Beer Me: Top 5 Christmas Ales - According to Me

I have been lax in my beer drinking. My apologies. This is a fantastic time of year for beer lovers. The brews are warming and rich with flavor. Perfect for a snowy eve. Today, I'm bringing you 5 of my favorites, in no particular order. OK, the first one is my absolute favorite, but the rest are in no particular order. And they're all good.

1) Troeg's Mad Elf

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This is the most expensive one at around $15.99 for a 6-pack (or it may be a 4-pack). It's also sold in 22 oz. bottles and is 11.0% ABV. But....it's worth it.

From the site: "The Mad Elf is a cheerful creation to warm 

your heart and enlighten your tongue. The combination of 

cherries, honey, and chocolate malts delivers gentle fruits 

and subtle spices. Fermented and aged with a unique 

yeast, this ruby red beer has significant warming strength 

that underlies the pleasant character of this intriguing yet 

delicious Ale. The Mad Elf is a jolly and delicious beer for 

 the holidays."

2) Southern Tier 2XMAS

Absolutely love Southern Tier and their beers. They make my favorite fall beer, Pumking, so it's only fitting that their Christmas offering is high on my list as well. I wrote about them last year HERE.


3) Thirsty Dog 12 Dogs of Christmas

Now, I heard rumor that the brewer of 12 Dogs used to work for Great Lakes Brewing and tweaked their Christmas Ale recipe to come up with the 12 Dogs of Christmas. I don't know if that's true or not but it seems plausible. This is for sure one of my favorites. I wrote about it last year HERE.


4) Fat Head's Holly Jolly

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Fat Head's consistently puts out some quality beers and this Christmas is no different. I believe this is a new offering from them this year and it's a winner! Full of spice!

From the site: "Once upon a frozen evening way up north, a 

sweet local honey named Holly inspired our Jolly Fat Man 

(as only Holly can) to create this festive spiced holiday ale. 


We think you will enjoy his holiday creation with it's aromas 

and flavors of Christmas day. Sweet malt, ginger, honey 

and cinnamon spice. Sip this by the fire with your significant 

other. Who knows, maybe it will lead to a little inspiration of 

your own. From our Jolly Fat Man to yours, Happy Holidays."


5) Rivertown Winter Ale 

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This is the Christmas offering from Rivertown but because it's a Winter, I'm hoping it will stick around through the new year. Let me say, the 6 pack we just recently purchased ($8.49) was the freshest I had every tasted! Like it came directly from the bottling line and into my glass 30 minutes later. Holy moly!

From the site: "Winter spiced ale is our winter seasonal offering. 

With its thick body, creamy head, ruby hue, and big bold flavors 

with hints of caramel, toffee, and cinnamon, it is sure to keep you 

warm through the cold winter nights. "


I did not include Great Lakes Christmas Ale. Blasphemous, I know. Truth be told, I do like it. I just like the ones I listed better.

Happy Beering!

Christmas Beers, part two

THIS is it. This is my favorite Christmas beer so far this year. It's not new but I had never tried it before. 

Say hello......

12 Dogs of Christmas Ale by the Thirsty Dog Brewing Co. is what we picked up this weekend upon the recommendation of our friendly beer monger. (What is the proper term for "beer salesman"? I realize it's probably not monger but I thought it had a nice ring.) When I asked his opinion he let me know that it was a top notch choice. Apparently, the brewmaster at Great Lake Brewing Co. abandoned ship and took the recipe for their beloved Christmas Ale when he went to Thirsty Dog. Hopefully this story is valid because I love a good scandal. While I don't go gaga for GLBC's Christmas Ale like everyone else in the world, THIS Christmas Ale is something worth writing about.

From the site: "Spiced for the holidays with honey, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and Santa's secret recipe." It stands at 8.3 % ABV (alcohol by volume) and carries 21.5 IBU's, relatively low on the bitter scale. 

Holy Christmas in a snifter, batman! Even though this is a dark beer that honey flavor comes through loud and clear. Believe me when I tell you that this is my new favorite. I loved this spice mixture and it reminded me of GLBC Christmas Ale when I first had it and the flavors were clearer than they are now. If this is on tap, it's what I'm ordering. Otherwise, it's $10.99 a 6 pack. Well, worth it.

After going on at length about that, I do have another one for you. It's much less exciting but I didn't want to be accused of neglect.

This is Cabin Fever from the New Holland Brewing Co. I chose it for two reason: 1) New Holland makes a delicious Ichabod Pumpkin Ale, 2) I thought the name was cute.

From the site: "Robust in character yet smooth in delivery, Cabin Fever is a roasty, brown ale and a hearty, comforting companion for long mind-bending winters. Its rye, roast and raisin notes carry off a subtle caramel sweetness and culminate in a dry finish."

I liked this one because I like a reliable brown ale but I don't know that I'd go out of my way to get it again. I was able to buy just one bottle of it, which was lucky. Any time someone at the beer store drops a 6 pack, the bottles that didn't break get sold as singles. If brown ales are your jam, give it a try. Otherwise, move on to more exciting seasonals.