Holiday Beers 2015

Today marks the triumphant return of the South Florida Bulls to bowl competition as they play the current head coach's former team, Western Kentucky, in the Miami Beach Bowl. What better way to mark the occasion than to sample some delicious holiday beers? Kickoff is a half hour away, so it's time to kickoff this beer tasting!!

First up, N'Ice Chouffe, brewed in Belgium by Brasserie d'Achouffe once per year for the holiday season. This is a great selection to start the day with its 10% ABV and full body. A deep dark Amber with a frothy head, this beer is effervescent and sweet smelling, as it is brewed with dark candy sugar and dried orange peel. This would make for a wonderful after dinner treat as it is like a dessert in a glass. Who needs fruit cake when you have N'Ice Chouffe?!?!

While the N'Ice Chouffe was full bodied and filling, it was so delicious that it went down quick. With just under 15 minutes until game time, I opened this year's offering of "Our Special Ale" from Anchor Brewing in San Francisco. Each year, Anchor produces a new and unique type of holiday beer, and this year is super dark and malty with a roasted finish. Smells and tastes like freshly baked brownies. This may Anchor's best holiday beer ever....better stock up because once it's gone, it's gone FOREVER...

The Bulls score first! That's a good reason to celebrate and open up the Southern Tier 2XMAS. One of the most creative breweries operating today has made yet another winner with this spicy seasonal brew. Loaded with cinnamon, this rust colored beauty is 8.5% ABV of goodness. USF interception!

I look forward to Harpoon's Winter Warmer every year, and this year did not disappoint. Less malty than in past years and a bit sweeter...in other words: delicious. The other beers in this category are more of the "one and done" variety, but this is a beer that you can enjoy all day long. At a very reasonable 5.9% ABV, you can put down a few of these and not be in too much danger of insulting your boss at the holiday party.

At the end of the 3rd quarter, the Bulls are losing and not looking good. Time to bust out the 2015 Celebration Fresh Hop Ale by Sierra Nevada. Like the Winter Warmer, this is a holiday seasonal standard that I look forward to each year. It is rare to see an IPA as a seasonal variety, and this IPA separates itself from the brewer's always available Torpedo IPA in the use of first-growth American whole cone hops. The malty backbone of this IPA makes it full bodied and worthy of a cold weather brew. This beer has a fairly high production volume and I have found it as late as March in certain stores, but do not wait to start stocking up on this delicious IPA!

The Bulls may have lost the game, but all of the delicious holiday beers helped to ease the pain. Happy holidays!!!