Studies have shown that people are actually pretty crap at multitasking—a finding that I’ve taken to heart. Whereas in my former collegian days I would gladly blow off assignments until five minutes before they were due, now I’m the guy who starts working on a project the day after its assigned. Crack it up to maturity in old age. Or neurosis.
Anyway, I find myself in the odd position of not having much to do until the end of the quarter, and a subject near and dear to my heart has awoken me from my slumber: Christmas beer. Now, in years past I would typically chide the global marketing machine for cramming Christmas down my throat prematurely. Not this year. Having been out of the country for the holidays a year ago, I now find myself spewing yuletide cheer from every orifice.
Granted, this newfound holiday spirit has largely been fueled by alcohol, in this case the early release of several seasonal brews, by overwhelming popular demand. Beers that used to only be available at the beginning of December now hit shelves the first week of November. So what’s the big hullaballoo? Well, Christmas beers (or winter warmers, or spiced winter ales, or whatever you want to call them) typically have a little extra alcohol to take the nip out of the cold. So that helps. Plus, all the typical holiday spices are usually there; cinnamon, cloves, allspice, ginger, orange peel and so forth. So there’s that. But mostly, I think people just want something to look forward to around the holidays, like they did when they were kids, before real life came crashing in and ruined it all. Plus they taste awesome and make you all tingly.
On the local scene, Columbus Brewing Company does a very nice Winter Warmer, of which the main impression left is that of French toast. It’s not as heavily spiced as some other holiday offerings, making it a nice entry point for someone not accustomed to beers that tastes mildly of potpourri. Barley’s released their Christmas Ale last week, and plan on releasing a Belgian Christmas Ale later this month called Behjün Nöel (Get it? Belgian? No-“L”?). The Christmas Ale has the cinnamon flavor of the Winter Warmer, but with a hit of citrus and a hot boozy finish. Very festive, and very good.
(Side Note: If you haven’t made it to Barley’s over in Grandview or in the Short North, do so immediately. In addition to the excellent Christmas Ale, they’ve recently released Galaxy 500, an IPA with grapefruity Australian Galaxy hops, as well as Fortune Teller, an East India Imperial Porter. If you don’t understand what that is, don’t worry neither did I. There’s a good description here. The short and nasty of it is that it’s one of the rare dark roasted, high hop beers that actually works. Next week they’re releasing the bourbon barrel aged version, called Zoltar, which has to be the coolest beer name ever.)
There are plenty of out-of-state Christmas beers, but you could do worse than 21st Amendment’s Fireside Chat spiced ale. It has the distinctly meaty flavor of a British mincemeat pie (raisons, nuts, Christmas spices) for a slightly different take on the style. Plus the can has an awesome picture of FDR giving one of his famous fireside chat radio broadcasts, beer in hand. These guys prove that not just good, but wickedly awesome, beer comes in cans.
However, all Christmas beers pale in comparison to the two ton reindeer in the room that is Great Lakes Christmas Ale. Every year they make more of the stuff, and every year it’s not nearly enough to meet demand. I had to call ahead to get mine, ask the proprietor to go in the back room to his hidden stash to retrieve it, after which I was limited to one six pack. For this privilege I was asked to pay nearly thirteen bucks. Is it worth it? Damn close. It’s everything that other Christmas beers are, just more. If you’ve had more than one Great Lakes brew, you probably could discern they have a very distinctive piney hop profile. When you add that to honey, cinnamon and ginger, plus a vibrant ruby color, you get a Christmas tree in a glass. If you missed the first wave, a second batch should be released around the first of December. Personally, I wouldn’t wait that long—I plan on having one in hand on Turkey Day.
I’m not sure if I’ll get a chance to post again before finals, but I hope to at least chime in on a very exciting local product—Middle West Spirits release of “Stone Fruit”, their standard vodka flavored with local fruits and honey, due out at the end of the month. Given the high quality of their past offerings I expect it to be excellent, and a great weapon to have in the arsenal for when the relatives have worn out their welcome. And if you are reading this, and happen to be related to me, please know that I am talking about everyone else except for you.
