12 Beers of Christmas: Laughing Ass Holiday Ale 2004

Posted at 10:40 pm by Patrick under 12 Beers of Christmas

You didn’t think I could compile a list like this, and not include a Laughing Ass offering, did you?

Here’s my winter warmer for 2004. The inspiration for this beer was as a reprise of my first holiday beer, brewed in 1994. For my 10th aniversary beer, I was trying for a beer that has enough maltiness to support a 7% abv, and still leave enough room for the spices of the season to shine through.

The spice bill in this beer is a variation of my regular beer spices: ginger (both crystallized and ground), cinnamon sticks, coriander (of course!) and brown sugar. As of now, the ginger and cinnamon are the most prominent aromas, but the coriander always adds a subtle almost imperceptible complexity to any beer it’s in. The molasses in the dark brown sugar adds some more depth to the beer’s amber malt flavors.

The reviews so far are good. One taster drank his bottle warm (10 demerits for doing that), but said the beer’s complexity was good even at room tempterature. He even said his non-beer-drinking wife liked it. Another taster called it “another crowd pleaser” and asked for more. I’ll be serving it on tap through New Year’s Day (unless it disappears more quickly), for those of you who know where to find me.

I hope you’ve been inspired to try tried one or more of these 12 fine beers. Feel free to let me know what you thought of them!

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12 Beers of Christmas: Westmalle Dubbel

Posted at 10:10 pm by Patrick under 12 Beers of Christmas

One of my favorite Trappist beers is also a good one for holiday celebrations — Westmalle Dubbel.

I remember this beer fondly from my travels in Belgium. During my first trip there, I attempted to try all of the Trappist beers I could find. Some (Westvleteren primarily) are scarce, but this one was almost everywhere. Since most restaurants served it, I had many first-hand chances to try it.

This is a great example of a food-friendly beer. It has a number of interesting flavors in it that play well with food: carmelized sugars, dark fruit, roasted malts and citrusy/vinegary aromas to name a few. I’ve had it with beef stew (commonplace in Belgium), bleu cheese covered burgers and London broil — this beer is exceptional with almost anything with beef in it. The abundance of flavors that unfold with each passing taste also makes it a great sipping beer.

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