The festive drinking season is upon us, and I always make the most of the annual cornucopia of seasonal beers!
It all begins in September, when the shelves of our local booze merchants are crowded with special Oktoberfest Lagers.
By the time I have finished off the Oktoberfest-themed beers, usually with a few pretzels or bratwurst, the Pumpkin Ales appear on the scene, performing double duty for both Halloween and Thanksgiving.
As luck would have it, I finished the last Pumpkin Spice Latte Nitro Stout from Calgary’s Railyard Brewing in mid-November, just as my local booze merchant was stocking the shelves with the Christmas beers.
Always preferring to think globally and drink locally, my first seasonal brew was from the annual release of Cherry Porter from Calgary’s own Wild Rose Brewery. This beer has become a Christmas tradition for me, since its first seasonal release way back in 2004.
For many years, this beer was only available in small tulip glasses directly in the brewery tap room, or in one litre flip-top bottles for enjoying at home. Fortunately, they switched to the more common 650mL bottles a few years back, as I sometimes struggled to drink an entire litre at home before it warmed up.
Faithful readers may recall that this particular brew has earned a spot in the illustrious beer tome “1001 Beers You Must Taste Before You Die”, which I have been diligently plugging away at.
Made with ripe BC cherries, then aged with a dark porter-style beer, this brew reminds me of a smoky-flavoured black forest cake. The beer pours almost black into the glass, and has an intense flavour that will take your taste buds on a wild ride.
Closer to home, Origin Malting & Brewing in Strathmore is preparing a special limited release of their award-winning Darkness Porter, with the added bonus of being aged in oak bourbon barrels. This special limited release should be available by the time you read this, so take the trip east to Strathmore for a hearty dinner in the brewery’s onsite restaurant, and sample the bourbon-aged Porter at the same time.
If dark beers are not your thing, Origin Malting & Brewing also has seasonal releases of a crafty apple cider and a blueberry blonde ale. I make a point of popping into the Origin tap room every time I am in Strathmore, either to refill a growler or take away a six-pack of cans.
For the gift that keeps giving all December long, consider one of the many craft beer advent calendars available at your favourite well-stocked booze merchant. Costco makes their own reasonably priced beer advent calendar every year, and this year’s offering contains 24 unique brews from Germany.
The other big player in the beer advent calendar market is the Craft Beer Advent Calendar, now in its seventh year. The precise beers in the calendar remain a mystery until you open the individual doors each day, but this year’s offering contains 11 beers from the magical land of Belgium, and 13 Belgian-inspired beers from other countries.
If you like to keep your Christmas advent calendars to a more Canadian theme, Parallel 49 Brewing from Vancouver has their own advent calendar consisting of 24 different brews plus a shockingly ugly Christmas sweater that one of my regular drinking companions has been wearing every day since December 1.
As per usual, I have two different beer advent calendars on the go, so there are always two delightful surprises waiting for me at the end of a long day, although other festive commitments sometimes force me to catch up after missing a day or two.
Should advent calendars be too much of a commitment, stocking stuffers can be found at our local pride and joy, Township 24 Brewing on Rainbow Road. Choose from natural soap bars made with aromatic brewing hops for that floral scent fresh out of the shower, or browse the available swag as you pop into the tap room for a post-workout pint or for a growler fill after grocery shopping.
Whatever your holiday plans are this year, keep them festive, and remember to be stay safe by taking your turn as the designated driver or leave the car at home and have Chestermere Taxi ferry you to and fro in luxury.
