This year's holiday brews, Ghost of Christmas Present

Every year I try to reach into my bag of beer related tricks and present you with the best beers of the season here in Indy. You can check out what we drank last year here. I'm really excited about 2013. We have some great brews for you to try. If you are looking for some great holiday brews to bring to a party this weekend, you've come to the right place. Tis the season for some awesome and super creative spiced brews. Show your friends you know your craft beer and break out something exciting. This year we have some new stuff to the area on Santa's wish list. I hope you find something perfect to get you and yours in the spirit.


There's been a local holiday delight that I haven't gotten around to trying, so this year I decided to give myself a present and pick up Naughty Claus by New Albanian. It poured out a nice amber color with almost no head. It smelled like cinnamon, nutmeg and dark fruits. There were tons of added flavors in this brew. All in, I wish it had a little more from the base beer. A bit more malt, would help balance out the crazy holiday spices. Not bad, but definitely not my favorite this season. I give it a 2.5



Every year in November, Three Floyds descends from Munster with a sack full of their Xmas Porter. This is a big black porter with a nice coffee flavor, but like all things FFF does, they smack you in the face right afterwords with some really big citrus hops. It gives it a super unique flavor that's somewhere between holiday porter and IPA. Like Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, this has become a true holiday classic. I give it a 3.

Who wants to drink a Christmas tree???? I do!!! Last year I was lucky enough to do a vertical of Our Special Ale by Anchor Brewing. This year, I had to go pick up the 2013 edition. It pours out dark with amber highlights and smells like ginger, oranges and pine resin. The flavor matches the nose pretty damn well. There are some nice roasty notes in the malt that blend well with the hops and the added spices. Theres a big bittter front end with a nice smooth nutty spicy finish. It's a really good Christmas brew and I think it'll age nicely. I give it a 3 this year, but I'm guessing that will only go higher the longer I wait.


Southern Tier is a new brewery that we just started seeing here in Indy this summer (just started seeing again here in Central Indiana. Apparently they used to distribute here regularly and still distribute up North) . I've been very impressed with their beer so far, so I was excited to see that they had a Christmas style bomber, Krampus. I was even more excited when I found out that it was an imperial helles lager. There wasn't anything spiced, nothing changed, just an old school German style amped up with a little more alcohol. It was a wonderful malty beer. Perfect for the season without being spiced by non beer flavors. This is a clean crisp classic. Big abv but well balanced all around. I give it  a merry 3.5

Jolly Pumpkin is one that I haven't really tried enough of. They've been here in Indy for a bit, but they haven't really hit my radar. Everything these guys do is sour, so I'm really not sure how it took me this long to get on the Jolly Pumpkin bandwagon. Their holiday beer is Noel de Calabaza, and this is a nice dark sour beer with just a hint of holiday spice. Its got big tartness and dark fruit, like cherries plums and winter berries upfront with a really nice dry bret finish. These guys have really mastered the mix of wild yeast strains, which isn't easy. I give it a puckering 4


Like many Hoosiers, I spent Thanksgiving out of town with my in-laws. Lucky for me, my in-laws live in the Chicagoland area, and that means Revolution! I got my hands on a few six packs of Revolution's Fistmas. Fistmas is a spiced red ale that has all the flavors of Christmas packed into a delicious 12 oz can. It is perfectly spiced though, not too little not too much. El Duque had issues with the pumpkin beers because they're all so heavily spiced. This brew is the perfect blend of spice and base beer. Well done Revolution. If you can get up North pick up a sixer. Hell, get one for me too. I give this beer a 4.5


I'm a huge fan of the Prairie Bomb, so when I heard that Prairie had put out a wax topped Old Ale Christmas beer I had to go try it for myself. I love the big abv beers, especially if they can figure out how to balance them out. I wasn't disappointed. This thing was incredibly tasty. There was almost no hops, with a great malt bill that's perfectly spiced. Big dark fruits that verged on being a bit sour, played on top of a nice roasty malt flavor. The spices were really light and well balanced. Everything compliments the malts nicely. I believe that this is in fact the beer that will save Christmas for all of us! go get it while you can! I give it a joyous 4.5 and this was my favorite Christmas beer this year!

When you're getting set to go to a holiday party this weekend, take a little extra time in the beer aisle. Pass by some of the brews that you have all the time, and look for something festive. We have so many great breweries in town and even more great breweries who've started distributing here. Above are the beers that I really loved this season, go out and find what you love. Cheers!

