The Twelve Beers of Christmas 2020

If ever there was a year to drink Twelve Beers of Christmas it would be 2020. With everything going on in our world it would be easy to drown sorrows instead of celebrating all that is the holiday season. Being the eternal optimist I choose celebration rather than damnation. Family, friends, faith, and relationships have all been strengthened rather than diminished during this COVID-19 pandemic. I am grateful for good health, a supportive family, stronger faith, new friends and acquaintances, a somewhat steady income, renewed vigor, and I am especially thankful for these Twelve Beers of Christmas 2020 edition. So starting on Christmas Day, with one new beer every day for twelve days, being a beer I have not drank before mind you, I give to you my Twelve Beers of Christmas 2020. 

Follow ole @bluesandbarbq through Instagram, Untappd, Twitter, and Facebook for each daily installment and drink along with me, celebrating your own Twelve Beers of Christmas. Start a new tradition! Cheers y'all, enjoy!

1. Russian River Sanctification

sanc·ti·fi·ca·tion

Learn to pronounce

noun

1. the action of making or declaring something holy.

   • the action or process of being freed from sin or purified.
   • the action of causing something to be or seem morally right or acceptable.
   • 
     

   This one has eluded me for several years. It has been on my wish list for a long time. Finally picked a bottle up in early March at Freedom Liquor in Colorado Springs, CO just as Corona was unleashed upon us. Brett ales are among my favorite styles due to their complexity and chameleon tendencies. This will be a great selection to kick off this year's selections and to celebrate Christmas Day.

Russian River brewers' notes:

Technically, this is neither an ale nor a lager. The base recipe is for a Golden Ale, but we do the primary fermentation with 100% brettanomyces. The brett gives it some sour notes but not as much as if it had been aged with lacto and pedio.

2. Great Divide Mexican Chocolate Yeti

Is there a south of the border cousin to our North American Sasquatch?

The truth is out there.

These Great Divide Yeti variants are all delicious. A spicy chocolate coffee Imperial Stout? Yes, please. This one is a big boy that will be shared. Dessert beer.

Great Divide brewer's notes:

A very special, and very limited, entry in our venerable Yeti Series, Mexican Chocolate Yeti is a sensory delight. We’ve added a variety of spices, vanilla and coffee to Yeti Imperial Stout to create our version of a traditional champurrado drink. Spiced chocolate drinks have been part of Aztec and Mayan cuisine and culture for centuries, but they have yet to be paired with a Yeti!

3. Central Waters Brewer's Reserve Bourbon Barrel Aged Belgian Style Quad

The name of this beer is longer than a Welsh town name; a lot of descriptors. This 2016 vintage offering is by way of Beer Santa, my good friend PfoxyJohn, President Emeritus of The Wisconsin Beer Mafia. The man has impeccable taste in beer, and friends. Cheers Mister Pfister. Mmm, Bourbon barreled beer...

Central Waters brewer's notes:

Barrel aged Quad is brewed in the spirit of collaboration. We combine traditional techniques and ingredients like Belgian candi sugar with American innovation and experimentation by the use of bourbon barrels. Our Quad is amazingly balanced and smooth while maintaining the dark fruit notes that are the trademark of the style.

4. Une Annee Peche

Anyone who's bitten into a fully ripe, just-picked peach--hot from the summer's sun and ripe enough to be what the Masumotos call a 'gusher'--knows that the feeling is completely, thoroughly arresting. - David Mas Masumoto

Anyone who knows me well also acknowledges my extreme love and obsession for all things peach. It is a passion, a weakness, some would say a fetish. 

I also have a fondness for sour beers. This beer combines two of my great loves.

After visiting Une Annee Brewery near Chicago in December 2019, with the previously mentioned PfoxyJohn, Mister Pfister obtained this much sought after peach delicacy and sent one to me, knowing how I covet thy magical juicy pitted fruit. 

I will not share this one, it is my precious.

Une Annee brewer's notes:

American Wild Ale - 6.5% ABV. American Wild Ale brewed with fresh peaches for a tart effervescent sour ale that's packed with fruity goodness.

5. Blackberry Farm / Trillium Farm & Fury

Another peach ale? 

You're damn skippy.

