With Halloween in the rearview and Thanksgiving (and its relative lack of commercial buzz) just around the corner, many eyes — and wallets — are focused on Christmas.
You needn’t listen any further than a neighborhood diner whose piped-in Christmas music on Nov. 1 paired well with a build-your-own Grand Slam breakfast.
Or your local Costco that for weeks now has stocked its warehouse shelves not with Thanksgiving decor but with Santa Claus-emblazoned wrapping paper, Christmas decorations, and the gift that last year sent certain craft beer folks into a full-on froth: 12 Biers of Christmas.
For those who may have missed out in 2020, not to worry. The German-style beer showcase piece is back.
At Costco stores elsewhere, it appears an advent calendar (24 canned biers—because, German) is available. I spotted only the 12-pack variety here, but let me know if you see the twice-as-nice pack available for purchase in our humble state.
Advent-urous
While I’m a big fan of drinking local, I’ll admit I thoroughly enjoyed cracking open a nightly imported bier—perhaps the novelty had something to do with it (a bier briefcase!). And listeners to the Utah Beer News Podcast have heard us explain how to build your own craft beer advent calendar (at about the 42-minute mark) to really get in that holiday spirit.
With only so many shopping days left until Christmas, now seems like a good time to start preparing for the season. I’ve been thinking about wish lists and what I’d include in my ultimate, loosely holiday-themed, local mix-and-match craft beer six-pack.
Here’s where I landed (in no particular order):
- Ferda Double IPA (T.F. Brewing)
- Lake Effect Gose (Proper Brewing)
- Mole Porter (Bewilder Brewing)
- Griswald’s Holiday Ale (Red Rock Brewery)
- Red Sea Rift Imperial Coffee Stout (Level Crossing Brewing Co.)
- Gingerbread Stout (Talisman Brewing)
This isn’t the only correct answer, obviously (full disclosure: I didn’t spend a ton of time mulling it over). The list will likely change from year to year, and even month to month. Plus, I challenge you to limit your wish list to six beers. It’s harder than it might sound.
Nevertheless, for today, I wouldn’t be mad to see the above six-pack under the tree on Christmas morning.
And you? What’s in your ultimate, loosely holiday-themed local craft beer six-pack? Let me know.
Note: The above article originally went to e-newsletter subscribers on Nov. 4, 2021. Please subscribe.
