#99 Anderson Valley - Winter Solstice

Another Anderson Valley beer bottles normally have a picture of bears with antlers. I guess the bear could be seen as a Christmas bear dressed like a reindeer. The bottle also has a paragraph about getting out winter cloths and drinking beers to keep you warm. I think a beer to keep you warm is a good approach to Christmas / Winter beers.

This beer has a spicy smell, but it's a hop spice not a winter spice. It's a good smell with fruity notes. The color is a medium brown that is clear except for all the bubbles. Tons of bubbles are floating up from the bottom making the beer look a little like champagne. The head is just thick enough to keep the top covered but it is long lasting thanks to the flow of bubbles.

For the hoppy smell the taste is very malty. The taste is sweet like caramel and cherries, balanced against the malty toast flavors. There is a little buttery diacetyl taste and slick roof of the mouth flavor left behind. The finish is a but bitter, but I think it's from the amount of grain being used and the not hops. I am really supprised the hops smell isn't present in the taste.

This is an ok beer. I was excited for lots of hops from the smell, and ended up with more malt, I really like my hops. I think this is an acceptable example of a Christmas / Winter beer, it's malty and rich with a bit extra alcohol.

#98 Samuel Adams - Holiday Porter

Another Sam Adams beer. I always think Sam Adam's are such straight froward beers that they could be used for beer competitions to base the style on, or as calibration beers for to make sure the Judges are all judging the same. Just regular drinking beer.

There is a nice roasty, malty smell to this beer with a touch of caramel. The color is a very dark brown almost black, clear but too dark to see though. The foam is nice and thick, with brown bubbles.

This beer tastes malty and rich, with some coffee and caramel flavors. There is also a nice hop spice to the beer that complements the malt well. There could be some other spice flavors, more than just hops, but I am not getting them. The mouthfeel is a bit thin for such a dark malty beer, but I've seen the thin mouth before on porters. The finish is clean with a hint of chocolate.

I am not sure what makes this a "Holiday" porter, it's just a regular porter as far as I can tell. Malty and and easy drinking beer, nothing too fancy. Like a Sam Adams beer, it's beer and it's fine, nothing amazing nothing bad, just beer.

#97 Great Lakes - Christmas Ale

Today I successfully choose a Christmas beer to review. I have plenty more Christmas beers to drink before the month is over. This beer has a very pretty label, unfortunately it's hard to photograph because of the curved bottle, but it's a train full of Christmas tree ornaments. From looking at Great Lake's site it's clear they put thought into all their labels.

This beer has a nice Christmas smell, with the fruit smells of cherries and apricots, and the spice smells of cloves and cinnamon. The color is a clear brown with tons of bubbles floating up. The beer poured with a nice head, but it has since passed and just a ring of foam is left behind.

The beer tastes strongly of Christmas spices clove, cinnamon and the most pronounced is ginger, but over all well balanced spice profile. There fruit tastes are not very strong at first but in the finish there is a nice fruity taste. There is also a full mouthfeel to there beer, and plenty of carbonation making it takes light.

This is what I am looking for in a Christmas beer, nice spice and fruit tastes. This is a beer that was made as a Christmas beer, and I think Great Lakes did a good job.

#96 Casta - Super Premium

Tonight as I went to the beer fridge to get a Christmas beer I choose the first 12oz bottle I found, surprisingly the beer is not a Christmas beer. My friends Joe and Rachel got me this beer when they went to Mexico over Thanksgiving and got engaged. Casta is a Mexican craft, who developed an interest in brewing after studying in Philadelphia.

This is an effervescent dark beer, with a caramel and toffee aroma. There is also a sharp hop aroma to the beer, it gives a balance with the caramel. The color is a darker brown, but very clear. The beer pours with a lot of foamy head, but it quickly fizzes away. The foam is more like the foam on a citrus soda a sprite or 7-up.

The taste is sweet, and malty with a hint of spice but over all the taste is thin. The finish is a little bitter, and leaves a bit of aftertaste on the tongue. The real enjoyment of this beer comes from the fizzy light mouthfeel. This is like drinking carbonated water, or root beer.

I could see drinking lots of these beers on a hot Mexican day. I think the alcohol is on the low side, and with this light mouthfeel and not strong tastes. This is a big change for the heavy Christmas beers, and it's a nice surprise. Thanks Joe and Rachel this is an fun unique beer that I might otherwise not get to drink.

#95 Rouge - Santa's Private Reserve Ale

This Rogue beer mentions hops of the bottle and I am remind of the hop shortage. Because poor harvest, low profit, and a new trend towards growing corn for bio-fuel, there is a shortage on hops. Home brewers can't get some variety of hops, and the prices are going up. Brewery's like Anheuser Busch have purchased all of 2008 hops in advance make some variety only available to them. This might mean a lot more malty beers next year, and less IPAs on the market.

From my first whiff of this beer I got lots of hops. The smell is full of citrus and fruit aroma's that are common with American / California hops. The color is a dark red that reminds me of Santa's suit. The head is very thick and bubbly, much like an IPA.

Hops, and more hops is what is present in the beer's taste. I am only getting a hint of malt on the initial sip, but that is quickly overrun by the hops. The hops are sharp and bitter like unripe pineapple, leaving my mouth tingling and watering. The mouthfeel is a bit thin, unlike the sticky thickness of an IPA. The finish is a nice level of bitterness, giving a good taste.

This is a great beer for a hop head, but I have no idea what it has to do with Christmas, unless Santa's a hop head. I think the hops are a little over the top, and could use some balance against a bit of malt. A fine beer for someone liking hops, but stay away if you don't like bitter beer.

#94 Delirium - Noël

The beer smells like a Belgium beer with fruit and spice. The color is a pale brown, and very hazy. The bottom of the bottle even has some particles, maybe yeast, floating in it. True to Belgium beers the foam is thick, but with no bubbles from the bottom.

This might be the most different Christmas beer so far. The taste is sour, and fruity with a bit of spice. The fruit taste is like raisin or some other dark fruit. There is also a warming to this beer, it might be from fusal alcohol, an off taste present in some beers. The sourness seems to mellow as I drink the beer which is good since I am not a fun of sour beer. The mouthfeel is heavy and smooth, except when too much sediment gets drank. A clean finish with just the warmth and a bit spice.

This is a fine tasting beer, I think the other Delirium beers are better. Not sure what make this any more Christmas than any other Delirium's. I am a little concerned about the sediment in the beer, maybe something was off in the bottling. I've included a picture of the sediment.

#93 Sierra Nevada - Celebration

Sierra Nevada has been putting out this seasonal for a few years. I talked with someone this weekend that said he always buys a case of the Celebration and lets it sit for a year before drinking it. I think I will have to try this.

The smell was rich and malty, with a slight hop smell, with a hint of alcohol in the aroma. The color is a clear brown, with a good thick head of foam, and plenty of bubbles from the bottom of the glass.

The beer taste hoppy, and spicy. There is a bit of the thick malt taste that has been common with the other Christmas beers, but more hops than others. There is a good alcohol warming from the beer that I think should be present in a Christmas beer. I think all the hops made the beer too bitter, and took away for the beer some. The mouthfeel was full also like a good Christmas beer.

A good example of what I think a Christmas beer should be. Very enjoyable.