Over the weekend I had a couple of beers. I decided to get into the Krampus spirit and enjoy some holiday styled brews. Normally I’m pretty Bah Humbug about the holiday season, but the beer and food is worth the endless parade of bright colors and over sung carols. I didn’t give these as much attention as I normally would have. I guess the snow has made me lazy.
Festivity Ale by Goose Island Beer Co.
Goose Island calls this beer a brown with dark fruit flavors, so naturally I was expecting a nice full malty brown taste with maybe some bitter fruit flavor. Apparently Goose Island and I disagree as to what dark means. This beer was surprisingly sweet, more so than I thought was appropriate for a brown ale. It did give me that warm feeling aftertaste which is absolutely required by any beer that tries to call its self a holiday beer. I gave this beer a 3/5. I would drink it, but wouldn’t be my first pick for a Krampus party.
The Jolly Traveler by The Traveler Beer Company
I’ll admit I was a little wary of picking up a shandy during our pick-6 choices, but the curiosity got the best of me. I hadn’t heard of this company before, but apparently they specialize in shandys which has gotten my attention.
The strong aromas of the holiday spices made me start drooling. The sip was light and refreshing, but complex. There were tastes that reminded me of gingerbread men, cranberry sauce, and sitting by the fireside (which I have never done). It was very sweet, but I was expecting it because its a shandy… I gave this beer a 4.5/5 because it nearly got this Grinch to start singing Krampus Carols.
Brews and Ewes 