It is the season for some fine brews. Thanksgiving and the restful days afterwards, have provided us with some really nice holiday beers. Here are some of them:

The starter holiday beer:

Deschutes Brewery – Jubelale 09
Not the most complex dark holiday beer but still a great introduction to people that don’t usually have those big dark bad boy holiday beers. It has a nice dark malt body, good hops, yet is still only 6.7% and not real heavy. So if you ever felt that holiday beer is not for you – give this one a try – it should be available in most beer shops – especially on the west coast.

The light and refreshing holiday beer:

After we finished Thanksgiving dinner and were very very full, we popped open the Brother Levonian Saison Ale. I picked this one up at the National Homebrewers Conference. You can read all about it here. It was a good after dinner drink. Light, lots of carbonation, and fruity without the sweetness. A slightly tart apple flavor came in at the end. Great beer and a nice break from all the dark beers. When you are real full something like this lets you relax and helps you digest – at least that is what I am going with.

The suprisingly tasty holiday beer:

Stone – Verticle Epic 09

Had this one last night. Dark, dark, dark – very complex. Nice smoke and hop bitternes on the finish. Overall a complete package. I was holding this one in the fridge for a few months (too long I know) but am very happy I pulled it out last night.

The oh my I need a corned beef sandwich with this holiday beer:

The Bruery – Rugbrød
I love this beer. It might even be one of my favorite rye beers of all time. We were all a bit drunk and full when this one came out. But still I just loved it. That rye flavor really comes through and is backed with a bunch of dark herbal flavors. I want to taste it again and pair it with some fatty meat. Try this one – you won’t be disappointed. Oh and here is a fun video from The Bruery on how to prounounce Rugbrød