More Brews If You're Still In The Holiday Mood

Jolly Pumpkin/Nogne-0/Stone Special Holiday Ale: This brew is indeed a special one. A collaborative effort by Jolly Pumpkin, Nøgne-Ø and Stone Breweries. The result: Stone’s first ever Holiday brew. The tale begins in Tokyo when Stone’s Greg Koch ran intoKjetil Jikiun, the owner and head brewer of Nogne-O(Norwegian craft brewery). They decided to team up with Jolly Pumpkin to create a unique winter warmer. Ingrediants were used from each of there timezones: Southern California White Sage, Italian Juniper Berries and (mostly) Michigan Chestnuts. Rye malt was added as well.

The beer pours a dark broen/amber. It has a minimal head that quickly disapates unfortunately, although the lacing is nice on the glass. Upon tasting, the sage and juniper berries quickly come forward. Although this is one hoppy beer with an alcohol flavor, the spices balance it out. Notes of chocolate are also abound. All in all a very nice winter brew, although at 9.0% ABV, you can have to many of these. A nice pairing with your Christmas or New Years ham, any dessert or just on its own!

Shiner Holiday Cheer: Shiner brews this one in the Dunkelweizen style. Putting their own holiday/winter spin on it. The thing to know is that this style is very similar to a Hefe. It pours a light golden color with a thick head. Lacing is ok on the glass. Instead of using winter spices to compliment this weizen, Shiner overpowers the flavor with peaches. It’s very hard to get past this being a peach plavored Shiner, thus not very enjoyable. Most winter themed beers have a higher alcohol content to compliment the sppices, thus warming you up! For what this brew is trying to be, it fails.

New Belgium’s 2 Below:  From the brewery that brought you Fat Tire, comes 2 Below, an Extra Special/Strong Bitter brew. Typical for this style of brew, it boasts more hops than usual, more of an alcohol taste and weighs in at 6.6% ABV.

It pours a medium golden yellow with a small head that sticks a round for a few minutes, however the lacing is average. Unlike other winter brews, there are no real spices or citrus flavorings (mild in this area). New Belgian makes up for this with the more aggressive hops, malt and the caramel undertones. A solid winter brew from New Belgium. Pairs well with meats and cheeses.