Your favorite Christmas beers?

[denny]

I look forward to Sierra Nevada's Celebration every Christmas. I not only stock up on theirs, but try to brew a couple batches of a "clone" of it. But the one I really wait for from Christmas to Christmas is Scaldis Noel. The bottle even looks Christmasy, with the little cabin and the sparkly red, white and blue label. I spend the first part of Christmas Eve day cleaning Dungeness crab for dinner that night, prepping Christmas dinner, cleaning the house and wrapping presents. Then, about mid afternoon, I sit down with a goblet of Noel and sip it slowly while listening to Mel Torme, Tony Bennett, and Garrison Keillor Christmas CDs. A great reward for my efforts and it really gets me into the spirit.  How about you guys? What beer do you look forward to that really makes it feel like Christmas?

[dannyjed]

This year for the first time, I made a Great Lakes Christmas Ale clone.  It came out very close to the original and my wife and friends all like it.  I don't use spices (ginger and cinnamon) very much at all, so this beer has been a nice surprise and I plan on making it every year around this time.

[reverseapachemaster]

Really any of the Belgian Christmas ales do it for me. I finally tracked down some A'Chouffe N'ice this year which was as fantastic as I had hoped. Scaldis Noel is a great one although I find it doesn't age well. It's better fresh.

Some of the English and domestic winter warmers are also good. I'm particularly fond of Rahr's Winter Warmer and the Barrel Aged version.

[konrad]

I used to really enjoy De Dolle Stille Nacht, but I can't find it in Michigan any longer.  So now it's Samichlaus.

[hoser]

Great Divide Hibernation!!!

[thebigbaker]

Great Divide Hibernation!!!

+1! Always look forward to GD Hibernation.  Also look forward to Avery's Old Jubilation and Odell's Isolation.  I also grab a few bottles of Dry Dock's Bligh Whisky Barrel Aged Barley Wine when they release it in mid Dec.

[nateo]

+1! Always look forward to GD Hibernation.  Also look forward to Avery's Old Jubilation and Odell's Isolation.  I also grab a few bottles of Dry Dock's Bligh Whisky Barrel Aged Barley Wine when they release it in mid Dec.

I always confuse Isolation with Hibernation. I buy a 6er of Isolation, but when I get home I realize it's not Hibernation. They're both good, but I like Hibernation better.

[gmac]

Sam Adam's Triple Bock.

Many years ago (mid 90's maybe), my brother-in-law and I saw it in the liquor store and bought a bunch of bottles.  But, when we actually tasted it, we hated it.  It was thick, sweet and just undrinkable to our unsophisticated palette's.  So, since we had a stockpile, we put it in the basement and each year for several years we'd share one as penance for the sins of the previous year. If I could find some and take it to the family Christmas sometime I'm sure he'd get a real kick out of it...til he drank it.

[denny]

Man, I remember that stuff.  Kinda tasted like molasses and soy sauce.

[firedog23]

Shared a bottle of La Rulles, Cuvee Meilleurs Voeux a couple of weeks ago with a friend.  I was not sure what to expect but it was really nice. Belgium dark ale but it was fairly refreshing and lighter than expected.

[jeffy]

Man, I remember that stuff.  Kinda tasted like molasses and soy sauce.

I still have one or two bottles from 1994/5.  I wonder if it has changed.....

(Edited to make sense)

[erockrph]

I'm not generally into spiced beers, but Harpoon Winter Warmer just tastes like Christmas to me.

Man, I remember that stuff.  Kinda tasted like molasses and soy sauce.

I still have a little or two from 1994/5.  I wonder if it has changed.....

I've been sitting on a bottle of it myself. I remember it being just OK back when I tried it - and I generally enjoy rich, sherrylike beers (Thomas Hardy is probably my all-time favorite brew). I usually crack something open from deep in the vault for New Years and the Super Bowl; maybe this year is the year I bust out the Triple Bock.

Regardless of how the beer is, the cobalt-blue bottle is a thing of beauty. I'd love to find bottles this color that accept crown-caps for my barleywines/quads and so on.

[theoman]

Zinnebir X-Mas from Brasserie de la Senne is the best I've had in a while. I first had it on the Christmas market in Brussels to wash down a steaming hot bowl of snails (going in my scrapbook of Best Belgian Experiences). Then I sat in a cafe and had another. Yummy.

[nateo]

Man, I remember that stuff.  Kinda tasted like molasses and soy sauce.

That sounds super gross. I don't really like my beers 'meaty.'

[1vertical]

Euge turned me on to Noche Buena Estilo Bock  If I could
get it here in BFE it would deck my halls!
(thanx euge)