Six Christmas ales from Cleveland to try
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A very boozy holiday lineup. Photo: Sam Allard/Axios
Your dutiful Axios Cleveland correspondents are slowly but surely working their way through the region's Christmas ale offerings.
Why it matters: You can't bring a Mexican lager or a New England IPA to your holiday parties. We're here to help.
Flashback: Last year, we tried seven holiday brews from our favorite local craft breweries.
- We tried six more this year, all of which are available for purchase in four- or six-packs — or as single cans in a "build your own six pack" format — at Dave's and Lucky's.
Reality check: We brought back Great Lakes Christmas Ale, almost as a control to measure others against.
The lineup:
- The Brew Kettle Winter Warmer, 8.2% ABV
- Fat Head's Holly Jolly, 7.5% ABV
- Great Lakes, Cookie Exchange Milk Stout, 5.5% ABV
- Immigrant Son, Mikulás Holiday Ale, 8.1% ABV
- Market Garden Party Lights, 7.4% ABV
- Rhinegeist Dad, 6%
💭 Sam's thought bubble:
I worry that when drinking samples in rapid succession, what jumps out to me most is not bold flavors, but high alcohol content.
- In this lineup, the two most distinctive to me were Brew Kettle's Winter Warmer and Immigrant Son's Mikulás Holiday Ale, both weighing in over 8%.
- The Mikulás is less sweet than more conventional Christmas Ales like Great Lakes or Festivus, and has an almost herbal mouthfeel, not unlike the Yuletide at Royal Docks.
The intrigue: Rhinegeist is, of course, a Cincinnati brewery. But the Dad's recognizable, flannel-pattern can is omnipresent in local grocery stores.
- It's one of few in this style I could realistically drink more than one of in a single session.
Be smart: Both Great Lakes and Market Garden offer holiday sampler packs that include their flagship Christmas ales alongside more adventurous seasonal brews.
💭 Troy's thought bubble:
At this point, a lot of winter beers taste the same. Everyone still chases Great Lakes Christmas Ale, the one I never get sick of drinking.
- I will say its new edition, the Cookie Exchange Milk Stout, surprised me.
- I wanted to hate it just off the description and label alone, but it went down smoother than I thought it would.