Day Nine: Lump of Coal from Ridgeway

Yet another bummed-out holiday? Lump of Coal Dark Holiday Stout is liquid consolation. It's a deep, rich, sweetly rewarding stout to take the edge off of that grim family gathering, that cheerless annual festival of alienation. This brew is as dark as it gets, as black as the lump of coal you'll be getting for Christmas. Because, let's face it, you've been pretty bad this year.

Sounds good, doesn't it? I have to admit the name of this beer and the fact that it was a stout seemed pretty creative for a holiday offering. Well, this IS a "lump of coal" and you know how rewarding that is. It's not.

Pours black with a thin bubbly tan head. Aroma consists of cocoa, chocolate, roasted malt. It's a tad vinous with a whiff of alcohol. Not unexepected since it's listed at 8% abv. Disappointingly thin mouthfeel for a stout. Thin raisin and roasted malt front. Flavor turns a little sour and bitter in the middle. Feint hints of cocoa follow. Weak, bitter vinous finish.

This is a lame stout that's not very impressive at all. Save your $5.50 and spend it on something else.

Day Eight: Our Special Ale 2005 (Christmas Ale) from Anchor Brewing Co.

This is the 31st offering of Our Special Ale from San Francisco's Anchor Brewing Co. Every year the recipe for OSA and labeling are different. The labels always feature a tree -- the symbol of life and renewal during the winter solstice.

To me, this year's version tastes rather similar to the 2004. It pours a dark brown with garnet highlights. Creamy tan head. Aroma consists of plums and burnt malt, with hints of alcohol and toffee. The mouthfeel is full-bodied. Initial taste of caramel, toffee and dark chocolate (minus the bitterness). French roasted coffee in the middle. Finishes with flavors of plum, raisin and alcohol, which provides a nice warming sensation as it goes down. Awesome sipper to enjoy in front of the fire on a chilly night. It's a hearty winter offering. Get it while you can!

Day Seven: Samuel Adams Old Fezziwig Ale

Every year Sam Adams releases a Winter Classics 12 pack and this is the only place that you're going to find 2 of these in the mixed assortment. Old Fezziwig, of course, is named after the character in Charles Dickens "A Christmas Carol". It's a perennial favorite of mine and reason alone to pick up the 12 pack.

It pours a dark mahogany in color with a light tan head. The aroma consisted of fruit, malt, ginger and orange peel. Good carbonation with a smooth mouthfeel. Taste consists of roasted caramel malt, slight citrus and cinnamon. The finish is of sweet malt with hints of chocolate layered in there too. Reminds me a bit of the Winter Lager from Sam Adams. A nice Christmas brew. I wish this offering was available in more than just the Winter Classics pack.

Day Six: Samichlaus Bier from Brewery Castle Eggenberg

Samichlaus (Santa Claus) Bier was revived a few years back when Austria's Brewery Castle Eggenberg retained the rights from Hurlimann Brewery in Switzerland, the original producer, to begin rebrewing this Christmas classic. Samichlaus is brewed once a year on December 6th, the feast of St. Nicholas, and then aged for over 10 months before it's bottled and sold. It is a doppelbock beer and at one time, considered the "World's Strongest Lager" at 14% abv.

That being the case, this is an ideal beer to age and see what happens over time. The sample I have was from a 2001 bottling from a 4 pack I purchased 3 years ago. It's a clear dark amber in color with a light tan head after a semi-hard pour. With the alcohol content so high, it's typically hard to get a head on a beer like this. The aroma consisted of spices, malt, raisins, caramel and alcohol. Taste is strong and reminded me a lot of a brandy or sherry. Flavors meld into that of malt, raisin, smokey oak and alcohol. Mouthfeel is rich and coats the tongue. Alcohol warms the back of the throat and stomach as it goes down. This is most definitely a sipping beer. Downgraded the drinkability a little because it would be overkill to drink more than one of these in an evening. Samichlaus is a rare treat and should be enjoyed as such.

Day Five: Santa's Private Reserve Ale from Rogue

Perhaps Santa is a beer connoisseur. That might explain the belly. If you read the labels on Ridgeway's "Bad Elf" brews (see previous posts) they make mention to Santa's cellar. As does the name of this hoppy Christmas offering from Rogue Ales Brewery in Newport, Oregon.

Santa's Private Reserve Ale is actually the brewery's St. Rogue Red repackaged for the holiday season. Although the hops are apparently doubled for the brew.

It's a gorgeous looking beer that's a clear, deep, dark garnet color with a light tan head. The aroma consists of hops, caramel and a touch of maple. Mouthfeel is medium bodied. Initial mild hop front to it. Smooth, yet, bitter hop & fruit dry finish. There's also a bit of pine or spruce that lingers toward the end. Flavor seems more like an IPA than a traditional red ale due to the intense amount of hops in this one. A tasty winter seasonal offering for those who like intensely hop-flavored beers. I wouldn't mind stocking up on a few of these.

Day Four: Holiday Spice Lager from Lakefront

Holiday Spice Lager is the annual Christmas beer offering from Lakefront Brewery in Milwaukee, WI. Established in 1987, Lakefront is located in the historic Brewers Hill area just north of downtown, along the Milwaukee River.

This one pours a hazy dark ruby brown with a large rising light tan head. Festive aroma consisted of nutmeg, cinnamon, plum, ginger and malt. Medium bodied and smooth with a slight tingle upfront. Hint of orange zest. Intringuing gingerbread-like malt finish. The heavy alcohol is transformed into an almost brandy-like flavor in conjunction with all the spices. It's a very delicious and potent winter beer.

