some more orange (both peel and pith) at the back.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied, with lingering spicy bitterness and a dry finish.

Overall: It’s a good, piney, old-school DIPA that’s well brewed and balanced.