Rahr & Sons - Winter Warmer

The Seventh Beer of Christmas 2017 is Winter Warmer from Rahr & Sons Brewing in Fort Worth, Texas.

Summary
Spiced just right with an extra dash of alcohol, perfect for warming you up on the inside.

• Appearance: Dark brown, burgundy around the edges.
• Aroma: Malty sweet, cinnamon, cherry pie
• Taste: Malty sweet, chocolate and toasted grain, cinnamon, raisins, crasins, & prunes, and warm gingersnap cookies. Finishes with spice and a warming boozy kick.
• Feel: Medium body, dry finish.

Stats

• Brewer: Rahr & Sons Brewing
• Location: Fort Worth, Texas
• Website: https://rahrbrewing.com/
• Style: Winter Warmer
• Alcohol Content: 8.0% ABV

Anderson Valley Brewing - Winter Solstice

For the Fifth Beer of Christmas, we prepare for snow & ice with a winter warmer.

Anderson Valley Brewing Company
Winter Solstice Seasonal Ale

This is the first beer I've had from Anderson Valley, but based upon tonight's results, others will certainly follow.

The beer pours up a nice chestnut amber-brown with a frothy, light beige head that subsides to a thin cap with scattered webs of chunky lacing. The head adds volume to the aromatics, allowing the smell of sweet malt with pine and cloves. Even a light touch of vanilla.

The mouth-feel is thick with much of the aroma coming through in the taste. The sweet malt is at the forefront. It's a bit roasted and the bittering that comes with that and the hops hits the back of the tongue on the finish. Before that, though, cloves and black pepper cut the sweetness of the malt and join a nice alcohol ester that warms despite the drink being cold.

After the Twelve Beers is over, I'll be running by Spec's to see what other Anderson Valley varieties they carry.

Stats
Brewer: Anderson Valley Brewing Company
Location: Boonville, California
Website: http://www.avbc.com
Style: Winter Warmer
Alcohol Content: 6.90% ABV
Interesting Note: Anderson Valley (the valley, not the brewery) is the origin of the Boontling language, a homegrown language or jargon developed about the time of the beginning of the 20th century. You can read more about Boontling at it's Wikipedia entry or watch this YouTube video.

Dogfish Head Brewery - Chateau Jiahu

For the Seventh Beer of Christmas, we travel to Ancient China via the brewing archiologists in Milton, Delaware.

Dogfish Head Brewery
Chateau Jiahu

Oh Dogfish Head, how I love thee, let me count the ways. I love thee for thy creativity. I love thee for thy sense of humor. I love thee for the tasty, tasty brews thy brews. Yes, Dogfish Head is one of my all-time favorite breweries. Every time I see a new Dogfish Head brew on the shelves, I am compelled to buy it. Chateau Jiahu was no different.

Light gold with hints of amber, the beer is very similar in color to the honey that is an important ingredient in it. I don't know what honey it's made from, but it looks very similar in color to orange blossom honey to me (we buy it at Walker Honey Farm in Rogers, TX). The head was think at first, but quickly fizzled away to just a thick ring around the glass. Lacing was low to non-existent.

The aroma is very sweet.  A mixture of malt, honey, grape juice, and pinapple. At first the bouquet was strong and I could smell it as I poured the glass. But afterwards it was much more subtle and I had to almost have my nose in the glass to catch the scent.

Sweet tea. Not just sweet tea, but Memphis sweet tea was my first thought when I tasted this brew. Honey is a predominate flavor. It's just a bit syrupy, but not so much so to be overwhelming. It's a little bit like a Reisling or Moscato wine. Even though it's 10% alcohol, the alcohol does not come through in the taste.

At 10% alcohol, this is almost too drinkable. Sweet and delicious. Great with food, as a dessert, or just as an enjoyable drink.

Stats 
Brewer: Dogfish Head Brewery
Location: Milton, Delaware
Website: http://www.Dogfish.com
Style: Spiced Beer
Alcohol Content: 10.0% ABV
Interesting Note: Okay ... so my love of Dogfish Head probably seems obvious. But why do I love them? Several reasons.

• First, their variety of beers is amazing. They will try anything. If they can pick a flavor that hasn't been brewed before, they'll try it.
• Second, Sam Calagione is a helluva cool guy. It seems like he's in every craft beer documentary and for good reason. The guy has charisma and just listening to him talk with his passion for brewing makes you want to try his beer. I even own two of his books (Brewing Up a Business and He Said Beer, She Said Wine.)
• Third, the brewery tour is awesome. We made it to Milton (and then went on to Rehoboth Beach to have lunch at their brew pub) in June of 2013. The staff shares Sam's passion and gave a great tour. On top of that, the brewery is a great place to run into old friends. When Lisa (the Mrs.) and I were there, halfway across the United States from where we live, we ran into some friends, Jake & Courtney, who'd moved back east a year or so before. It was completely by accident but a great surprise. 
• Fourth, they have a steampunk-ish treehouse in front of the brewery. Very cool.

