Christmas Beers 2011

This Christmas was memorable for a lot of reasons. We were able to get our lights and decorations up a full 2 weeks before the big day. That allowed us to enjoy the festive look of the house leading up to the holidays.  My brother and his wife put on a fabulous dinner for about 20 members of the family.  And my brothers and I were able to try several of the best Christmas beers available this season.

In all, we had about eight different holiday beers.  Some were just too plain to mention. Others were too different not to mention.  And then there were a couple that were “outstanding in the field” of seasonal brews.  This being the season of hope, let’s start with the best: Abita Christmas Ale.  You wouldn’t think that a place like Louisiana that never gets snow would make a strong Christmas beer.  But you would be wrong.  Everything about this beer made it perfect for a cold afternoon by the old Yule log.  It pours a dark brown with little to no head. The first whiff is of roasted malt.  That malt flavor comes through in the taste as well.  I’m surprised that it tastes lighter than it looks.  It goes down smooth like a fine wine.  There is just a touch of bitterness at the finish.  Those Cajuns can really do Christmas.

Another standout was the Chocolate Bock from Sam Adams’ holiday pack.  It had the same dark pour as the Abita, but with a sweeter smell and taste.  I detected caramel and licorice in my first sip.  It made for a nice after dinner beer that went well with dessert.

The surprise of the night came from Anchor Brewing Co.  I love the unique taste of their steam beer, but I felt their holiday ale was just a little too much holiday spice for me.  My brothers agreed that the spices overwhelmed everything else about this beer.  I’m sure there are holiday partiers drinking this beer by the case load, especially out in San Fran.  But here in New York it missed the mark.

Luckily, we had other great beer and lots of delicious food to enjoy.  I hope that everyone out there was as lucky as I was to be with family for the holidays.  So to all, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Holiday Ales at The Brewhouse – South Norwalk Connecticut

My wife’s company Christmas Party was held at the Norwalk Aquarium this Thursday night.  It was a great place for a party but, as expected, there was a limited selection of beers at the event.  So to appease her craft beer loving husband, Doreen agreed to make a pre-party pit stop into The SoNo (South Norwalk) Brewhouse which is practically across the street.  We walked into a large dining area with long communal tables filled with revelers from some other company’s holiday party.  This area was separated from another smaller dining area by a low wall and a huge copper vat.  As it turns out, The Brewhouse hasn’t brewed their own beer in over a decade, but they kept the shiny equipment to give the place a “brewery” feel. I must say it worked. 

But all the atmosphere in the world can’t make up for a mediocre beer list.  Here the Brewhouse shined as well.  The selection from the taps was standard stuff but their list of bottled beer was first class with microbrews from Abita (Louisiana) Allagash (Maine), Magic Hat (Vermont) and Unibroue (Canada). It was the Holiday beers from around the world that caught my attention though.  I started with a  German double bock called Ayinger Celebrator which is brewed in the Bavarian town of  Aying, just 10 miles from Munich.  This dark, malty beer has a nice foamy head and a smooth, sweet taste.  Doreen had an Innis and Gunn Original that is aged in oak Bourbon barrels in Dunbar, Scotland.  The whiskey flavor takes a back seat to the strong vanilla notes and it carries a 6.6% ABV. 

My next selection was from Belgium: Corsendonk Christmas Ale.  Corsendonk makes one of my favorite brown ales and I was looking forward to trying another style from this historic brewery.  Monks started making these Abbey-style ales in Oud-Turnhout  back in the 1600’s.  The Christmas ale held up their great tradition.  It was dark but not as malty as the bock or their brown ale.  This beer had a nice blend of malt and spice that put me in a holiday mood.

Our Holiday beer adventure ended in San Francisco.  We split an Anchor Steam Christmas Ale before walking across the street to the Aquarium.  This ale had more of a Christmas spice thing going on.  The bartender explained that Anchor has been making a Christmas Ale for 36 years, which is ancient by US standards, with a different recipe each year.  It did not have the dark complexity of the European beers, but it did get us in a festive mood to enjoy partying with the fishes. 

Overall, I'd have to say this is a great brew pub.  I was particularly impressed that every beer we tried was served in matching glassware.  They picked the right beers for the season and it helped to make our Christmas party that much better.