For many of us, today is the last day of work before the holiday, which means today is kind of like a Friday (just a really cool one). With so much revelry ahead, we want to know how you’ll be celebrating and (of course) what you’ll be drinking.
I’ll be enjoying be Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey, some Troegs Mad Elf and a couple other Bourbon-aged goodies as I stare contentedly at the tree this evening. Or at least that’s the ideal I have in my head. I also expect t0 have kids flopping around the room all pumped up about Santa, which should make things even more fun.
Christmas Eve will be dinner at the In Laws, and one “teaser” present for each kid to open, which in Galligan tradition will probably be new PJ’s so the kids don’t look scruffy for all the photos the next morning. Christmas Day will be presents and dinner at our house (with the In Laws again) and maybe a couple of special beers from the garage (not sure what yet, but I have plenty to choose from).
How about all of you? Any cool plans for the holiday? Any special beer, whiskeys, or (gasp) wines you’ll be enjoying? As always, let us know below and ho-ho-ho from the Bros!
Beer & Whiskey Brothers 
maybe that DFH/SN Life and Limb I’ve been saving and I’m sure much more
Ooh, good idea! I have one too in the fridge (since I got it). I’m gonna drink mine, too.
I’m also planning on cracking open my bottle of Life and Limb this weekend. Can’t wait. Also on the slate: Anchor Our Special Ale, 21st Amendment Fireside Chat, Terrapin Wake-N-Bake Coffee Oatmeal Stout, The Bruery Three French Hens, and a whole mess of other goodies.
That’s a great line up! Perfect flavors for the season if you ask me. I wish I would have gotten my hands on some of the Bruery’s holiday stuff, but maybe next year. I guess I’ll just have to make due with Life and Limb. 🙂
Have a great holiday!
Hope you have a great holiday too. Check Boonton for 3FH. Thats where I got mine.
Thanks. I did, and all I got was an empty spot on the shelf. 😦
Trader Joe’s Vintage 2010… And at $4.99 each, it’s time to stock up while supplies last.
Generic Firestone Walker FTW!!
Generic Unibroue 😉 FTW!
HA! Even better!!
I have a Maudite out in the garage. It’s one of my wife’s favorites.
That clipart seal is very convincing.
Having everyone over for xmas eve dinner tomorrow…..lobster-stuffed beef tenderloin will be the headliner. As for beer, I’m dying to go back and get another bottle of Schloss Eggenberg’s Samichlaus. It was amazing!!
That’s almost a turducken for fancy folks. Nice!
I’ll be cracking open my lone remaining bottle of Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout at some point, and also enjoying local Chicago brewery Half Acre’s “Big Hugs” Stout. And I’m passing out my homebrew, complete with a homemade label.
Sounds good. I thought I cracked my last one open last week, only to discover 8 more! I buy too much Beer I think!
Bite your tongue Jimbo! Too much beer he says… silly man. 😉
Good point. It’s like being too thin or too rich. 🙂
Jimbo!
Yes yes! Today is Christmas Eve Eve. Hopefully the stars will align and the neighbors will gather this evening for some pre-Christmas cheer!
As far as what we’ll be drinking, I will be having some Great Lakes Christmas Ale, a Dogfish Head My Antonia (friends will be dropping by for lunch on Sunday, so this will be served with whatever food we can scrap together), a Brasserie Dupont Avec Les Bons Vouex and probably a few others. Should “Santa” be a good listener, I am hoping to sample some new whiskies as well.
Enjoy the family and festivities!
Buon Natale!
G-LO
Yo, G-LO! HO HO HO!!
Sounds like well laid plans indeed. I hope Santa had his ears on an you get boozed up for Christmas!
Have fun, and be naughty but safe.
Thanks Jim! You do the same!
And re: your “naughty but safe” comment, sounds like advice that a college kid headed to Spring Break would hear. 🙂
Yes, wear a condom (and sunscreen)!
Holy cow, that’s one whale of a lineup.
I’m at my MIL’s in Texas expecting the worst when it comes to beer at her place. I was greeted by a fridge full of Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale!
Nice. A Christmas miracle – goo beer in Texas! Have fun, y’all!
Have some fun, and try the Shiner Cheer. My family raves about it. Had last year’s batch, and enjoyed it.
