The Blue Mouse Theatre is getting all nostalgic on us screening a holiday classic tonight. It’s a Wonderful Life follows George Bailey, the Everyman from the small town of Bedford Falls, whose dreams of escape and adventure have been quashed by family obligation and civic duty, whose guardian angel has to descent on Christmas Eve to save him from despair by showing him what the world would have been like had he never been born. George rescues his kid brother at 7 p.m. Stop by Peaks and Pints for a flight of holiday beer we call Christmas Beer Crosscut 12.12.19: George Bailey.
Christmas Beer Crosscut 12.12.19: George Bailey
Silver City Bourbon Barrel Old Scrooge
9.5% ABV, 26 IBU
The cats at Silver City Brewery excel in their Barrel-Aged Series, from Bourbon Barrel Aged Time Goddess Imperial Stout to Port Barrel Giant Made of Shadows. But the barleywine is the star. This holiday bourbon barrel-aged English barleywine offers up a rich aroma of toffee and sweet cherry, with a rush of warm vanilla, bourbon and caramel malt to create an immaculate fireside drinking companion.
pFriem Belgian Christmas
8% ABV, 30 IBU
pFriem Family Brewers Belgian Christmas Ale changes from moment to moment. This big dubbel-based holiday ale is brewed with German Perle hops, candi sugar, coriander and Belgian ale yeast that changes flavor with every sip. Just as you think it’s a toffee delight it morphs into chocolate-covered orange. Then raisin. And cinnamon pastry. Oh, and dried cherry. And …
Block 15 Figgy Pudding
10% ABV
Often called “plum pudding” — despite the fact that it contains no plums whatsoever — figgy pudding was first recorded as “Christmas Pudding” in 1858 and later popularized in the carol, “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.” Block 15 Brewing’s English-style old ale is called Figgy Pudding despite the fact that it contains no figgy pudding whatsoever. Who cares. Brewed with black strap molasses, blend of English pale and specialty malts, and an extended maturation in freshly-emptied brandy barrels and gentle spicing with ceylon cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice, this warming holiday beer is a blessing.
10 Barrel Pray For Snow
7% ABV, 75 IBU
10 Barrel Brewing’s Pray for Snow Winter Ale uses seven specialty malts and plenty of hops to create a herbal, malty, hoppy brew. Dark copper in color, the Pray for Snow has big malty aromas with hints of caramel, toffee, and spices. The German malt flavor profile with slight roasty notes gives the beer a subtle toffee sweetness balanced with a spicy hop bitterness and slight alcohol warming. Today, Peaks and Pints pours the nitro version for added creaminess.
Heathen Reindeer Tears
10.6% ABV, 94 IBU
Heathen Brewing’s Reindeer Tears is a bourbon barrel-aged American barleywine. It pours cloudy rosé copper with a cream-colored pillow of fine foam that reduces after a minute or so. The nose is brown sugar, burnt orange, wheat, bourbon and citrus. The Tears begins with smooth malts molasses, a bit of toffee followed by caramel. As it warms sweet dark fruity esters appear. As the Tears rolls the bourbon, booze and light spicy oak note along with blunted aged pine hops and spicy wintertime cookies cut perfectly into the thick bodacious sweetness.
