Holiday Beers (2025)

Thank you @thebeers for hosting this year. Entered my Wednesday beer haul including selections for this tasting.

I planned on also having a new to me Import (2025 Trader Joes Vintage Spiced Ale), but they were sold out at the store I stopped in and five others I called. Hopefully I can find at least one import later today.

Tentative Holiday Six Pack Plan

• Friday morning - Three Floyds Alpha Klaus (returning favorite) Local
• Friday evening - Allagash Ski House Domestic
• Saturday morning - Pipeworks Blizzard King Local
• Saturday evening ? - TBD Import
• Sunday morning - Dovetail Winter Hopfenlager Local
• Sunday evening - Art History Wenceslas Local

Starting with one of my favorite breweries with their long standing annual Christmas Porter release. From the bottle description:

Alpha Klaus is Alpha King's Festive Cousin. A big American Christmas Porter brewed with English Chocolate Malt, Mexican Sugar, and of course, toons of strange American hops.

Tis bottled September 25, 2025 and I don't see an ABV on the bottle label (I believe it's on their six pack holder. It's listed as 6% here.

Three Floyds Brewing Alpha Klaus Christmas Porter



Fully alive pour, needed a few oz top off after the root beer float like creamy head finally receded. Delicious roast malt, milk chocolate, malt caramel and toffee aroma. Add this plus black licorice and pine to the taste. Dry with some bitterness. drinks easier than the 6%, chocolate toffee black licorice finish. This beer is a favorite tradition to celebrate the Christmas season.

Looking forward to all the beers our community will share this weekend, and returning later today.

 

So I got a holiday ale that is not local, an import, or widely distributed, which day would you recommend I post it? @thebeers

 

Thanks @thebeers for starting this.
Savoring a 2022 Anchor Our Special Ale, still malty and spiced.



Cheers!

 

As I mentioned in the "How Many New Beers 2025" thread, I've been slacking on new beers. This will bring my total up to an even 16. I just added the Green State Evergreen by Zero Gravity to the BA database.

Just returned from shopping for an early Christmas present to myself. Cheers.

 

Happy Christmas, BAs

A German favorite - even though a bit old in the tooth, still tasting great!

Love the German glassware as well!



a chickadee from this morning's walk....

 

Reading is hard, woof!

 

For lunch I enjoyed Green State Evergreen by Zero Gravity. I added this as an American Lager, flaked maize is used in the malt bill, however I do not see this as an AAL. It is bigger and more malty than a Pilsner, closest to a stronger Helles Lager in my opinion. Any input on this would be greatly appreciated. Cheers and Happy Holidays.



3.96/5 rDev 0% | Average: 3.96
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A moderate through-the-head pour released three fingers of white soapy foam with above average retention, a cap lasts yet no lacing remains. Clear deep golden straw body, yellow gold in sunlight.

Mild smell of German hops (floral and herbal) and bready malt (toasted and fresh baked white bread, biscuit and very faint doughy yeast). Alcohol is barely detectable.

Neutral taste with medium-low bitterness at first, hop flavor is medium and now mostly floral. Balanced bready malt flavors prevails with a hint of corn. The middle is a bit grainy with a hint of apple and stone fruit. The finish is semi dry with a steep rise in hop flavor; overall bitterness reaches a tad above average. Again, alcohol is well hidden for 6.3% ABV.

Medium light bodied with soft and lasting carbonation, balanced well considering that four malts are involved. It mostly resembles a strong Helles Lager. Balanced, smooth and quaffable, "Celebration Strength Winter Lager" states the label. I could not agree more.

 

Picked up a Lloyd’s Christmas from Alvarado and a Santa was a Werewolf from Paperback, all to get into the holiday spirit. Not sure if I’ll get to them during the official tasting window but the intent is there.

 

Folks (like me) have been feeding chickadees, nuthatches, titmice, etc at a local metropark near me for many years - they are very tame - just takes a little patience and keeping yourself perfectly still and they will come to your hand - it is a great winter time tradition!

 

Picked up 3 holiday beers today. The Fair Stae one is new to me and has verbage on the back of the can describing it as a cold, winter IPA. Right on! Looking frwd to having it and I'll for sure pop it up onto this thread.

 

Masthead Sleigh All Day - IPA with spruce tips



my little Norfolk Island pine holiday tree, decorated with mostly handmade little boats, canoes etc....I dig it!

 

Brasserie Meteor (France) ‘Noël’ Bière de Saison

65 cl bottle. 5.8% abv.
Meteor distributes this limited edition flavored ale throughout France to celebrate the Season. It’s light and crisp, quite sweet, and there’s a distinct orange and Holidays spice flavor throughout.
It’s drinkable, despite the extracts and flavoring.

Joyeux Noël, dear friends.

 

Nice holiday beer

 

Samuel Adams' Old Fezziwig Ale is one of my Christmas Warmer favorites, though it surprisingly didn't get a wide distribution in Cincinnati. This year was a tad less spicy with a bit more cranberry, but still a perfect Christmas season Friday evening beverage. Holiday brews were hard-to-find this year, or were priced out of my range. An old favorite, New Belgium's Holiday Ale, seems to be inactive. But, try Old Fezziwig if you haven't yet.

 

Happy holiday beers, all! I think I might be able to swing a beer that meets the day one suggestion later on this weekend (in fact the one @adamg39 had just recently). For today, though, breaking protocol with something that would have to be considered local. It is a variant of a beer that has reached beyond Virginia's borders, but official distribution I think is still mostly mid-Atlantic (though maybe some web-based vendors offer it).

So today's holiday beer is from Hardywood. Gingerbread Stout (GBS) is a stout with spices (ginger mainly) and honey. We are having Caliente GBS - which, perhaps obviously, has chili peppers in the mix.

I hope the link to BeerAdvocate doesn't create a circular reference vortex on the site.



The beer pours quite oily black, and a dark collar of bubbles forms and fades to a razor thin ring. The nose is regular GBS - a sweetish roasted coffee aroma with chocolate,marshmallow, and ginger coming through. No pepper, though I'm not sure what I would expect except a hint of vegetation that is likely lost in the more powerful aromas mentioned, if it is there at all.

The first sip is GBS, sweet, gingery and perhaps a tad more tangy than I recall. Unlike many chili beers, this one brings a sharp bite early. A mélange of gingerbread dipped in dark roast coffee, coffee liqueur, ginger, the aforementioned tang, and then... some capsaicin.

First sip it nips and runs. Second sip, it tags me and pauses a second to see if I'm paying attention. Third sip and it decides to hang around.

As I sip, I do think there is a bit more medium roast coffee coming out, and that may be the non-hot part of the pepper paired with the roasted malt. I like that as much as the level of heat - enough to tingle the taste buds, but not enough to detract from the other flavors. Well put together, for sure.