The Peaks and Pints pairologists are counting down the days to Christmas with our definitive list of “25 Days of Christmas Carols And Craft Beer Pairing.” Our revered group of bartenders spent this year listening to more than 253 Christmas carols and drinking 3,816 craft beers, which obviously has nothing to due with our area code or address. Today marks our 15th Christmas carol/craft beer pairing: B-52s’ Fred Schneider’s side project The Superions’ “Fruitcake” paired with Brouwerij St Bernardus’ Christmas Ale. Why not pair this pairing with four previous pairings in a beer flight? So, we did: Craft Beer Crosscut 12.15.17: A Flight of Christmas Carols.
ScuttleButt 10 Below Ale
7.4% ABV, 22 IBU
Our pairologists were moved to tears by the picture of poor Frosty running here and there all around the square, frantically trying to have some fun before he melted away. If you listen carefully to the song, you realize Frosty is not quite the jolly, happy soul he was made out to be, condemned as he is to melt away, the sun being hot that day. While 10 Below Ale’s name suggests this imperial dunkelweiss from ScuttleButt Brewing Company could keep Frosty from melting, the 7.4 percent ABV strong chocolate flavors of 10 below Ale is exactly what one needs to keep warm. It’s a malty beast with just enough hops to make it drinkable, and make Frosty’s fate forgettable.
St. Bernardus Christmas Ale
10% ABV, 28 IBU
Leave it to the B-52s’ Fred Schneider to craft the best Christmas camp this side of John Waters. His wonderfully kitschy dance party band, The Superions, released Destination … Christmas! (Fanatic) in 2010, which includes “Fruitcake.”
The are all nuts,
Citrus peel, lots of stuff,
Add what you feel!
Sticks of butter, cinnamon,
Molasses, lots of dark rum,
Artificial color, artificial flavor,
If your family don’t want it,
Give it to a neighbor!
It’s fruit cake!
It’s fruit cake!
Brouwerij St Bernardus is famous for both their beers and their heritage. The brewery used to brew the famous Westvleteren beers before the monastery returned all production back to within the abbey’s walls. Their Abt 12 quad represents what Westvleteren 12 used to be before the abbey changed their yeast strain. St. Bernardus’ Christmas Ale is brewery’s Abt 12 offering, but gussied up with rich malt, dark dried fruit, fig, hints of anise, nutmeg, cinnamon, brown sugar … basically a fruitcake.
Corsendonk Christmas Ale
8.5% ABV
In 2012, a very pregnant Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland opened up the Country Music Awards (show with a saucy song that makes no secret about her Christmas wishes: I’ve got your sugar if you’ll show me your spice and There’s no penalty for peeking early under my tree. Corsendonk Christmas Ale has all the sugar and spice Nettles needs. Brewed with Pale, Munich and Caramunich malts, plus Kent Goldings hops, this rich, dark, joyous brew has sweetish, yeasty-spicy and slightly fruity aroma of caramel, coriander, toasted coconut, some raisins and a touch of chocolate with similar tastes followed by a medium long, quite bitter, moderately yeasty-spicy and slightly roasty finish.
New Belgium Accumulation White IPA
6.2% ABV, 55 IBU
After 76 years, “White Christmas” is still the bestselling Christmas song of all time, which is interesting given that fact that composer Irving Berlin didn’t even celebrate Christmas: He was a Jewish man who emigrated from Russia as a child. Inspired by Colorado’s white winters, New Belgium Brewing’s Accumulation White IPA seems like an obvious pairing with the song — in terms of the whole snow thing. The wintertime favorite features Mosaic and Amarillo hops, tropical aroma and soft citrus, mango and lemon flavors, followed by a bitter bite. The medium-bodied IPA pours unfiltered gold and blizzard white with a snowy head.
Pelican Bad Santa
7.5% ABV, 65 IBU
“I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus,” sung by former jockey Jimmy Boyd, takes a humorous approach to a child’s shocking discovery of his mother’s infidelity. The Pelican Pub & Brewery in Pacific City, Oregon, brews a beer that pairs with Mommy’s merry adulterer — Bad Santa. This mysterious dark elixir is filled with complex malt flavors and aromas with toasted malt and roast character, blending seamlessly to the alluring herbal hop aroma that comes from copious amounts of Fuggle hops. Bad Santa doesn’t care if you’ve been naughty or nice; he just wants Mommy.
