REVIEW: Mikkeller Santa's Little Helper & Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Ah, Mikkeler, purveyors of all beers weird, wild, and most importantly, delicious. It's been too long since I've checked out one of their brews. Today I'm taking a look at Santa's Little Helper, a Belgian style strong dark ale aged in cognac barrels. And to pair with it, the Rankin Bass classic, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

REVIEW: Ridgeway Lump of Coal & How the Grinch Stole Christmas

Alright, hope everybody had a great weekend. Were it not for sports, I sure would have. At least Navy came through for me. Well, beer will never let me down, right? Today we've got Lump of Coal; a stout from Ridgeway Brewing in South Stoke England. This one was bought for the name only. I figured it'd be one that I'd be able to come up with a pairing for. And pair we shall, with How the Grinch Stole Christmas! And hey! It's all online so everybody at home can play along!

REVIEW: Sixpoint Global Warmer & Die Hard

I'm excited about this one. A new beer from one of my all time favorite breweries and one of my all time favorite movies. I knew when I started this whole Christmas beer and movie pairing excursion that I had to check out Sixpoint's newest, Global Warmer, and Die Hard, what might be the definitive American action movie. At first blush, neither is easy to come up with a celluloid or brewed counterpart to. I think I've come up with something though. Let's get to it.

REVIEW: Bell's Winter White & White Christmas

Some of my parings this Christmas season have been a little weak. Friday's was a little thin, and I'm sure  it won't be the last. Today's is a little on the obvious side. Bell's Winter White and White Christmas. I looked at Bell's other seasonal beer last year, Christmas Ale, a very tasty Scottish ale. Check out my thoughts on that one here. Bell's seems to be determined to subvert the usual expectations for Christmas beers. Their Christmas Ale is a simple sessionable Scottish ale, and Winter White is a Belgian style witbier. None of the hearty, ABV heavy, spiced ales that we're used to this time of year. But if Winter White is half as tasty as their Christmas Ale, then it absolutely will not disappoint.

REVIEW: Hitachino Nest Commemorative Ale & The Office

Alright, today's Christmas pairing is admittedly, pretty tenuous but we'll get to that in a minute. First of all we've got Kiuchi Brewery's Hitachino Nest Commemorative Ale. My first beer here on the blog from Asia! In the first week of these Christmas pairing posts not only have i had beers from three different breweries, but from three different continents! Pretty cool. I'm not quite sure what to make of this beer, I know it's 8% ABV, and that it's brewed as a "festive ale" with vanilla beans, coriander, orange peel, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Sounds pretty good, right? And to pair with it, A Benihana Christmas from season three of The Office.

REVIEW: Samuel Smith's Winter Welcome Ale & Doctor Who

I'm slowly but surely getting back into the swing of posting here every other weekday. So, today we soldier on with the Christmas parings! This fine Wednesday I'm looking at Winter Welcome Ale, a winter warmer from Samuel Smith's. A brewer that has always seemed to me to be quintessentially British. I'm not sure if that's actually their actual perception within the UK but to me when I think of British beer a bottle of Taddy Porter immediately springs to mind. But today, in the spirit of the season, we have Winter Welcome Ale, and to pair with it, something as essentially British and as essentially Christmassy, the Doctor Who Christmas special, The Doctor, The Widow, and the Wardrobe!

REVIEW: Tröegs Mad Elf (2012) & Elf

I'm back, baby! I'm sorry about the month I've taken off. The new job has not left me with much time to write on here. And honestly I've been struggling what to do with this blog anyway. The review format that I've been plugging away at for almost two years has started to feel awfully stale. I'm still not quite sure where I'll end up taking this blog, but in the meantime I think I've got something pretty cool up my sleeve. Probably the most fun I've had on this little old blog-o-mine was last year when I looked at all those Christmas beers. This year I'm going to do the same but with a bit of a twist. In lieu of pairing all of these beers with food I'm going to pair each beer with a Christmas movie! Or a TV special or episode what have you. So, seasonal beer and seasonal programming, two great tastes that taste great together!

If you'll remember, last year I took a look at Tröegs Mad Elf. Before you keep reading refresh your memory on my thoughts, here. When I bought that sixer last year I had the foresight to stow a couple of bottles down in my parents basement. Today I have a 2012 bottle of Mad Elf, and the movie to go along with it, maybe a bit of a predictable choice, the Jon Favreau directed Elf!