We're counting down to Christmas with 12 beers that resonate with the feel of the holiday. Some beers were nice; some beers were naughty. This is The 12 Beers of Christmas. Enjoy!
Brouwerij Slaapmutske in Melle, Belgium
So here we are at our final beer of Christmas. We wanted to make today’s review something special. We wanted to get a very fancy, very tasteful, very unique beer for our final day. Sadly, it turns out there’s a lot to do outside of blogging and writing about beers when December 25 starts to get close, so we had to settle for a beer from a brewery that we can’t even spell without copy-and-paste. Despite the fact that we can’t spell the Kerstmutske Christmas Nightcap name correctly, or even begin to get the Brouwerij Slaapmutske Brewery name right, the KCN brew was a nice, slow, and reserved finish to what has been a wonderful, tasty, and unexpected 12 Beers of Christmas.
The bottle says this is a Christmas nightcap of a beer. Now whether they’re referring to an actual nightcap, or the fact that this is a nightcap, or a play on both is unclear. However, with the flavors we encountered, this beer isn’t a night-ender, but is a smooth and enjoyable Belgian ale. The beer had a nice roasted applesauce, hazlenutty chocolate look to it, and the smell tickled the nose with the sweeter, boozy fruit scent we’re so accustomed to with these Christmas brews. The flavor was a little sharper and cleaner than some of the other Belgians we sampled, with a knife of burnt malty goodness cutting into the taste buds. The final notes hinted at some muted coffee moments, and further sips revealed a nice and light vanilla undertone. Nothing was dull or rough, just a smooth and silent take on a Belgian ale.
We’ve had a lot of fun going through these beers over the past week and a half. No, we didn’t love all that we came in contact with, but I really do encourage everyone to try something like The 12 Beers of Christmas on their own. We got a chance to try some beers outside our comfort zone and to learn about some breweries we never could have found before. We hope that your Christmas will be filled with great brews and warm memories. Have a safe and enjoyable Christmas. We hope Santa leaves some great beers underneath your tree.
Brouwerij De Ranke in Wevelgem, Belgium
As far as Christmas beers go, this one is a winner! It is not your typical sweet boozy Christmas beer like a barleywine; however, it is completely delightful. It would be great as an apertif before dinner, or just sitting around with a few people getting the night started. Regardless, the Père Noël is a great way to celebrate Christmas and my hat is off to the Brewery De Ranke and all the others in Belgium who are brewing such great Christmas ales.
The smell made the hints of a barley wine even more pronounced, with a slight fruity smell, maybe apple, showing through. When we went in for the taste, the sweet scent trickled lightly into a softer and more pillowy hop-sweetness. The subtle apple flavor was hanging around again but only for a brief time. The X-Mas Zinnebir had some alcoholic weight to it, but nothing more than you’d expect out of a standard Belgian-style ale. I was surprised to find some much hop flavor and subtle sweetness out of a beer that felt so thin. The purity and crispness of the hops was also something worth mentioning, almost in the same realm as something from 
For the fifth day of Christmas, we check out what our neighbors up north have going on for the winter brew season: the 
After the first Canadian beer to be reviewed by the BarBEERians, I am very excited for some more. The Solstice D’hiver was a tastefully done barleywine. Despite the high score I give this beer, it is definitively a treat beer. At five dollars for a 12 oz. bottle, it is not affordable to buy a six pack for the evening. Luckily, you don’t have to, because it is strong enough and full of flavor, I would recommend buying a single bottle to sit and sip with a friend.
Yes, please, serve us a big–nay, a HUGE tulip glass and let us sit before a bonfire and have our way with a delicious vanilla and bourbon beer. Fantastic, we think. But then we read the label: Michelob. Now, we’d been hearing for awhile now that Michelob has branched out into the craft brewing market with a tasty pumpkin ale, and other beverages that we’ve actually heard some good things about. So what the hell–it’s Christmas and we want some warm, Christmasy beers, and we’re in the mood for some good cheer and ho ho ho etc. We decided to throw out our dislike for Anheuser-Busch and to give Winter’s Bourbon Cask Ale a try.
Fighting through just a half glass of this clunker was hard enough. To stay in the Christmas mood, imagine shoving a plastic Christmas tree that has been smothered in artificial vanilla extract, and then forcefully and carelessly rammed down your throat. Trust me, this beer is maybe even worse than that.
Yesterday’s brew, the 
Sierra Nevada’s Celebration ale is definitely a beer worth celebrating (with). I can see myself picking up a few more of these to share with friends through the holiday season. Happy drinking, and don’t forget to tune in tomorrow for the third beer of Christmas!