Lou, why do you love peaches so much?

Because, peaches. What's not to love?

Thank you Jason, my young Tennessee beer brother, for gifting me this knowing we share a love for all things peach.

Blackberry Farm brewer's notes:

Brewed with Boston’s Trillium Brewing Co. This wild ale utilizes locally malted grains, as well as Massachusetts raw wheat, aged hops, and Trillium’s wild yeast culture co-fermented with our house yeast. The beer was then aged on locally harvested whole Flaming Fury peaches from Mountain Meadows Farm.

6. AleSmith Port Barrel Aged Wee Heavy (2016)

Recent updates to my DNA origins suggest I am of 25% Scottish ancestry with previous indicators a much lower percentage. Given my affinities for the bagpipes and Scottish Ales, especially the "Wee Heavy" style, I can confirm it must be factual. My kids still do not want me to wear a kilt though, at least publicly. Aye.

Thank you to local beer friend Todd for this ale which has been cellared for some years now, waiting for it's place on the Twelve Beers of Christmas list.

AleSmith brewer's notes:

This aged version of our traditional Scotch-style ale is matured in Port wine barrels to impart added layers of complexity to its already rich, malty flavor profile. Notes of sherry, dried fruit, vanilla and red wine tannins from the wine-soaked oak combine with the beer’s caramel and toffee character to create a truly unique and splendorous offering. Savor it now or age for years to come.

7. Yazoo Funk Fest 2020

Sadly there was no Funk Fest in 2020 in Nashville. COVID saw to that. Still able to get my hands on few bottles of the beer that was brewed specifically for that event. Yazoo Brewing's Embrace the Funk Brewmaster, Brandon Jones, is a wild ale funkmaster genius. His elixirs and concoctions are widely sought-after and highly regarded. Brandon is also a pizza enthusiast and barbeque connoisseur, which extends his genius to Jedi levels. 

This one will be my New Year's Eve celebration choice. 

This is the way.  

Yazoo Brewing brewer Brandon Jones' brewing notes:

Our yearly creation to celebrate Funk Fest! Imperial Saison that underwent maturation for 18 months in red wine puncheon style oak casks with our house mixed culture. Re-fermented on Passion Fruit and dry hopped with Galaxy and Nelson Sauvin.

8. Yazoo Never Say Never Again

Since 2020 was such a stinker, this aptly named brew will grace my New Year's Day festivities. Another gem from Brandon Jones and Yazoo, this barrel-aged selection comes from Nashville Food Blogger/ Beer pairing guru @bakerandthebeerd (Joe), who is a must-follow on Instagram.

Yeah, I love Yazoo Embrace the Funks brews, that is why they have been included on so many of my Twelve Beers of Christmas lists. Check out the past year's posts at the bottom of this page to see just how many.

Yazoo Embrace the Funk brewer's notes:

A sour Belgian Dark Strong ale aged in Sherry casks before a double barrel extended rest in Port, Bourbon, Merlot and TN Whiskey barrels.

9. Westbrook Fruit/Wood/Time Raspberry

Raspberry, bramble fruit of the genus Rubus (family Rosaceae). Raspberries are an economically significant crop throughout much of northern Europe, as well as in the United States and Canada, and are thought to have evolved in eastern Asia. Raspberry fruits contain iron, vitamin C, and antioxidants and are usually eaten fresh, often with cream or ice cream, as a dessert fruit. Jams and jellies are also popular, and the fruit is commonly used as a pastry filling and as a flavoring for certain liqueurs.

 

And beers.

Yes indeed, another sour fruited ale, from another stellar brewery.

Picked up this jewel while working in Spartanburg, SC. Should be fantastic.

Westbrook brewer's notes:

A blend of 33% dry sherry cask matured mixed fermentation saison and 67% oak foudre aged sour beer. It was blended and refermented with black raspberries for three months in second use 500 liter marsala puncheons.

10. Calfkiller Tree City Whiskey Barrel Brown

Calfkiller Brewing is located near Sparta, TN on the Calfkiller River, thus the unusual name. Owned and operated by the very cool and friendly Sergio brothers, this small brewery produces some fantastic brews. It is a great day trip and a scenic drive along the Cumberland Plateau in Middle Tennessee. This barrel aged brown ale came to me by way of young Jason, again. That guy. He's always got the good beers. And he's to big too argue with so I let him give me this beer. True story.