Day Three: Seriously Bad Elf

Santa was right on the Very Bad Elf label in yesterday's post when he inquired what was next. Released in November, Seriously Bad Elf is the latest (and stongest at 9.0% abv) in the annual "Elf" line from England's Ridgeway Brewing. The label states it's a "rather serious English Double Ale" or more aptly classified as an English Strong Ale. Think of it as being somewhere between a Pale Ale and a Barleywine. Or as the brewer, Peter Scholey, sees it, his interpretation of a Belgian Tripel. Seems to me like an identity crisis is at hand.

"I suppose I should have seen it coming this time," groaned old Claus. "Holiday ornaments mysteriously disappearing - turning up broken - reindeer falling from the sky inexplicably... and then of course, I discovered that tiny hands have been prying into that cask of wonderful new Double Ale I've got stashed down in the cellar. That's when I called in a specialist from the Elf Department. He just confirmed what I already suspected. We've got a rather serious elf problem here at the North Pole."

Seriously Bad Elf pours a clear copper in color with a white head that dissipates rather quickly. Fruity (feint citrus) nose with hints of caramel malt and underlying alcohol. Ok, not so underlying, it's pretty noticeable. Medium-bodied mouthfeel. Mild malt flavor which transitions into a caramel sweetnees. Mandarine oranges and feint apple swathed in alcohol follow. Warming sensation as it goes down.

Despite the high abv this goes down pretty smoothly until room temperatures warm it up a bit too much. At that point the alcohol creeps into the forefront. It's tough to say which between the two, Very Bad Elf or Seriously Bad Elf I liked better. Both are pretty potent and easily enjoyable on a cold winter's night.

Day Two: Very Bad Elf

"Is it just my imagination," queried old Santa, surveying the scene, "or is my Elf only getting worse and worse every year? What's next? Seriously Bad Elf, I'll wager. Mark my words."

The Very Bad Elf is one fine ale - rich, hearty and flavorful, brewed to an original 1975 Thames Valley recipe, with a very speical pale amber malt that is rarely used nowadays, and balanced by a modest addition of English Fuggle aroma hops. 'Ere's to your elf!

So states the label on Ridgeway Brewing's second in a line of 'Bad Elfs' - the Very Bad Elf. The brewery gets its name from an ancient road that the druids constructed along the plains of southwest England. It's the oldest road in Britain and Europe. Peter Scholey who used to be the master brewer at the now-closed Brakspear brewery, now brews for Ridgeway.

Very Bad Elf is an English Pale Ale that weighs in at a very respectable 7.5% alcohol by volume and comes in a 1 pint, 9 oz bottle. Massachusetts illustrator, Gary Lippincott, drew the artwork on the label.

Pours a clear amber in color with a white head that retreats to a surface covering. Fruity aroma that's matched with the scent of Fuggle hops. Hints of apple skins and roasted malt also on the nose. Soft, medium-bodied mouthfeel. Mild-mannered front has a pleasant malt flavor to it. Things shift quickly in the middle as the hop bitterness emerges. Sour apple, caramel and an underlying roasted malt flavor linger. Finish is slightly metallic and a touch on the dry side. The 7.5% alcohol is masterfully hidden. Although it will catch up to you by the end of your pint. Enjoyable and rather drinkable Christmas offering.

Day One: Bah Humbug! from Wychwood

The Christmas season is upon us. Shoppers are over-crowding the malls in search of that perfect gift for loved ones, while you curse for having to park on the far side of the lot. A bitter cold winter is in full effect here in Wisconsin. Chilling us with temperatures in the teens and plenty of snow which should ensure a white Christmas and must certainly be putting smiles on the faces of the CEOs at WE engergies as we try to keep our houses warm. To top things off, my car decides to give me its annual Christmas present of expensive repairs... it never fails this time of year. So what do you do when the holiday season turns for the worse... reach for a Bah Humbug! to warm your heart.

Bah Humbug! is from Wychwood Brewery in England. Their annual Christmas ale weighs in at 6.0% alcohol by volume. The bottle is 1 pint, 9 oz. Unlike most Wychwood brews, this comes in a brown bottle, as opposed to the clear ones they often use, that are prone to skunking from being lightstruck. Scrooge is on the label, in his pajamas and cap holding a candle. It looks like he's got his first visitor of the night because in the background, the ghost of his former associate, Marley, is harkening.

The beer pours a hazy reddish amber in color with a thick creamy light tan head. Plenty of lacing down the side of my imperial pint glass. Nice malty aroma with a hint of cinnamon, sweet caramel, raisin and a feint whiff of alcohol. Medium-to-full-bodied mouthfeel with pleasant carbonation. Very malty upfront. Dried fruit and spices emerge in the middle. Hint of raisin and vanilla in the finish. The 6.0% abv is masked pretty well. This is a very smooth winter warmer.

9 Beers of Christmas

'Tis the season for Holiday cheer and what better way to celebrate than counting down the last 12 days before Santa's arrival with some Christmas and winter seasonal brews. My goal the next two weeks is to review 9 different Christmas beers and share my findings with you. Why only 9? Because with the hectic rush leading up to Chirstmas, 12 seems a bit much this year. So sit back, uncap a winter warmer with me in front of the fireplace (or your favorite chair) and let's get started!

Cheers!