Hop Press: West

The Top 10 Winter Holiday Beers of Ratebeer.com

From time to time, perhaps as frequently as once a month or as infrequently as never again, I’ll be taking the opportunity to explore the Ratebeer database: to wallow amongst the million-plus beer reviews, to shower myself in the statistical treasure troves, to parade around in a sweater vest of numerical minutiae.

There’s already a list of the top seasonal beers on Ratebeer, which is great for people curious about what they should seek out at particular times of year, but it’s not really the sort of list that I think about when the holidays roll around. For one, winter is imperial stout and barleywine season, and both the Ratebeer seasonal list and the average craft beer consumer will already recognize this, perhaps to a fault. The list is top heavy with imperial stouts (although that delightful ice cider is almost worth including just because), but, worst of all, it’s not very festive.

Do I want little elves parading around with garland and twinkle lights, singing off-key hymns of snowpeople and ill-fated, reindeer-stricken grandparents?

If they’re into good beer, then by all means.

So what follows are the Top 10 Winter Holiday Beers on Ratebeer, painstakingly culled from the database, singled out for having a particularly “festive” character about them. In all cases, you’ll know you’re drinking something that was made for the holiday season, and I can only add that the conspicuous lack of Hanukkah and Festivus beers is due to no fault of my own. “Blazing Menorah Rauchbock“? “Yellow Bus for the Rest of Us”? Remember that there’s always next year.

(© Anneliese Schmidt)

Ratebeer.com’s (Unofficial!)
Top 10 Winter Holiday Beers.

1.) AleSmith YuleSmith (Winter) Imperial Red Ale
(4.07 overall / American Strong Ale)

For a beer that has seen regular annual release and relatively wide distribution, almost entirely without fanfare, Alesmith’s Yulesmith (both the winter and summer versions) seems to fly off the shelves. The main picture above was going to involve Yulesmith, but someone foolishly presumed it would just sit on the shelf waiting for him. That person has learned a very valuable lesson regarding our #1 Winter Holiday beer.

2.) Hair of the Dog Doggie Claws (2003-)
(4.02 overall / Barley Wine)

Right alongside De Dolle Brouwers (see below), Alan Sprints’ Hair of the Dog beers should be a mainstay in any self-respecting beer geek’s cellar. From Fred to Adam, from Fred from the Wood to Dave, HOTD beers are known for their longevity and their generosity towards those who remain patient, and this winter holiday beer is no exception. Even the older version of Doggie Claws is still holding up remarkably well.

3.) Three Floyds Alpha Klaus Christmas Porter
(4.00 overall / Imperial/Strong Porter)

Back when we lived near DC and had just started making beer runs back into Pennsylvania, I remember Alpha Klaus as being the first case of beer I ever purchased from the Beer Yard. One of Three Floyds’ many “Alpha” creations, including Alpha King, Alpha Kahn, and Alpha Kong, Alpha Klaus is possibly the most memorable: a chocolatey porter core, generous cocoa powder, and (when fresh) a perimeter of zesty hops.

4.) Captain Lawrence Nor’ Easter Winter Warmer
(3.93 overall / American Strong Ale)

Further adding to my sense of East Coast nostalgia, Captain Lawrence remains one of those breweries I’ve always been impressed with. I’ve sampled a pre-release batch of Rosso e Marrone in a van, convinced my sister-in-law to drive out for a Smoke from the Oak release, and hit the Cuvee de Castleton festivities (roadtrip!) with CaptainCougar. This barrel-aged, elderberry-infused winter warmer is one of their finest.

5.) Dupont Avec les Bons Voeux
(3.92 overall / Saison)

One of the best (and naturally occurring!) features of this winter holiday beers list is that almost none of these are all that especially difficult to track down, and many bottle shops with a decent Belgian selection will include Dupont, Stille Nacht, Gouden Carolus Noël, and St. Bernardus Christmas. That’s four out of ten right there (and no barrel-aged imperial stouts for miles). Avec les Bons Voeux, translated as “with best wishes,” is the highest rated of Brasserie Dupont’s fantastic lineup of saisons.

6.) Port Brewing Santa’s Little Helper
(3.91 overall / Imperial Stout)

For a brewery that remains habitually the center of controversy (scarcity, Patron clubs drama, eBay, price point, you name it), the affordable nature of Lost Abbey’s Port Brewing lineup tends to go unremarked. An enjoyable imperial stout, retailing at under $6 a bomber ($3.99 at Lost Abbey’s store, though currently sold out), Santa’s Little Helper is one of this list’s cheapest beers. Warming, dense, and carefully made with “everything but the kitchen sink.”

7.) De Dolle Stille Nacht
(3.89 overall / Belgian Strong Ale)

Coming in at #7 on the Top 10 Winter Holiday Beers list is my personal favorite of the group, a foreboding 12% Belgian Strong Ale with a pudgy snowman king on its label. What is this snowman the king of?, one might ask. The only clues are a gigantic scarf, a star on a stick, and a goblet full of Stille Nacht… Sweet and brash upon release, this beer is something to behold with some age behind it; I vividly remember the apple-y, honeyed genius that emerged from a 1996 bottle of this sampled at The Brick.

8.) Struise Tsjeeses Reserva
(3.87 overall / Abbey Tripel)

You knew there had to be at least one rare beer on here… Originally made solely for purchase at the Struise farm in Belgium, recent bottles of this beer have slowly been making their way over from Europe (the only stateside tap appearance I know of was at Ebenezer’s in Lovell, Maine). Whereas standard Tsjeeses seems rather sweet and heavy, the Reserva is a drier, peppery, and delicately oaked improvement.

9.) Gouden Carolus Noël (Christmas)
(3.86 overall / Belgian Strong Ale)

Rounding out the last spots are two Belgian Strong Ales from two of that country’s finest breweries. Brouwerij Het Anker creates the full Gouden Carolus line, including the cellar-perfect Cuvee Van De Keizer Blauw and newly released Rood, Gouden Carolus Classic, and the delightfully hybrid Hopsinjoor. Noël continues Het Anker’s long-standing tradition of brewing special seasonal beers for the Christmas and Easter holidays.

10.) St. Bernardus Christmas Ale
(3.85 overall / Belgian Strong Ale)

Am I the only person who finds the monk on the front of the St. Bernardus bottles creepy? A couple bottles of the Abt 12 and suddenly he’s popping out from around every corner, lurking in the kitchen cupboards, peeking out from my closet while I sleep. Dude gives me the willies. Giving him a Santa hat is, for me, a step in the wrong direction. But… this is a lighter, nicely spiced version of what you can find in the Abt 12, and, because it’s that time of year, you can always ask someone else to do the honors.

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Think we’re missing something? Wondering where SN Celebration wandered off to? Or your dearly beloved Anchor Christmas (aka Our Special Ale)?

Feel free to leave comments below.

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