Calfkiller brewer's notes:

Our new barrel aged beer “Tree City Whiskey Barrel Brown” is finally out! It is a fantastic brown ale aged in a George Dickel whiskey barrel for 6 months before it was bottled. YUM!!!!

11. New Glarus R&D Vintage 2017

Thanks to PfoxyJohn I have tried most of New Glarus' beers. They are considered one of the top breweries in the United States. Quality unsurpassed, every New Glarus offering I have tried has been delicious. I consider them one of my top five favorite breweries. I am already looking forward to this. Thank you very much John.

If you know you know.

New Glarus brewer's notes:

Naturally occurring spontaneous fermentation creates this American Gueuze. Coolship brewed and Wild cave aged. Dan's masterwork blend of three years brewing is sour, citrusy, horsey and vintage worthy.

12. Epic Big Bad Baptista

This Utah brew is the second Mexican themed beer in this year's Twelve Beers of Christmas. Another haul from Freedom Liquor in Colorado Springs. Coffee and cinnamon additions to this ale are most intriguing. This brute will finish my dozen for 2020 and may just finish me if not shared. 

Epic brewer's notes:

Big Bad Baptista is inspired by traditional Mexican coffee, Café de Olla, which is served with cinnamon and piloncillo, an unrefined sugar. The Cinnamon adds another layer of complexity and accentuates the earthy character of Mexican Coffee, but more importantly, it captures the essence of a place and its culture.

I present the Twelve Beers of Christmas 2020. Sour and fruited ales, barrel aged brews, big bold beers, offerings from friends, my work travels and my favorite breweries. Hope you enjoy these as much as I will. Try your own Twelve Beers of Christmas. It is a fun way to celebrate the holidays, try new beers, and maybe you will find a new love. 

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and Happy Holidays to all y'all. Cheers!

The Ghosts of Christmas Beers Past...

Twelve Beers of Christmas 2008
1. Anchor Our Special Ale (2008)
2. Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale
3. Houblon Chouffe Dobbelen IPA Tripel
4. Great Lakes Christmas Ale
5. Bison Winter Warmer
6. Samuel Adams Chocolate Bock
7. Delirium Tremens
8. New Glarus Apple Ale
9. Corsendonk Pater (Abbey Brown Ale)
10. Corsendonk Agnus (Abbey Pale Ale)
11. Thirsty Dog Siberian Night Imperial Stout
12. Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Ale (2008)

Twelve Beers of Christmas 2009
1. Thirsty Dog 12 Dogs Christmas Ale
2. Goose Island Christmas Ale
3. Tommyknocker St. Nicks Cocoa Porter
4. Avery Old Jubilation Ale
5. Rinkuškiai Missing Elf
6. Fort Collins Double Chocolate Stout
7. Ken Schmidt / Maui / Stone Kona Coffee Macadamia Coconut Porter
8. Rochefort Trappistes 6
9. Rogue Santas Private Reserve Ale
10. Jolly Pumpkin Noel de Calabaza
11. Cantillon Iris
12. Lurgashall Christmas Mead

Twelve Beers of Christmas 2010
1. Spaten Optimator
2. Dogfish Head Olde School Barleywine
3. Ass Kisser Double IPA
4. Stone 14th Anniversary Emperial IPA
5. Terrapin Wake-n-Bake Coffee Oatmeal Imperial Stout
6. Depot Street The Limited Maple Pecan Porter
7. AleSmith YuleSmith – Summer
8. a. Oskar Blues Gordon / b. Oskar Blues Gubna
9. Maredsous 10
10. Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Urbock
11. Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary Fritz & Ken Ale
12. Victory Old Horizontal

Twelve Beers of Christmas 2011
1. AleSmith Yulesmith – Winter
2. Brew Kettle White Rajah
3. Brooklyn Black Ops
4. Capital Eternal Flame
5. Dogfish Head Miles Davis' Bitches Brew
6. Founders Backwoods Bastard
7. Hoppin' Frog DORIS The Destroyer Double Imperial Stout
8. Lagunitas Hairy Eyeball Ale
9. Odell Mountain Standard '09
10. Olde Hickory Bourbon Barrel Aged Bardstown Ale
11. Ommegang Brasserie D'Achouffe Gnomegang
12. Three Floyds Dark Lord Imperial Stout

