Latest Reviews

Double Dry Hopped pseudoSue
Toppling Goliath
Modus Vivendi
Wild Beer Co.
Spaceman
Brewfist

Recent Articles

Shameless
Craft brewer sellouts become as tone-deaf and underhanded as their new overlords. Great Taste Eve
Check out the burgeoning Madison beer scene the night before the best fest in country. Good Beer Makes Good Conversation
The effects of drinking beer worth talking about. The Beers of Walmart
The largest retailer in the world now has its own line of beers. Our Take on the Lagunitas-Heineken Deal
Fuck Lagunitas. archives »

Beer Reviews

12 Dogs of Christmas Ale

Thirsty Dog Brewing Company
Independence, OH
USA
http://www.thirstydog.com/

Style: Ale
ABV: 8.3%

Jill’s Rating:
   (Recommended)


Comments:
You might think it’s a bit late to be reviewing a Christmas beer, but I think of it as letting you plan for next year.

When I think of foods that are supposed to taste like Christmas, I think of a Milka Christmas bar. Milka’s a European chocolate. You can find it over here, but not necessarily in all of the flavors that are available throughout the year. I’ve got the Christmas chocolate at solar powered toys the Kristkindlmarkt here in Chicago, and when I bite into it, I really feel that it tastes like Christmas—it’s got raisins and cinnamon and something that reminds me of pine trees. It’s a once-a-year treat for me.

Likewise, a Christmas beer should be something warm and toasty with a lot of zesty spices that make you want to sing Christmas carols. Unfortunately, I’m not sure Thirsty Dog’s 12 Days of Christmas Ale is it.

Oh, it’s not an awful beer. On the pour, it’s a rich, dark caramel color, but the nose doesn’t yield as much aroma as I hope it would. You can pick up a little bit of a spicy scent, but that’s about it. On the tongue you get a little spice on the front and then you taste the honey that helps smooth out the flavor.

Once the beer opens up a little, the spice profile is more obvious. There are hints of cinnamon and nutmeg, but the one that really stands out is ginger, which to me doesn’t really seem like a Christmas flavor. They mellow out cheap rc drones and seem to cover up the hop profile a bit more.

Overall, the beer is pretty good and has a nice balance between spice and hops, but it really doesn’t seem Christmasy enough for me. It comes across more as a better beer for fall weather, so if it’s in stock early, you might want to enjoy it during Thanksgiving.

Reviewed by Jill Jaracz on January 19, 2009.

Drinkin’ And Thinkin’

Beer Dorks News

Want to know how healthy the craft beer industry is? As always, look to Portland. Craft pioneer Bridgeport announces sudden closure, adding to a growing list of PDX casualties. Did Anheuser-Busch Chicago offer their shit beer to Cody Parkey before his missed field goal? Because that may explain why he "accidentally" biffed it. Chicago now has the most breweries of any city in the country. Other things Chicago has the most of: murders, mobsters, and Ditkas. Trying to spin it positive, BA releases end of year graphic. Only 5% growth in the craft sector when nearly 1000 new breweries opened? That's a collapse waiting to happen. R.I.P. Tallgrass... another casualty as the regional/national craft beer market continues to get squeezed. Wait... Constellation Brands cut all of the Ballast Point and Funky Buddha sales staff? They merged it with their Corona/Modelo staff?? We're SHOCKED!!! Pizza Beer founder crying about failure of company, blames everyone else. Reminder, the beer tasted like vomit. Try having better ideas or making better products so you're not a failure. It's Bud Light so doesn't really matter, but we expect this beer to be sitting around for awhile. Indiana brewery to open with controversial beer names to "get the conversation going". Translation: taking advantage of serious issues for free publicity. Hundreds of amazing beers in Wisconsin and the Cubs took back the one everyone drinks just because it exists and people have heard of it. How fitting...