Paste: "Blind-Tasting and Ranking 71 Christmas/Winter Beers"

Well...I guess I'm going to have to check out that SA Merry Maker for myself, then.

 

Hmmm, I'd have thought they'd be able to get the Corsondonck Christmas Ale to include as well.

 

I would gladly try most of these while sitting by a fire.

 

Glad to see Heavy Seas getting some love.

 

And Stone Xoceveza must clearly be worthy of hype, especially if it placed so highly in a blind taste test.

 

Interesting list. Not sure how you judge so many different styles using this

• Beers were judged completely blind by how enjoyable they were as individual experiences and given scores of 1-100, which were then averaged.
  
  
  

 

One of my random "what the hell is this beer doing here?!" experiences: a local bowling alley with 6-7 taps was pouring PINTS of this for $5 a pop the year before last. I definitely got a bit tipsy that night...

 

Great Lakes has the Christmas Ale release party when I have been trying to tell everyone that Thirsty Dog's 12 Dogs is better Nice to see it stand out in that great crowd. I usually drop $50 for a growler of the BB version.

Also, need to revisit Merry Maker and ISO #4 now!

 

You really should. It's a pretty solid stout; the gingerbread flavor is a bonus. I can see why it cracked the top 15. I've got a couple ready for my Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Been a fan since my first BA Christmas. Nice to see a Sam Adams offering place so high in the poll.

 

I know ... and I listened. Thanks for dropping me that one last year.

 

Seems odd that they didn't just limit this to beers labeled as Christmas beers. Because "winter" adds in some IPAs that are no really comparable to dark strong Christmas beers.

 

I don't tend to like these beers- winter warmers that is- but the ones I have liked are on this list. Samichlaus, winter cheers, jubelale , mad elf, celebration, xocoveza.

 

Worth every penny. haven't seen it in a few years sadly

 

Sam Adams gets a lot of crap, some of it rightfully so, but Merry Maker is one SA beer I look forward to every year - that and their Octoberfest. If you're looking for a well-balanced, spiced holiday stout, you can't beat MM, especially for $6.99 per bomber. Gonna pick one up later today, actually.

 

Great, that's really nice to hear. I'll probably get a few then and share them with the family. I made some imperial stout and pumpkin blends over Thanksgiving, and that went over well. This one sounds like a winner too.

 

Glad to see 12 Dogs make the final cut - it is fantastic.

 

I agree. It seems like they really shine with their fall and winter offerings. Even White Christmas.

 

I've been running a blind tasting beer-off at work the past few weeks, and when I did 12 Dogs, no one recognized it for what it was. I later pulled out a bottle of last years to have customers compare the two, and to a one they all said that last years was better. They were all knowledgeable enough to know the differences the aging makes, and not take that into account as well, so I've a feeling that something changed in this year's batch.

So far, according to customer votes as to their favorites at each week's blind tasting, Lagerheads Winter Mischief, Revolution Fistmas, and Deschutes Jubelale have been at the top at my store.

 

I also like Thirsty Dog 12 Dogs of Christmas, and recommend it to all of my customers who ask for Great Lake Christmas...I'm also a big fan of Anderson Valley's Winter Solstice