Holiday Beers (2025)

I was surprised to find that I thought this Great Lakes offering was one of the best beers of the offerings at a holiday beer tap takeover at a place we used to frequent. I forget all the other offerings, but I do recall that GL stood out, so that is all that matters. Cheers, and thanks for hosting!

 

The gnome has a cookie exchange tomorrow to bake for so the house smells of Russian tea cakes. Old Fezziwig from Sam Adams. First try for me of this brown ale despite seeing it for twenty or thirty years. Cheers.

 

Joining a bunch apparently with the Sam Adam’s offering-

Nice for a chilly day.
Cheers!

 

YuleSmith, an imperial red from AleSmith. Big fan of the style. This one is hoppier than others I’ve tried but still tasty. (One of my better pictures too.)

 

That is wild @thebeers, minus SNPA and Philly Pale Ale it may be the longest constant in my beer journey. Year after year it comes back and still tastes as good as I remember each year. The ginger in that beer is so perfectly done, love it so much

@cjgiant

 

A huge shoutout to @thebeers for putting this tasting event together. Cross posted from the WBAYDN thread, I think I’ve had this iconic beer every year since ….. 2008 maybe? This could absolutely be my desert island beer. World class stuff, IMHO.

 

Kicking this special holiday weekend off with one of my favorites: Mad Elf Grand Cru from
Troegs. It is a bigger version of The Grand Elf but tastes so much better. The tart cherry is really vibrant and it is a much bigger, festive ale at 11%. I drink a lot of it during the holiday season. The only problem is that the cork is really tight and I have to use some heavy duty pliers to open it. Cheers!

 

Very nice haul.

 

Cheers to @thebeers for hosting this!

Between my fridge and my cellar, I have a good stash of Holiday beers to choose from. Although unfortunately this is a busy weekend for me since it is both my wife's birthday and a friend's birthday, so will be out and about this weekend. But I'll join in when I can.

My first time having Fat Head's Holly Jolly. The spice level is not overly aggressive, and it has a nice honey-like sweetness. Smells boozier than it is at 7.5% ABV

 

You or @thebeers streaming Goosemas tonight? I’m still debating it since I know I’ll pass out by 10 sadly.

 

A friend of mine sits quietly in her backyard and the local chipmunks will come and eat out of her hand.

 

No, I am only a "casual" Goose fan so it wasn't on my schedule. Is it through Nugs?

 

it is

 

The Hardywood Gingerbreads show up around here in PA. most years. Took a pass this time, prolly regret it later...

 

enjoying a Great Lakes Christmas Ale. Very nice beer, one of my favorite of the season so far

 

Been away a few days so this tasting kinda got me off guard. But cracked open my first Bell's Christmas Ale of the season, served appropriately at cellar temp.
This is a great malty winter warmer. Can taste the caramel they mention on the label. At 7.5% and best- by April of '26 I'm betting it'll go longer than that.
Scoth Ale is an inspired pick by Bell's for an Xmas beer.

 

I really like the Bourbon GBS most years. We get about a half dozen variants up here normally, but I decided to get the holiday pack case delivered this year because I was intrigued by some of the variants I figured I wouldn't get otherwise.

I felt it was a good mix of "regular" variants and "special" variants, not too heavy on the former. It was a bit pricey (especially with shipping), but I'll count it as a present to the GF (and myself). Cheers!

 

Kicking it off with what used to be an annual favorite, but it seems as if this went in a new direction last year. Less of those richer, “warmer” notes; now only a touch of the anise, caramel, and brown sugar that once lit the fire until the Chinook hops capped the finish. It’s still in the holiday rotation, but leans too hoppy/IPA-ish for me.