‘Tis The Season For Holiday Beers

For the past 10 years or so, the serious drinking demographic, ages 25 – 40, has been discovering spiced beers. Brewers release these concoctions seasonally, usually from October to December.

Actually, they are re-discovering an age old custom of brewing beer with spices such as cardamom, nutmeg, black pepper corns, and cloves. This tradition goes back to medieval times when they seemed to add these spices to everything.

The problem with mass-produced spiced beers is that they are often overly sweet and cloying to the point of tasting too processed. Your best bet is to go with a smaller brewery.

The Owl Farm (297 9th Street, between 4th and 5th Avenues) brews on tap change every week. That is one of the exciting things about this establishment. Steven Baird makes it his mission to find the most intriguing brews to keep his customers on their toes.

Holidays are no different. The Owl Farm promises to have a line up of complex seasonal and limited quantity offerings for the holidays…even on Christmas Day, when they will be open from 2pm to 4am.

First up, the Ægir Bryggeri Julebrygg “Christmas Brew,” a higher alcohol (7%ABV) spiced winter warmer from Norway. It’s hearty, sweet from the malt, and spiced with a light, clove-like complex, but it won’t leave you feeling like you just finished off a Christmas fruit cake.

Grado Plato Strada Felice, from Italy, is another high alcohol offering (8% ABV). It is a sweet amber doppelbock (strong lager) with the taste and weight of fire roasted chestnuts. This is a beer to be savored after a day of fighting the shopping crowds.

Not all holiday beers have to be spiced. Some, like the Sierra Nevada IPA, get their robust full body from their hoppy-ness. If you like IPAs, you will almost certainly love this one on a cold winter night. It has a smooth mouth feel and is very hoppy on the finish. Although not spiced, I would definitely place this in the holiday spectrum because of its hearty warm flavors and limited production.

Just down the street, the cozy Monro Pub (481 5th Avenue, between 11th and 12th Streets) has a Sly Fox Christmas Ale on the beer list. It’s a malty, full-bodied red ale with a hint of traditional Christmas spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.

This ale has a fresh mouth feel, not at all cloying, and if you’ve never had one, is a perfect introduction to spiced beers. Monro owner Vinny Evans described it best when he said that it “tastes like Christmas morning.”

Have you discovered a not-to-be-missed holiday beer around the neighborhood? Let us know where in the comments below.