Père Noël Beligian Christmas Ale

From Brouwerij Brasserie De Ranke, Père Noël  Belgian Christmas Ale is unique among the many Winter Warmers and Christmas Ales. Usually they tend to be malty and sweet, and are darker in color. Père Noël is quite hoppy and pours a coppery-amber hue. There's a 7% ABV, but no noticeable alcohol heat. Behind the almost overpowering hop bitterness there are some citrus notes and a bit of licorice. As the temperature inches up I detect some cloves and nutmeg as well. You have to really be a hop fan to get into this brew

Kinkaider Barrel-Aged Snow Beast Winter Ale

The big boys are alright, but nothing supports the local economy like buying beer from local brewers.

Snow beast poured a lovely caramel hue with a coy little tan head, with the bourbon derived from the barrel aging immediately evident. But wait! There's more! Vanilla is the predominant flavor, with a hint of cinnamon that rounds out the holiday festiveness of the brew. There's also something in there that may or may not be gingerbread...and ooh...molasses and toffee! This is a winter warmer worthy of the snow gods!

Boulevard Brandy Land Spiced Imperial Stout Aged in Apple Brandy Barrels

Yay! Another barrel-aged brew! And a stout! I love stouts! This cute l'il guy pours a reddish-tinged mahogany with a thin brown head. The alcohol heat from the 12%+ ABV really predominates. I'm not really sure what brandy is supposed to taste like, but the apple damn sure comes through! According to Boulevard's website, the imperial stout aged for 12-24 months in casks that have held both bourbon (yay!) and apple brandy. Wow! Even though it's a stout, there isn't the heaviness associated with most stouts; it's a medium weight, with a smooth sweetness that I associate with milk stouts. The dark fruits are really coming through, dates and black cherries especially.  As the brew warms up, the promised cinnamon finally comes through. I can imagine pairing this with plain cheesecake or vanilla ice cream for some holiday goodness. A 9.5 on the IGB scale.

Boulevard Plaid Habit - Canadian Whisky Barrel-Aged Imperial Brown Ale

Il-Gotten Booty has seriously cut down his alcohol consumption in the last few years, but every so often he heads on down to the local purveyor of spirits to try a few of the new brews. Of course I (let's drop the haughty use of the third person) am a sucker for bourbon-barrel-aged stouts - this isn't bourbon aged, it Canadian Whisky aged, and it's not stout, but imperial (that means extra alcohol) brown ale. It's a nice twist though on one of my favorite styles.

According to Boulevard, this brew started it's life as a double-mashed brown ale that was then aged for 18 months in Canadian Rye Whisky barrels. There are evident notes of vanilla and some nice boozy heat from the 12.5% ABV. It pours a medium brown with a lacy tan head. As it warms up to room temperature maple and brown sugar aromas make their appearance. Maybe even a little black pepper. Dark fruits such as raisins, figs and dates dance out during the final acts.

This is a surprisingly appropriate winter warmer. I give it an IGB score of 8.5/10.