I look forward to Sierra Nevada’s Celebration every Christmas. I not only stock up on theirs, but try to brew a couple batches of a “clone” of it. But the one I really wait for from Christmas to Christmas is Scaldis Noel. The bottle even looks Christmasy, with the little cabin and the sparkly red, white and blue label. I spend the first part of Christmas Eve day cleaning Dungeness crab for dinner that night, prepping Christmas dinner, cleaning the house and wrapping presents. Then, about mid afternoon, I sit down with a goblet of Noel and sip it slowly while listening to Mel Torme, Tony Bennett, and Garrison Keillor Christmas CDs. A great reward for my efforts and it really gets me into the spirit. How about you guys? What beer do you look forward to that really makes it feel like Christmas?
This year for the first time, I made a Great Lakes Christmas Ale clone. It came out very close to the original and my wife and friends all like it. I don’t use spices (ginger and cinnamon) very much at all, so this beer has been a nice surprise and I plan on making it every year around this time.
Really any of the Belgian Christmas ales do it for me. I finally tracked down some A’Chouffe N’ice this year which was as fantastic as I had hoped. Scaldis Noel is a great one although I find it doesn’t age well. It’s better fresh.
Some of the English and domestic winter warmers are also good. I’m particularly fond of Rahr’s Winter Warmer and the Barrel Aged version.
I used to really enjoy De Dolle Stille Nacht, but I can’t find it in Michigan any longer. So now it’s Samichlaus.
Great Divide Hibernation!!!
+1! Always look forward to GD Hibernation. Also look forward to Avery’s Old Jubilation and Odell’s Isolation. I also grab a few bottles of Dry Dock’s Bligh Whisky Barrel Aged Barley Wine when they release it in mid Dec.
I always confuse Isolation with Hibernation. I buy a 6er of Isolation, but when I get home I realize it’s not Hibernation. They’re both good, but I like Hibernation better.
Sam Adam’s Triple Bock.
Many years ago (mid 90’s maybe), my brother-in-law and I saw it in the liquor store and bought a bunch of bottles. But, when we actually tasted it, we hated it. It was thick, sweet and just undrinkable to our unsophisticated palette’s. So, since we had a stockpile, we put it in the basement and each year for several years we’d share one as penance for the sins of the previous year. If I could find some and take it to the family Christmas sometime I’m sure he’d get a real kick out of it…til he drank it.
Man, I remember that stuff. Kinda tasted like molasses and soy sauce.
Shared a bottle of La Rulles, Cuvee Meilleurs Voeux a couple of weeks ago with a friend. I was not sure what to expect but it was really nice. Belgium dark ale but it was fairly refreshing and lighter than expected.
I still have one or two bottles from 1994/5. I wonder if it has changed…
(Edited to make sense)
I’m not generally into spiced beers, but Harpoon Winter Warmer just tastes like Christmas to me.
I’ve been sitting on a bottle of it myself. I remember it being just OK back when I tried it - and I generally enjoy rich, sherrylike beers (Thomas Hardy is probably my all-time favorite brew). I usually crack something open from deep in the vault for New Years and the Super Bowl; maybe this year is the year I bust out the Triple Bock.
Regardless of how the beer is, the cobalt-blue bottle is a thing of beauty. I’d love to find bottles this color that accept crown-caps for my barleywines/quads and so on.
Zinnebir X-Mas from Brasserie de la Senne is the best I’ve had in a while. I first had it on the Christmas market in Brussels to wash down a steaming hot bowl of snails (going in my scrapbook of Best Belgian Experiences). Then I sat in a cafe and had another. Yummy.
That sounds super gross. I don’t really like my beers ‘meaty.’
Euge turned me on to Noche Buena Estilo Bock If I could
get it here in BFE it would deck my halls!
(thanx euge)
Seconding Celebration, which this year seems exceptional, especially for a beer that can be had for $1/bottle (by the case at CostCo) or at least $7.99/sixpack. I don’t know what the difference is, but it feels exceptionally fresh and hoppy and malty and… mmmm.
My Christmas Eve tradition of exactly two years is to have a glass of Maredsous on draught at a place nearby, either that afternoon or early evening, before or after the 5 pm church service. Most of the year it feels too big for the weather or whatever I’m up to next, but on Christmas Eve it even tastes better than Scaldis Noel.
+1 on the Celebration Ale. Always enjoyable. My favorite Christmas beer, the one in my hand. 8)
Tried Samichlaus for the first time last night. I figured it would be a fitting choice for a Christmas beer. It was definitely a bit rough around the edges even though they age it for 10 months before bottling. I think I’ll try sitting on it an extra year or two the next time I get some.
The only two commercially made Christmas beers I truly enjoy and will go out of my way to stock up on are Celebration and Samichlaus. There are a few others I find “pretty good”, but these two I’ve mentioned are the only ones I find to be as satisfying as a good homebrewed one.
Regarding Samichlaus, one year I found a bottle I had unintentionally tucked away…it was in a corner of a basement cupboard for more than 7 years (and possibly as much as 10). It was in remarkable shape and smooth as silk. I don’t think I would intentionally buy Samiclaus to cellar it since I enjoy it quite a bit in its original bottling year, but it was interesting to discover how well a filtered strong beer can hold up after so many years.
I used to look forward to the release of Jubelale every year. The past couple years it just hasn’t done anything for me. Searching for a new holiday favorite, enjoying the research.