Courtney and Jake at Dogfish Head - June 2013

Dogfish Head's Treehouse

So, all in all, Dogfish Head is awesome.

Boston Beer Company (Samuel Adams) – Winter Lager

For the Eighth Beer of Christmas, we picked a beer from another of our favorite brewers.

Sam Adams Boston Lager, the company’s flagship beer, was one of my early ventures outside the Budweiser/Coors world. It’s remained one of my favorites.

Their Winter Lager poured to a nice amber brown with a medium head retention. Like Anchor Brewing’s Christmas Ale that we drank as the First Beer of Christmas, this lager is spiced for the holidays. Although it isn’t as strongly spiced as the Christmas Ale, the cinnamon and ginger come through clearly along with a touch of hops.

The spices and hops are also predominant in the taste, along with the sweetness of toasted caramel malt. The sweet, spice, bitter, and carbonation are well balanced with none of them overpowering the others in this Boston medley. As lagers are wont to be, the beer is smooth, although a little sharp from the spices rather than creamy as most lagers I’ve had tend to be.

Even though the weight is best described as medium, it’s still a filling beer. I was three and out with this beer tonight, as I have been with most of the heavier beers. This is opposed to the nine (yes, 9) Lawnmowers I drank for the Second Beer of Christmas. I’m telling you, those Lawnmowers go down like Gatorade.

Before spring sneaks up, run out and grab yourself a 12-pack, curl up on the couch with someone special, and if you get past three, plan on falling asleep.

Stats
Brewer: Boston Beer Company
Location: Boston, MS
Website: http://www.SamuelAdams.com
Style: Bock
Alcohol Content: 5.5% ABV
Interesting Note: When Anheuser-Busch sold to InBev, a Belgian-Brazilian brewer, in 2008, the Boston Beer Company became the largest American owned brewery.

Anchor Brewing – Christmas Ale 2010

For the First Beer of Christmas,
Anchor Brewing gave to us,
Their 36th holiday ale!

For Christmas Day’s beer, we had to go with a Christmas brew. What could be better than a bottle that wished us a Merry Christmas (and a Happy New Year) right on the label?
Anchor Brewing Company has a reputation for brewing great beers, with Anchor Steam being the flagship of this nautical themed company. I’ve had plenty of Anchor Steams, but never ventured into their other offerings until now. Not for any particular reason, though. I just never got around to them. But after drinking tonight’s beer, I’m going to have to give some of their others a try … and before next year’s Twelve Beers of Christmas.

While pouring it into the glass, two things struck me. First was the rich aroma. It reminded of my childhood when we kept a real Christmas tree in the house and my grandmother mulled spices in apple cider. It was so strong at first that I thought the taste might be overwhelming. But the smell mellowed quickly to a comfortable and inviting aroma.

The second thing was the gorgeously dark color. I do love a deep brown, yet translucent, color in a beer. Held up to the light, the beer reminded me of a deep mahogany dining table that we used to own. It was a beautiful table and this is a beautiful beer. When poured, the head frothed up into a light caramel color.

The taste matched the aroma. Sweet and smokey. Spicy (holiday spicy, not jalapeno spicy) and crisp. And an hoppy twang to end each drink. Given the deep color, I expected a heavier beer, but I really enjoyed the lighter than expected feel. That strong a flavor mixed with a sweet, heavy beer would have been more than I wanted. But the Christmas Ale’s medium body was a good match for the strong flavor and intense hoppiness. (Is that a word? Spell check doesn’t like it.)

Overall, a nice change a pace that I think the Christmas-in-a-bottle feel would be a great addition to any holiday gathering. It’s certainly not my favorite beer of all time, or even in the top 10, but it’s a nice beer that murmurs “Merry Christmas” while you drink it.

Aubrey says, “It’s smokey.”

Stats
Brewer: Anchor Brewing Company
Location: San Francisco, CA
Website: http://www.AnchorBrewing.com
Style: Winter Warmer
Alcohol Content: 5.5% ABV
Interesting Note: This is the 36th Christmas Ale from Anchor Brewing. Each year, they customize the bottle by featuring a different tree on the label. This year’s tree is the Ginkgo biloba tree. For a look back at past labels, check out http://www.anchorbrewing.com/beers/pdfs/Flyer_ChristmasAle2010.pdf.