Today’s beer comes from one of Michigan’s long-time craft brewers, Bell’s Brewery: Bell’s Christmas Ale.

Bell’s Christmas is a clean and smooth Scottish Ale, 5.4% alcohol by volume, and is “brewed with 100% Michigan barley and a blend of Pacific Northwest and Michigan hops”—keeping their seasonal gift to their customers as local as possible. I like it.

Look for warm malty and nutty notes with a hint of holiday fruits on the nose; Bell’s has eschewed the often common practice of heavily spicing up their beer for Christmas and focused on a tasty, easy-drinking favorite.

BeerAdvocate: B. RateBeer: 3.17/5, 61st percentile.