Today’s beer pick comes from Terminal Gravity Brewing in the remote, tiny Oregon town of Enterprise: their Festivale, a strong ale brewed to 8.3% alcohol by volume. Terminal Gravity’s Festivale is in the style of British strong or “old” ales. We brewed it to be fairly dry so that it is completely drinkable and not cloying. It has huge and complex malt and hops flavors with a nice little alcoholic warmth in the finish. The … Continue reading →
Today’s beer selection comes from the Christian Moerlein Brewing Company in Cincinnati, Ohio: their Christkindl Winter Warmer Ale. Cincinnati has a rich German heritage which is reflected in the Moerlein beers, and Christkindl is no exception: the name literally means “Christmas” in German (as does “Weihnacht”). This is a malty and sweetly rich Winter Warmer, weighing in at 6.95% alcohol by volume. Their description: You’ve discovered Moerlein Christkindl – a Winter Warmer inspired by the … Continue reading →
Today’s beer pick comes from the base of the Teton Mountains in eastern Idaho: Grand Teton Brewing’s Coming Home Holiday Ale 2011. This is the second vintage in Grand Teton’s annual Holiday Ale program—featuring a different cellar-able beer each year—and this 2011 edition is brewed in the style of a Belgian Tripel (the Brewery calls it a Golden Ale) that is 9% abv. This Belgian-Style Golden Ale is rich in flavor and is designed to … Continue reading →
Today’s beer pick is a Belgian Christmas classic: Scaldis Noël, also known as Bush de Noël in its native country, from Brasserie Dubuisson in western Belgium. Admittedly, “classic” might be a bit of a misnomer, as even though Dubuisson was founded in 1769, Scaldis Noël was introduced only two decades ago, in 1991—marking this year as the 20th anniversary of this Christmas beer. This is also one of the strongest of the Christmas beers on this … Continue reading →
Today’s beer is another Christmas ale from France: Page 24 Bière de Noël from Brasserie Saint-Germain in the northern region of the country. Like Jenlain’s beer, this one is brewed “in the great tradition of the North”—which led me to dig around a bit and discover that the French tradition of Christmas/holiday beer originated in Northern France. (I had thought the Jenlain entry was claiming that Christmas beers in general originated there.) This Bière de Noël is … Continue reading →