Twelve Beers of Christmas 2012
1. De Ranke Pere Noel
2. St. Bernardus Christmas Ale
3. Hopworks Organic Abominable Winter Ale
4. Lompoc C-Son's Greetings
5. Midnight Sun CoHoHo Imperial IPA
6. N'Ice Chouffe
7. Ninkasi Sleigh'r Dark Double Alt
8. Oakshire Ill-Tempered Gnome
9. Pelican Bad Santa
10. Port Brewing Santa's Little Helper
11. Samuel Adams Merry Mischief Gingerbread Stout
12. The Bruery 5 Golden Rings

Twelve Beers of Christmas 2013

Twelve Beers of Christmas 2014

Twelve Beers of Christmas 2015

Twelve Beers of Christmas 2016

Twelve Beers of Christmas 2017

Twelve Beers of Christmas 2018

Twelve Beers of Christmas 2019

The Twelve Beers of Christmas 2017

It is a festive time of year. What better way to celebrate than with the annual Twelve Beers of Christmas? This year marks the tenth anniversary of this revelry. That is a great deal of stellar beers and plenty of celebrating. To be included in the Twelve Beers of Christmas, it must be a beer not enjoyed before, either gifted, muled, hauled from travels, rare and coveted. The drinking of the dozen begins on Christmas day and follows the Twelve Days of Christmas. Follow along with the celebration on Instagram, Untappd, and Twitter.

1. Vintage Brewing Bock's O-Chocolates

Style: Chocolate Doppelbock

Life is like a box of chocolates. Christmas Day and chocolate goes together like peanut butter and jelly. I might drink this one pretty early, like when the kids are opening presents early. Chocolate beer for dessert (breakfast) indeed. Thank you PfoxyJohn for this bottle of candy.

"This rich and decadent true lager is brewed with generous additions of chocolate malt and organic cocoa powder then aged on fresh-toasted cacao nibs and Mexican vanilla beans. Bock's O-Chocolates has a rich malty sweetness and a serious chocolate flavor with a thick chewy body."

2. Mikkeller Beer Geek Breakfast 

Style: Oatmeal Stout (with coffee addition)

A breakfast beer? Yes. Oatmeal, coffee, dark chocolates all sound appealing for Boxing Day breakfast. Thank you Candace for this long time wish list beer. 

"An oatmeal stout with 25.0% oat-based ingredients and a nice touch of gourmet coffee. A beer that goes extremely well with breakfast! Good hints of coffee and smoke as well as dark chocolate and roasted malts. Ask any beer geek . . .  a hearty, complex stout is the tastiest way to begin the day. This unique mix of an oat and coffee stout creates an intense, full-bodied beer that is surprisingly balanced and full of new taste adventures with every sip."

3. Alewerks Lover's Greed

Style: American Wild Ale

Sour and wild ales, especially barrel aged variants, are at the top of the beer pyramid. Complex flavors, usually tart and exhibiting characteristics from the barrels, are extremely appealing to my taste buds. This one was acquired in Virginia during work travels.

"You hold a piece of the second iteration of Lover's Greed American Wild Ale. This batch waited 36 months in French Oak red Wine barrels before it was deemed worthy of release. This beer has moved beyond an exercise in the forgotten virtue of patience; it is a demonstration of an inclination for torment due to fascination with an elegant ale." 

4. Sierra Nevada Trip In The Woods Barrel-Aged Cocoa Coconut Narwhal

Style: Barrel-aged Imperial Stout (with toasted coconut and cocoa nibs)

I love coconut, and chocolate, and barrel-aged beers. This monster has it all. Seems like a very good nightcap on a cold December evening. Might better share this one with the better half...

"This very special version of our Narwhal Imperial Stout was brewed with toasted coconut and then left to mature in Kentucky Bourbon barrels for nearly a year. To the barrels, we added additional coconut and cocoa nibs to create a uniquely rich and decadent stout."

