7 Days of Christmas Beers – Great Lakes Brewing ‘Christmas Ale’

Now that Thanksgiving has passed us by, I am officially willing to acknowledge that it’s the Christmas season. And while others were busy pepper spraying people in line outside Walmart, I was making sure I had 7 different Christmas beers to bring you over the next week. The first on our list is Great Lakes Brewing’s “Christmas Ale.”

For the holidays—from crowded stores to awkward office parties to grating family get-togethers, it’s still a time to be thankful. Especially for a festive holiday ale that will make you wish the holidays would last just a bit longer.

Call it a holiday ale or a winter warmer, it doesn’t matter. This beer is great, and it’s tough to find many who would disagree. I’ve haven’t asked my Jewish friends how they feel about Christmas ales, but as a wise, drunk mall Santa once told me, “Son, alcohol transcends sex, country, and religion.”

“Christmas Ale” is brewed with cinnamon, ginger, and honey, and that collection does wonders to warm you up in the winter. That’s assuming of course that you aren’t one of the lucky bastards, or as I’m sure you would prefer – intelligent people, who live somewhere that it’s warm all year. Regardless of your local climate though, this beer will certainly get you in the holiday spirit. The spice evokes all over those great yuletide feelings we have around this time of year, so much so that a few people suggested they tasted gingerbread houses in the beer.

Claims like that are just another example of why I don’t delve too deeply into rating/reviewing beers, but for those curious, this snagged a B+ on BeerAdvocate and a 93 from RateBeer, both excellent grades. It has also taken home gold from the World Beer Championships 4 out of the last 7 years. Vitals: 7.5% ABV, 30 IBU.

This is one of the milder holiday beers, so it’s a perfect starting point before getting into some of the more spice-forward beers down the line. It’s also incredibly tough to find because it’s one of the most sought after seasonal beers. It’s well worth checking out their beer finder and making a few calls though. For those in Chicago, I picked up my first at my go-to store, Vrai Amour, and then a backup six-pack when the girlfriend dragged me to Whole Foods.

 

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