The holiday season at Tröegs Independent Brewing means not only the return of the brewery’s Mad Elf, but also the specialty edition of the holiday ale—Mad Elf Grand Cru, showcasing Balaton cherries in a corked and caged bottle to brighten up your holiday feasting.

Press release:

Tröegs Independent Brewing announces the release of Mad Elf Grand Cru, a limited “director’s cut” of its iconic holiday ale, Mad Elf.

Like its counterpart, Mad Elf Grand Cru starts with chocolate, Munich and Pilsner malts and features a large addition of local Pennsylvania wildflower honey. It’s also fermented with the same spicy Belgian yeast strain as Mad Elf, which lends flavors of cinnamon, clove, and allspice.

Whereas Mad Elf features five different varieties of cherries, Grand Cru exclusively showcases Balaton cherries to impart notes of tart pie filling.

Mad Elf Grand Cru clocks in at the same 11% ABV as Mad Elf, but instead of a ruby red glow Grand Cru pours a lovely deep burgundy.

“Putting this beer in cork and cage bottles helps give it that extra special touch,” says Tröegs co-founding brother Chris Trogner. “We use the same bottles for beers like LaGrave and Jovial that we bottle condition, and we know the corks are great at keeping that extra pressure in. It also means they’re great at keeping oxygen out. Since Grand Cru is a beer many people like to age, that’s a big plus.”

Mad Elf Grand Cru is available in limited 375-ml bottles and on draft everywhere Tröegs beer is sold.