Noël

The Belgium’s are truly maters at brewing and, in general, most of the Belgium beers I’ve tried have been really good. Affligem’s Noël, while a true Belgium in flavor, is nothing to write home about. It’s certainly no St. Bernardus Christmas Ale, but good overall. Smells of good Belgium with hints of spices and caramel and medium brown in color. Careful pouring this, I ended up with a good three inches of cream colored head in one glass (and it takes forever to dissipate). While the taste is that of a decent Belgium strong ale, it didn’t stand out for me.

Worth a try, but don’t go out of your way to hunt this one down.

Yulesmith Holiday Ale

Hop heads rejoice! This YuleSmith Holiday Ale is chock full of hops. It’s very different from your traditional holiday selection but a welcome change from norm. It has that murky golden color and a wonderful citrus hop smell. It also has an awesome hop kick that lingers in the back of your mouth. If your a true hop head, this is the holiday ale for you. Just pay attention when picking up a bottle; YuleSmith comes in a summer version as well. The summer version comes in a patriotic, 4th of July bottle. It’s hard to miss, but I made the mistake last year and was forced to drink both (such a shame, I know).

Prelude

Here’s yet another beer from a brewery in which I am less familiar with. I was pleasantly surprised with this fantastic winter warmer! It has a nice dark, reddish-brown color and lovely smell. You can definitely smell the hops amongst the various hints of nutty ale goodness. I starts off with a traditional English ale flavor and finished with a nice hop bitter. Another sleeper in my book.

Highly recommended! I will have to try some of their other offerings for sure. In particular, the Chamberlain Pale Ale and the other winter beer, Longfellow, named after poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Hopefully, I can find some before the end of the holiday season.

Winter Solstice Seasonal Ale

Anderson Valley makes some really good beers. Even better is the fact that you can usually get some at Trader Joe’s at a reasonable price. Winter Solstice is a really decent ale. It’s smooth, full bodied and flavorful. Last year I seem to remember it having a distinct vanilla finish which I didn’t taste so much in this year’s batch (which, to me, is a good thing). It’s relatively low in ABV so don’t be afraid to have a couple on a crisp, winter night.

While we’re talking about Anderson Valley, I must mention their Hop Ottin’ IPA. It’s a really good India Pale Ale with a balanced flavor to hop ratio and great floral scent. Hit up Trader Joe’s tonight and pick some up. Good stuff!

2008 Vintage Ale

Oh what a lovely Belgium ale this Trader Joe’s 2008 Vintage Ale. With its dark and murky medium brown color and that wonderful Belgium scent with hints of fruits and flowers, this wonderful holiday beer is sure to please. It has a nice off white head that slowly decreases over the course of several minutes and is relatively effervescent, almost champaign like. It has that unmistakable Belgium dubbel flavor mixed with sweet holiday goodness and coffee and an almost toffee like after-taste. I have to say, for the price ($4.99 for a 750ml, corked and caged bottle), this is an excellent beer. I don’t think you can find a beer at this price that is as good as this.

Bourbon County Stout

WOW! I don’t even know where to begin with this one! Technically, this is not a holiday beer but it’s generally available starting in December. Goose Island does have a Christmas Ale, though, which is why I’m not counting this as a holiday brew (though it should count for two since it has a ridiculously high ABV). This beer is almost not a beer at all. It’s a very dark and very complex brew and as you can guess from the name, is aged in bourbon barrels. I pours black as a winter night and has the aroma of a fine bourbon mixed with an awesome stout. The taste is absolutely amazing. It has very distinct oak, roasted malt, bitter chocolate and charcoal smoke flavors with a strong bourbon kick at the end. It finishes a little on the dry side, but is a very intense beer.

If you don’t have any plans for the next couple hours, pick up a 12oz. bottle and enjoy the hell out it. Just remember, this is a 13% ABV beer. One will make you feel good; two, euphoric; three will kick your ass.

^* For some reason, the bottle says 13% and Goose Island’s website says 11%. I’m going with what is on the bottle, plus it definitely feels like 13%.

Wassail

Full Sail Brewing is yet another brewery that brews many a beer that rarely disappoints and I generally like anything they have to offer. Wassail is perfect example of Winter Warmer ale with a good aroma and excellent hop flavor. Most winter warmers that I have had tend to lose their hop taste but Wassail nails it. It pours a lovely dark brown with nice subtle head. It’s crisp, hop flavor and holiday spice tones is a warm welcome on a cold winter night.

2° Below

New Belgium is always a mixed bag for me. I really dislike Fat Tire and that seems to be everywhere these days. It’s sad too, because I think most of the other beers I’ve tried from them are far superior. 2° Below is a really good example of such a beer. It’s somewhat crisp and spicy and finishes like an ale. New Belgium calls it a Winter Warmer, others call it an ESB or strong bitter. I think it’s closer to a winter warmer though. Anyway, It’s a really good beer and I would recommend it.

Powder Hound Winter Ale

I can’t say I’ve tried any thing from Big Sky Brewing before, but this Powder Hound Winter Ale is a really good beer. It tastes like a cross between a winter warmer and a porter with those wonderful winter ale flavors. It has a deep reddish brown color and decent head and smells oh so good. I picked this up at Bev Mo strictly because of the name (being a dog owner) and I have to say, it was a very good call. I even picked up a second sixer over Thanksgiving to share with the family.

Highly recommended. Might just make the top 10!