5. De Proef/New Glarus Abtsolution Dark Belgian Ale

Style: Belgian Strong Dark Ale

Belgium's De Proef Brouwerij and Wisconsin's New Glarus Brewing are two of the world's top breweries. This collaboration marries these stalwarts yielding a rich, dark Belgian classic with a Wisconsin twist. Abtsolution should pair nicely with a rich holiday meal. Thank you for another gem Mr. Pfister. 

"We have created a beer based on the classic Belgian Abt style, with unique Wisconsin contributions including Santiam and Chinook hops. To further highlight the Dairy State we've added lactose for extra mouthfeel and richness. The result is a dark ale with fruity esters, a velvety smooth palate and balancing wood notes from our use of French and American oak along with spicy hop notes. This ale is designed to drink now, but we believe will evolve beautifully over the next 1-2 years. Enjoy Abtsolution with roasted meats, rich cheese and of course, friends. Cheers!"

6. Southern Tier Thick Mint

Style: Imperial Stout (with chocolate and mint)

Everyone loves Girl Scout cookies, especially Thin Mints. This beer is a take on those delicious cookies in stout form - an Imperial Stout brewed with chocolate and mint. Another dessert ale for my Twelve Beers of Christmas; life is good.

"Inspired by the legendary cookie, Thick Mint joins our world-class rated Blackwater Series of dessert beers alongside Crème Brûlée & Choklat in 2017. This imperial stout is a mouthful of perfectly balanced mint & chocolate. Roasty malts coalesce with notes of Belgian dark chocolate, sweet mint & just a touch of sweet caramel. So decadently delicious, you’ll wish you’d bought another box… er, bottle."

7. Sierra Nevada Alpha Hop Society Barrel-Aged Cherry Vanilla Stout

Style: Barrel-aged Imperial Stout (with cherries and vanilla)

Another Imperial Stout, this one bourbon barrel aged with cherries and vanilla added. Just call me a fat elf. Yes this list is heavy on Imperial Stouts, dessert beers, because it is my list and these are the beers I enjoy during the holidays. Thank you Matt R for letting this go out of your cellar. 

"An Imperial Stout aged in Bourbon barrels with cherries and vanilla added."

8. Yazoo Embrace the Funk Table Red

Style: Flanders Red Ale

Happy New Year to me! Brandon Jones, Wranger of Funk at Yazoo Brewing Company in Nashville, pilots the Embrace The Funk program, blending barrel aged beers with a wild and funky side. He is a genius. He is also humble and nice. Kudos to ETF and The Wrangler of Funk. I always thoroughly enjoy his concoctions. The Table Red is an uber rare small batch release that I picked up on one of my visits to The Music City in 2017.

"A light bodied Table Red ale aged for 16 months in French Oak barrels with our house souring and brettanomyces cultures. This delicious ale pairs well with plein air dinners and conversations between good friends."

9. Yazoo Embrace The Funk Funk Fest '17

Style: Flanders Oud Bruin (with boysenberries, raspberries and cherries)

Another blended ale from Brandon and Embrace the Funk, this one has a lot to offer. Richness, complexity, tartness, fruits while employing Brettanomyces and souring bacterias should make this one an enjoyable addition to the Twelve Beers of Christmas. 

"A blend of Brown and Dark sour ales aged in Rye Bourbon, Sherry and Port barrels with Boysenberries, Raspberries and Cherries."

10. Thomas Creek Driftwood Series Boys-en The Hood

Style: American Sour Ale (with boysenberries) 

"Petite Sour Ale with Boysenberry" - another sour/wild ale. Tingle my taste buds, please my palate; the love for these tart temptations continues. Picked this one up at the brewery in Greenville, SC.

"Mixed Culture Sour ale fermented in rum barrels with boysenberry added to the barrels for secondary fermentation."

11. Hardywood Cuvée Peach

Style: Belgian-style Tripel (with peaches)

Peaches are my favorite fruit. (Cherries are my second favorite.) Thus the Twelve Beers of Christmas include beers with these fruit additions. Hardywood is a highly regarded brewery in Richmond, VA. A white wine barrel aged peach Tripel ale should be amazingly delicious. This peachy Tripel comes to me via recent Appalachian Trail Hiker (all of it!), Jim aka Gravity, who knows how much I love peaches, and beer. 

