Seasonal Beers

Joined Oct 2004
787 Posts | 0+
Are there any fans of seasonal beers here? I remember waiting anxiously for Great Lakes Christmas Ale.

Now that we have better beer laws in my state, we can enjoy beers with ABVs higher than 4.9.

I am enjoying a Breckenridge Brewing Christmas Ale right now.I might follow it up with a Sierea Nevada Celebration Ale. These are two of my favorites.

What are some of your favorites?
 
I've only tried some of the Sam Adams winter brews, nothing by the small "local microbreweries". The Holiday Porter and Double Bock I like quite a bit... the Cranberry Lambic, Old Fezziwig, and White Lager I didn't. That latter 2 have cinnamon which just doesn't mix with beer for me.
 
Yes, and I plan on picking up a bottle next time I hit the local BevMo. I saw it there but that was before I read your review, so I'm hoping it's not sold out.
 
iduno.... i dont like almost any of the holiday ales.

i kind of have two standing rules:

1) dont fruit the beer.
b) dont spice the beer.

i work at a place that has Great Lakes Christmas Ale on tap and it still does nothing for me.

... im the only one i know like that. :(
 
I kinda agree with kuzi...i never drink a beer i need to add fruit too in order for it to "taste good"....if thats a necessity then it never tasted good to begin with..on the other hand if the brewer used some fruit,or fruit zest and such in the brewing process im ok with that...but being from boston up here in the 20 degree range right now im loving the sam adams winter lager..its agreat brew id reccomend to anyone who likes a full flavored beer with agreat after taste.
 
To each his own I guess, but untill you have tried a good homeade Belgian Kreik, you do not know what you are missing.

My stepfather used to make it, and man that was good beer!!
 
Samuel Smith's Winter Welcome. One of my all-time favorites, nothing but beer in the bottle, and a crisp, refreshing punch in the face.
 
Haven't tried many but I did enjoy a good pumpkin brew a few years back from a local micro. But then again I am a sucker for the fall and anything that comes along with it.
 
I'm not necessarily a fan of fruit/spicing beer, but there are plenty of seasonals that aren't that way. Most are just heavier, darker jobs with higher alcohol content.

Around the Northwest, Pyramid's Snow Cap is kind of infamous for being a quick butt-kicker and very tasty to boot. Some others of note:

Widmer Brothers Snow Plow
Deschutes Jubelale
Big Sky Powderhound
 
Brand new here and not into guns but not opposed to them as long as they're not aimed at me. I love the great outdoors though, and I love serious beer. Enjoying my second Bell's Consecrator Doppelbock Beer of the evening. Nice stuff. Not as big as I expected, but I'm not complaining. Here's what the Bells Brewery website has to say about it:

A traditional dopplebock fermented with a Bohemian lager yeast. Reddish brown in color, with a mild hop profile, Consecrator is a well balanced, full bodied beer with hints of caramel and molasses in its smooth, malty finish.

Original Gravity:1.081
Alc. by Vol.:8.0%
Avail. Pkgs.:4/6/12 oz bottles (case), 15.5 gl keg

Dates Available:Brewed for a Fat Tuesday release

Like I said, nice stuff, but next time I'll go back to the real thing, Salvator Doppel Bock, all rich and heavy and dark and yummy.

Can someone tell me how to upload an avatar and what the pixel limits are?

Thanks,

Satchmo
 
kuzi16 said:
1) dont fruit the beer.

Wasn't that one of the "Man Laws" in those goofy commercials a while back by Miller or some other swill meister featuring Burt Reynolds and some of the other boys? I might agree if not for Lindemans Lambiks made with a variety of fruits, including cherries, raspberries and peaches, but happilly avoiding Harvey Fierstein and John Waters.

Can I say that here?
 
I for one am not apposed to fruit in the beer. It is very common around here to put a small wedge of lime in a Corona . Even in Mexico they bring you a lime for your beer !
Other than that I am not a big fan of it, just not apposed to it.
The summer shandy has a hint of the lemon flavor , and while we do not get it in Texas, I did raid the cousin in law's cache while we were in Cincinatti . He works for Miller and gets 3 cases a month !
Everytime I sit back and drink a cool shandy , I think about how I raided his beer while he was off at work and how he most likely hates me now :roll: .
No really his wife insisted .
 
Had a few bottles of Bell's Hopslam the other night. This one is only made during Jan/Feb. Very tasty brew - very hoppy and at 10% abv, it doesn't take many!

I definitely recommend it.
 
cybrus said:
Had a few bottles of Bell's Hopslam the other night. This one is only made during Jan/Feb. Very tasty brew - very hoppy and at 10% abv, it doesn't take many!

I definitely recommend it.

I'm taking posession of a case of this tomorrow, cybrus. Very hoppy doesn't even begin to describe Hopslam. The first time I poured myself a glass of this last January ('07), I stuck my nose in the glass and it smelled like a bag of really fine bud, and I'm not talkin' weiser here. Of course, hops and cannibus are close relatives, so that's probably not entirely surprising. Being a confirmed hophead, this is my favorite beer, but at $15 a 6 pack and 10% abv, I don't usually drink more than 4 at a time.

:!: :?: :idea: :arrow: :wink:
 
Awesome, Satchmo! True, I did understate the hoppiness. What are some of your other hop-heaven beers?
 
cybrus said:
Awesome, Satchmo! True, I did understate the hoppiness. What are some of your other hop-heaven beers?

#2 has to be Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA. If it weren't for the Hopslam, this would be my brew made in heaven. At 6%, it doesn't kick your head in either, unless you drink multiple 6 packs.
http://www.dogfish.com/brewings/Year_Ro ... /index.htm

There are plenty of other solid domestic IPAs brewed across the US. I'm on a quest to try as many as I can before my liver gives out, and I haven't had too many bad ones. I'll try to give updates as I can. A couple of the notable hoppy non-IPAs that have caught my attention are these:

Victory Prima Pils isn't an IPA, but it's so hop-heavy that it gets my vote of approval. And it's only 5.3%, so you can drink 6 and still play a decent game of euchre.
http://www.victorybeer.com/pils.html

Victory also makes a beer that they call Hopdevil Ale, and while it's also a hophead's delight and I like it just fine, I still like the Prima Pils better. At 6.7%, it's a quicker buzz though, so maybe you'll get lucky with an otherwise indifferent significant other or blind date.
http://www.victorybeer.com/hopdevil.html

Last, but certainly not least on my very short list is San Diego's Stone Brewery Arrogant Bastard Ale, whose motto for this one is, "You're not worthy!" Dark amber colored, it's rich in malty caramel-like flavor, which is always a plus, but it offsets that with a big hops kick that just drives my to drink more and more. I especially enjoy the larger bottle format (500 ml? I'll have to revisit to make sure!), as I need to uncap far fewer of the 12 oz. bottles to get my fix, and at 7.2%, I can do more than my share (which means that I'm dipping into your share) of those too.

That's all the brain dump I'm capable of now, because most of my brain went down the drain years ago.

Draining a 2nd Hopslam of the evening (after starting off with a Consecrator), I remain,

I forgot my name!

:!: :?: :idea: :arrow: :shock: