Holiday Beer Fun, Part I

ahh, the holidays. Okay we are not quite at the holidays yet. But they are creeping up quickly. And while there is a great deal of stress there are good things about winter too. Like holiday beers. I LOVE winter seasonals. With all their spices and the dominance of dark beers 'tis the season for me. Of course, this means there is a whole world of them to choose from.

This year I found a new to me chocolate stout from Ridgeway in England, the beer is called Lump of Coal. It is beautifully black with strong dark chocolate notes, I found it lacking in body, but the flavor is wonderful.

I have resolved to avoid the Sam Adams Cranberry Lambic. I make the mistake of buying this thinking that it can't possibly be as bad as I remember, and it always turns out to be as bad as I remember. So this year I will break the cycle. Really.

Rogue has also released this year's Santa's Private Reserve. I have to admit I have never really cared for this one. I was fond of the original St. Rogue Red that formed the base for this. But now Brewmaster John Maier is Dry Hopping the St. Rogue regularly, so the Santa's has been hopped even MORE, to the point where I think he may have overwhelmed the malts altogether.

Disappointments aside, I've also got a six pack of my favorite winter seasonal, Widmer's SnowPlow. Now, I love my stouts, and I like my cream stouts even more so this is a no brainer for me. I did a happy beer dance when I saw it in the grocery store. Note, the happy beer dance makes other people stare at you.

SnowPlow has a lot of body, creaminess of texture and complex roast grain flavors with just a hint of sweetness. I've had it fresh off draught and in bottle, and I can honestly say the bottle doesn't seem to harm its flavor much. On a 'this is cool' note. SnowPlow is actually a product of Widmer's Collaborator program where they work with winners of the Oregon Brew Crew's annual competition to create unique new beers.