"Hardywood Cuvée Peach is artfully blended by our barrel master from small batches of Peach Tripel aged in white wine barrels, at varying levels of maturation , from three months to more than a year. The resulting beer is beautifully complex with yeast-derived stone fruit esters that harmonize with juicy peach undertones. This sparkling refresher offers a pleasantly dry finish with the slightest hint of vanilla from the toasted French Oak barrels."

12. Idyll Hounds Capt'n Ferdinand 

Style: Barrel-aged Imperial Stout (with vanilla)

Another Imperial stout, this one aged in sherry barrels with a vanilla bean addition. This should be quite the sipper, full of flavor, to be paired with rich desserts. Thank you Jason for this big boy. 

The Twelve Beers of Christmas for 2017. Cheers to good friends, great beers, and enjoying family during the holiday season. I hope you enjoy your own Twelve Beers of Christmas and share with your family and friends. 

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and Happy Holidays!

Twelve Beers of Christmas Past:

Twelve Beers of Christmas 2008
1. Anchor Our Special Ale (2008)
2. Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale
3. Houblon Chouffe Dobbelen IPA Tripel
4. Great Lakes Christmas Ale
5. Bison Winter Warmer
6. Samuel Adams Chocolate Bock
7. Delirium Tremens
8. New Glarus Apple Ale
9. Corsendonk Pater (Abbey Brown Ale)
10. Corsendonk Agnus (Abbey Pale Ale)
11. Thirsty Dog Siberian Night Imperial Stout
12. Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Ale (2008)

Twelve Beers of Christmas 2009
1. Thirsty Dog 12 Dogs Christmas Ale
2. Goose Island Christmas Ale
3. Tommyknocker St. Nicks Cocoa Porter
4. Avery Old Jubilation Ale
5. Rinkuškiai Missing Elf
6. Fort Collins Double Chocolate Stout
7. Ken Schmidt / Maui / Stone Kona Coffee Macadamia Coconut Porter
8. Rochefort Trappistes 6
9. Rogue Santas Private Reserve Ale
10. Jolly Pumpkin Noel de Calabaza
11. Cantillon Iris
12. Lurgashall Christmas Mead

Twelve Beers of Christmas 2010
1. Spaten Optimator
2. Dogfish Head Olde School Barleywine
3. Ass Kisser Double IPA
4. Stone 14th Anniversary Emperial IPA
5. Terrapin Wake-n-Bake Coffee Oatmeal Imperial Stout
6. Depot Street The Limited Maple Pecan Porter
7. AleSmith YuleSmith – Summer
8. a. Oskar Blues Gordon / b. Oskar Blues Gubna
9. Maredsous 10
10. Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Urbock
11. Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary Fritz & Ken Ale
12. Victory Old Horizontal

Twelve Beers of Christmas 2011
1. AleSmith Yulesmith – Winter
2. Brew Kettle White Rajah
3. Brooklyn Black Ops
4. Capital Eternal Flame
5. Dogfish Head Miles Davis' Bitches Brew
6. Founders Backwoods Bastard
7. Hoppin' Frog DORIS The Destroyer Double Imperial Stout
8. Lagunitas Hairy Eyeball Ale
9. Odell Mountain Standard '09
10. Olde Hickory Bourbon Barrel Aged Bardstown Ale
11. Ommegang Brasserie D'Achouffe Gnomegang
12. Three Floyds Dark Lord Imperial Stout

Twelve Beers of Christmas 2012
1. De Ranke Pere Noel
2. St. Bernardus Christmas Ale
3. Hopworks Organic Abominable Winter Ale
4. Lompoc C-Son's Greetings
5. Midnight Sun CoHoHo Imperial IPA
6. N'Ice Chouffe
7. Ninkasi Sleigh'r Dark Double Alt
8. Oakshire Ill-Tempered Gnome
9. Pelican Bad Santa
10. Port Brewing Santa's Little Helper
11. Samuel Adams Merry Mischief Gingerbread Stout
12. The Bruery 5 Golden Rings

Twelve Beers of Christmas 2013

Twelve Beers of Christmas 2014

Twelve Beers of Christmas 2015

Twelve Beers of Christmas 2016