Special Holiday Ale

Okay, I know the holidays are over, but it doesn't mean I have finished drinking all of my Christmas presents. When you have great friends, you tend to get great beers in your stockings and under the tree. I got this winter warmer, and based on what I had read, I was excited to pop it open.

This is a yearly collaboration done by Nogne O, Stone, and Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales. This year it was done at Nogne O. It poured out a beautiful dark brown with red around the edges where the light came through better. It had almost no head, less than one finger, but it was off white to light tan. The beer is 8.5% abv. It had a syrupy mouth feel, that was perfect for a cold winter day.

The beer had a heavy bread and cinnamon aroma. The first sip did not disappoint. It was a very malty beer, with great holiday spices. There was a good amount of cinnamon and nutmeg. Hints of dried fruit and berries came through at the finish. It was almost like a tangy cinnamon raisin bagel. There is a piney alcohol flavor that hits the tongue after each sip and lingers just long enough to remind you how good it was.

The beer was lighter on the hops than I expected from Stone, but with all the other spices and flavors I didn't feel like it was missing much.

The only draw back to this brew was a sticky feel that was left in my mouth after a large drink.

I give it a solid 4.

Winter Warmer

I needed to make sure that I got this in before winter was officially over. I have fallen in love with the guys down at Fountain Square Brewery. Their mainstays are not my favorite but I am always very impressed with their limited release beers and their seasonals. When we start getting snow and stuff gets cold and dreary, I really appreciate a good winter warmer, it lifts my spirits and warms the cockles of my frozen heart. I was not sure what to expect when I ordered up the one at FSB, but it totally hit the money shot. They listed the abv as "a lot" and the IBUs as "not very much" but the internet told me it was 6.5% abv and 34 IBUs.

There was basically no head when they poured it out for me and the beer was a beautiful red / brown mahogany color. The aroma reminded me of Christmas movies, fires in the fireplace and Santa. If you can't translate that, it was cloves, mulling spices and bready malts.

There was a big sweet malty flavor up front. It reminded me of a cinnamon raisin bagel. It had a lot of big caramel flavors with cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and something that reminded me of when you go to a fancy restaurant and get a flower on your food. There were light hints of citrus fruits on the back end of each sip. It was well blended and balanced, where nothing was the rockstar for too long. The mouthfeel was nice and thick without being syrupy. It was heavy but in all the nice comforting ways that you look for in the winter.

This totally turned into one of my favorite winter warmers. I give it a 4

Barrel Aged Frosted Frog Christmas Ale

Creation: Barrel Aged Frosted Frog Christmas Ale
Style: Winter Warmer
Masterminds: Hoppin' Frog
Location: Akron, OH
ABV: 8.6 %
IBU: 12
Hops:
Availability: Seasonal Winter
Drinkability:  All night long, not too sweet not too heavy with enough of an ABV to keep you warm throughout the Holidays!
Awards: Won the Annual Blind Christmas beer tasting at Vintage Estate Wine and Beer 2012 in Boardman.  Topped his event in 2010 and 2011.

"Not the Gumdrop Buttons!"

Served Cold out of the bottle

Pours with a dark black to brown with a red glow on the edges.  Reminds me of a color hybrid between a porter and an amber.  Minimal head and carbonation

The Cinnamon nutmeg and ginger spice sing Christmas Carols to you senses!

Starts off with a Dark Spicy Christmas malt with silky sweet chocolate notes.  It's as if I was eating Nestlé chocolate all my life then all of a sudden found out what Godiva chocolate that literally melts in your mouth tastes like.

Leaves the mouth  Coated with a Finish of  a light cinnamon sweetness that sticks around for a minute.

Serve Warm(er): to really let the Christmas spices come to the front and stop hiding behind the malt.

O-Dawg: 4.0 heads

Post-mortum:
The old crew got together in that brief window between Turkey Day and X-Mas to catch up and wish each other a Merry Christmas.  What better Place to meet up than Shallo's!!!  If you find yourself in Greenwood, IN please go here!  Try anything that has the Swamp sauce on it and pair it with one of there HUGE selection of micro-drafts and micro-bottles.

Being in the Christmas spirit I decided to try out the Frosted Frog.  Now I have tried D.O.R.I.S and B.O.R.I.S from Hoppin' Frog with fantastic results so I figured this to be a no brainer beer purchase.

I liked it, The Big Guy liked it, hell our wives liked it (and that doesn't happen...  Ever...). It was a Merry Christmas to my pallet courtesy of Hoppin' Frog.  I would recommend snagging one for the cold winter nights ahead!  Delicious!

