The Washington State Fairgrounds in Puyallup has turned into a Christmas lover’s wonderland through Sunday as the 36th annual Victorian Country Christmas festival opens at 10 a.m. Holiday music will fill the air as live musicians stroll through a festive array of Christmas décor and animated displays. The Victorian Country Christmas Festival hosts its fan-favorite shopping event, with classically decorated Victorian-style market booths featuring holiday shopping from local artisan vendors, including handmade art, décor, jewelry, bath and body products, specialty foods and more! For guests’ convenience, a parcel check will be available to store new purchases while they enjoy the rest of the festivities. Indulge in favorite holiday and festival foods served fresh by local vendors or enjoy a glass of wine at the Winter Wine Garden. Nearby, guests will be endlessly entertained by the beloved Holiday Jubilee Theater, featuring merry entertainment from local and professional performers. The theater will showcase a variety of musical acts and festive presentations throughout the event. After getting your Victorian on, stop by Peaks and Pints and recount the activities over a flight of holiday beer we call Peaks and Pints Christmas Beer Flight Dec. 6: Victorian Country Christmas.
Peaks and Pints Christmas Beer Flight Dec. 6: Victorian Country Christmas
Reuben’s Christmas Crikey
6.8% ABV
Reuben’s Brews’ Christmas Crikey takes their fan-favorite flagship IPA and dials it up with an extra dry-hop of an experimental variety, adding even more piney goodness for the ultimate holiday IPA.
Maritime Pacific Jolly Roger Christmas Ale
8% ABV
A Christmas beer with a pirate skull and crossbones donning the bottle? This one is for you, Jack Skellington! George and Jane Hancock founded the ma-and-pa Maritime Pacific Brewing Company in an old transmission shop in 1990 in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood. In 1997 they opened the Jolly Roger Taproom named, as they say, “in honor of our most popular holiday brew”: Jolly Roger Christmas Ale. A beer fridge staple, Jolly Roger English strong ale combines rich malt character with a blend of fresh Northwest Chinook and Cascade hops.
Silver City Old Scrooge Christmas Ale
8.5% ABV
What’s the difference between a Christmas beer and a winter beer? Well, the labels for Christmas beers are usually red and green, while winter beer labels tend to be blue and white. As far as style goes, though, there’s not much to differentiate them. In fact, neither is even an official beer style. It’s fair to say Silver City Brewery‘s award-winning Old Scrooge Christmas Ale is a Christmas beer. Besides its red and green label and Scrooge reference, “Christmas” is in its name. The English barleywine is bound to delight the palate with notes of apple, cherry, and apricot.
Corsendonk Christmas Ale
8.5% ABV
Corsendonk Christmas Ale has all the sugar and spice. 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.
Huyghe Delirium Noël
10% ABV
Brewed only for the Christmas and New Year, the pink elephant adorns Noël’s label: skiing, sledding, pulling Santa’s sleigh; the Pink Elephant does it all. Huyghe‘s Delirium Noel is a big, spicy beer with a lot of dried fruit character and touch of alcohol to let you know that you’re drinking a beer with a double-digit ABV. Its appearance is a superb warm copper to red color, recalling Delirium’s Nocturnum except in its taste. It hides its subtlety by multiple levels of flavor and should be approached with confidence, with a tinge typical Christmas, sauced with a sweet touch, then bitterness.
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