Join Club

Your Beermonger: Christmas Ale Extravaganza!

Editor’s Note: This sponsored column is written by Nick Anderson, beermonger at Arrowine (4508 Lee Highway)

There is a subset of beer fans out there who really, really like Christmas Ales. Cinnamon and nutmeg abound in holiday-themed beers packaged with festive labels that often go out of their way to twist the season. The problem is that far too many Christmas Ales are too heavy with the yuletide spicy cheer. So which holiday beer do you pick for your celebration? Here are some of my favorites:

Schlafly Christmas Ale: The alternative to the more popular spicy Christmas Ales out there. Much the same way as Schlafly’s Pumpkin Ale avoids the trap of going too spicy (which makes it the best out there in my opinion), their Christmas Ale gives you all the holiday spice you need as a secondary player to the excellent beer that those spices happen to appear in. This one never lasts very long, so if you see it jump on it quick.

Sierra Nevada Celebration: A favorite of mine, Celebration bucks the trend by simply being a delightful Fresh Hop Ale rather than a spicy mess. Easy going with punchy, earthy hop aromas and flavors, Celebration is good, popular, and readily available.

St. Bernardus Christmas Ale: This Belgian treat eschews the medicinal, herby flavors of other Biere de Noel by simply being a delicious, slightly malty Belgian Ale with a strong, clean banana yeasty note from its bottle conditioning.

Troeg’s Mad Elf: A big Barleywine brewed with honey and cherries, Mad Elf is 11% of insanity. Not only delicious, but improves with age.

Blue Mountain Brewery Long Winter’s Nap: This Virginia brewery’s seasonal release is a rich Blonde Tripelbock whose smoothness belies its 10% ABV. With enough malt, but not so much that it’s too cloying or rich. A real treat.

Port City Tidings: Starting to run low already, so jump on it quick. This holiday offering from Alexandria’s Port City Brewery is a Belgian-style Blonde Ale that uses local Maryland wildflower honey and Virginia wheat. The spices in Tidings aren’t exactly what you’d expect either; there’s cardamom, coriander, grains of paradise, and fresh ginger. This year’s Tidings strikes an even better balance between the richness from the honey and its spices.

There is no shortage of Christmas offerings out there — which ones do you look forward to the most?

Nick Anderson maintains a blog at www.beermonger.net, and can be found on Twitter at @The_Beermonger. Sign up for Arrowine’s money saving email offers and free wine and beer tastings at www.arrowine.com/mailing-list-signup.aspx. The views and opinions expressed in the column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com.

Community discussion guidelines: Our sponsored columns are written by members of the local business community. While we encourage a robust and open discussion, we ask that all reviews of the businesses — good or bad — be directed to another venue, like Yelp. The comments section is intended for a conversation about the topic of the article.

Recent Stories

Good Wednesday evening, Arlington. Let’s take a look back at today’s stories and a look forward to tomorrow’s event calendar. 🕗 News recap The following articles were published earlier today…

Arlington is receiving nearly $300,000 in federal funds to help clean up the Chesapeake Bay. The money is part of a much larger $206 million federal grant given to the National…

Schedule your tour today to see The Grace and Reva residences in National Landing. Located in the heart of the neighborhood’s vibrant food scene on Crystal Drive, these two residential…

James Beard semifinalist Peter Chang’s second restaurant in Arlington is expected to open next month in Crystal City. Located at 1550 Crystal Drive, the Chinese restaurant NiHao initially planned to…

Award-winning drag queen Tara Hoot is bringing her Family Fun Story Time Brunch to Arlington at Freddie’s Beach Bar! Saturday April 6 at noon! Join Tara for songs, stories, puppets, bubbles and joy! It’s not just stories, it’s a SHOW that’s perfect for kids and kids at heart–fun for everyone! Plus a tasty brunch at Freddie’s! Click the link and make your reservations now! ❤️ 🫧 🌈

Submit your own Announcement here.

The Summer 2024 STEAM (Science/Technology/Engineering/Arts/Math) Fellowship application is now open! Apply by April 15 to be considered!

The STEAM Workforce Development Teacher Fellowship provides Arlington Public Schools (APS) high school, middle school, and elementary school teachers with opportunities to learn about workplace needs in STEAM-related fields and for them to use the experience to enhance student learning to match workplace expectations in a selected industry. STEAM Fellows participate in a three-week summer fellowship, receiving a $4,000 stipend upon completion.

Applicants planning to pursue a fellowship in the arts must demonstrate how they will build connections between the arts and science, technology, engineering, or mathematics.

Click the button to learn more, share, apply, and see the variety of fellowships completed in previous years.

Read More

Submit your own Announcement here.

ACFCU’s Homebuying 101: Steps to Getting Pre-Approved

Are you ready to jump into homeownership, or have you started considering it but don’t know where to start?

Financial preparation is key when thinking about purchasing your first home and the first step to getting pre-approved. Join ACFCU for

Free Right-Sizing Workshop – How to Get Rid of Your…

Cody Chance and Dick Nathan of Long & Foster are hosting a free workshop at our office on Cherry Hill Rd. (formerly Lee Highway) on the topic of “down-sizing” Thursday, March 28 from 5:30-7:30. We have created a workbook with

×

Subscribe to our mailing list