Merry Christmas to all out friends once again!  We would t know what to do without you all!

The Big Guy: I did in fact like it. This was an excellent winter warmer. It delivered everything I was looking for plus a nice hop profile you don't always find with this sort of beer. The sweet malt and booziness was like getting rocked to sleep on a Christmas Eve. I give it a 4.5

Naughty Claus Holiday Spiced Ale

Creation: Naughty Claus Holiday Spiced Ale
Style: Winter Warmer
Masterminds: The New Albanian Brewing Company
Location: New Albany, IN
ABV: 7.5%
IBU: 10
Hops:
Availability: Seasonal Winter
Drinkability:  All night long, not too sweet not too heavy with a little holiday zip  that pairs nicely with cookies!
Awards:

"Hooo Hooooo Hoo!"

Served Cold out of the bottle from the 20 degree garage

Pours with a red brown with a caramel gold glow on the edges.  Minimal head but bubbly non-the-less.  Nutmeg and ginger spice nose sing Christmas Carols to you senses!  Nutmeg seems a little overpowering though.

Starts off with a light Spicy Christmas taste.  Orange Peel, Sweet Ginger Root, Cinnamon, Nutmeg All bubbly and sweet.  The orange starts to overpower the other tastes.

Leaves the mouth  with a very light finish of  cinnamon sweetness that doesn't stick around.  The orange turns bitter at the end in a most unusual way.

Serve Warm(er): to really let the Christmas spices come to the front and stop hiding behind the malt!  Watch out for the orange peel...  If you like Grande Marine, you will really like this beer.  Much better than serving cold.  Finish really shines!

O-Dawg: 2.5 heads

Post-mortum:
It's the  Christmas dash to the finish! One year ends, another begins.  Food, friends, family,  did I mention the booze?  It helps with the family part...  I kid, I kid!  But seriously...

I picked up this little surprise on the way home pre-blizzard.  Wasn't really anticipating popping it till the new year, then i Got snowed in...  Woe is me?!  Snow DAY!  Beer by the fire and video games, reading books  with a side of Christmas movies!

It wasn't the best Christmas Warmer ale I have had.  If a pal brought it by I would drink it, but I don't think I would go buy another one after this lackluster taste.

Happy New Year to all our friends!  We would t know what to do without you all!

Our Special Ale 2012 (Anchor Christmas Ale) and the Vertical

Tis the season to be jolly! Nothing gets me jollier than a good dark Christmas beer.

Anchor makes a new Christmas Ale every year. It is a treat to see what new flavors they have brewed together, every holiday.

This year the beer poured dark brown almost black, with some light head. Once it was poured into the glass it smelled like winter. Ok... so that is not as descriptive as you might want, but it was a mix of piney hops, ginger, nutmeg and cloves and it just smelled like the holidays. The abv is 5.5%.

The beer flavor is a mix of molasses and chocolate tones with a nice sour hint of cherries or other winter berries. These flavors are accented by all the spices that were in the nose especially the ginger. I really enjoyed the sour characters of the berries. The hop profile comes in hard and overpowers the sweetness pretty quickly helping to balance it all out. Sometimes holiday beers are basically just deserts, so this was a nice more complex option. The mouth feel was surprisingly light. It has a pretty dry finish, but it fit the general pallet of the beer.

I give it a 3

Now the best thing about having awesome friends is they will invite you over to try awesome beers. In the spirit of Christmas, the Little Lady and I got together with another couple and they had prepared a vertical of Our Special Ale 09, 10, 11, and 12.

 

We lined them up and started tasting! Similar characteristics were displayed in every beer, but there were some differences. All of the beers got better as they warmed up a little bit. It helped take the piney edge off just enough and let the big malty character of these awesome brews to really shine through.

I rank them in this order: 2009, 2012, 2010, 2011. 

Since it is the season of giving, I will not dwell on the beers that I did not like as much, none of the beers ranked below a 3 and most of them were 3.5. 

The 2009 was my favorite! It was sweet with heavy flavors of molasses upfront, that lead you into the fruitiness of the dried cherries. It had a  rich smokiness throughout that made it more unique than the rest of them. It did not have the extreme pineyness that I found the 12, 10 and 11 to have. This one had an almost creamy quality that helped cancel out some of those harsh hop flavors. The 2009 was a fantastically balanced beer. If I could this would become my yearly Christmas beer of choice. Thanks to Justin for setting it all up.

I give the 2009 a 4