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With the winter holidays now ON, breweries are cranking out a variety cold-weather offerings some traditional and others wonderfully unexpected…And we’ve five heady craft beer directions that you might need under the Christmas tree.
Not Coasting (Fort Bragg, CA) – North Coast Brewing has a hefty new barrel-aged release that’s a must for this winter holiday season. Upping the ante on its award-winning Old Rasputin Stout, North Coast Barrel-Aged Old Rasputin XXI is a MASSIVE, complex and flavorful small batch release that’s been aged to perfection in specially curated bourbon barrels.
Take A Snow day (Ft Collins, CO) – New Belgium Brewing has returned a favorite winter seasonal of ours that’s exclusive this year to the brewery’s Season To Cheer Variety 12-Pack. With its subtle chocolate and caramel backbone provided by an emerging brewing malt known as Midnight Wheat and a roster of Styrian Golding, Centennial and Cascade hops, New Belgium Snow Day is a 6.2% ABV Winter Ale that’s perfect for pre-shoveling.
Pairs Well With Blizzards (Chico, CA) – Sierra Nevada Brewing has an interesting winter lager out now that you can only find in the brewery’s as part of its seasonal Snowpack Varity 12-Pack. Crafted with Two-row Pale, Munich and Double Roasted Crystal malts that temper proud German Magnum hops, Sierra Nevada Winter Warmer is a 6.7% ABV Dark Lager that more than lives up to its name.
Celebrating Ten Years Of Brewing With A First (Boulder, CO) – Upslope Brewing is celebrating 10 years in the biz with its first foeder-aged beer EVER. Brewed with Pilsner malt and un-malted wheat that was left to slumber in oak foeders with a blend of Brettanomyces and Lactobacillus for more than a year, Upslope 10 is a 6.4% ABV one-of-a-kind creation that was inspired by the spontaneous beers native to Belgium’s Senne River Valley.
Max Out (Ft Collins, CO) – With Christmas only days away and the winter holidays ON, Maxline Brewing has just released something barrel-aged that’s perfect for this time of year. The first beer to be released out of the brewery’s new barrel-aging program, Maxline Rum Barrel-Aged Winter Warmer, is a 7.3& American Amber nimbly spiced with cinnamon, clove, allspice and ginger and aged in rum barrels from Coppermuse Distillery.