I just picked up two Ridgeway Lump of Coal Stouts (one for me, one for my brother), and one of those huge sized bottles of the St. Feuillien Triple, also to share with my brother.
Don sent me Lump of Coal last year and I loved it: https://beerandwhiskeybros.com/2010/01/06/im-going-to-be-very-bad-this-year/
It’s a good thing to share with your brother.
Hint, hint Don.
So is that Schaflys
I was pretty much blown away by both selections, though I need to make a correction- I got the St. Feuillien Brune, not the Triple. I couldn’t believe that the Lump of Coal had a higher alcohol content. Or that it was a stout, because it lacked the bitterness that stouts can sometimes have.
Not sure just yet as I finished off all of my Christmas Belgians and Mad Elf. I still have some Sam Adams Winter stuff lingering around so that will likely be my choice, but who knows.
Anyway, Merry Christmas Don & Jim!
Merry Christmas to you as well, Scott.
I’m curious to know what you thought of the Elf. Did you review it on thebrewclub.com ?
Jim, I didn’t re-review it this year, it was strictly enjoyed without the pressures of thinking about it! The 2008 review still works for me, but I definitely liked it better this time.
Maybe it was the fruitcake reference, (thanks) or that my drinking buddy was around to share it with, so I’d give it another star just for that!
http://thebrewclub.com/2008/12/26/christmas-beer-review-troegs-mad-elf-ale/
That’s the best-enjoying a beer without thinking about it. And with a buddy is even better (and perhaps necessary when it comes to the Elf!)
Have a great holiday Scott!
Jim – you pretty much described my Christmas, kids, in-laws, Christmas eve PJ’s, beer, whiskey, etc. I’ve got three beers lined up; La Chouffe, Great Divide Yeti and Southern Tier Choklat. Whiskey line up includes Redbreast 15 year, ’09 Thomas H. Handy, Weller 12 and maybe a Yamazaki 12 year. I’m still at work but ready to bust out and start partying……..Merry Christmas.
Merry Christmas to you too, Greg. I have a a Chocolate Yet in the garage that I’ve been thinking about all day. Maybe tonight, but I have a bit of a head cold and don’t want to miss out on the Chipotle nip in the beer, especially now that it has a little age on it.
I also have a Choklat. And a Mokah. And a beer buying problem!
Just enjoyed a Sam Adams Chocolate bock for a little pre-Christmas celebration with my wife’s siblings. Had it with lunch, which felt like a holiday-worthy indulgence. Now hoping I can pick up some more for Christmas eve!
As an aside, also made and imbibed the hot gingerbread punch recipe from December’s Bon Appetit (available on Epicurious.com). Fresh ginger, stout beer and dark rum…mmmm. Worth the effort.
Hey Curtis, good to see you here! Merry Christmas!!
That GIngerbread punch sounds amazing. I’m going to have to check it out.
Heading up to my parents’ in the Colorado high country, along with my girlfriend and a couple of other friends. We’re planning on doing all the festive stuff on Christmas Eve, so we can get out early for some Christmas morning skiing while the slopes are empty.
I’m bringing along some St. Bernardus Christmas Ale, an Espresso Oak Aged Yeti I’ve been saving, a magnum of Anchor’s Christmas beer, and a Deschutes Jubel 2010 from last year. I’m sure my friends will bring plenty of great stuff as well. It’s likely to be a Crunken Colorado Christmas!
Wow, sounds like a great holiday, Alex, and a nice selection of beer. I have to imagine a Colorado Christmas is a special thing. Have fun!
It’s tough to beat, but I have some very fond holiday memories from growing up in Eastern PA too. Have a great Christmas!
I think fond childhood memories of the holidays are possible regardless of where they’re made. But I imagine being in the high country is like walking through a Christmas snow globe.
Anyway, enjoy it and your treats and have a very merry Christmas, Alex.
My christmas drinks will have to be after christmas as I am at present doing a 24 hours shift and will have to recover some energy to take in my intake of whisky.l
If you don’t have time for whisky, hopefully you’ll have some time to spend with family.
Of course if yours is like mine, whisky makes time with family go a little smoother! 🙂
I found a six-pack of Sam Adams Octoberfest at a local liquor store today, so that one is going into the rotation, along with a Dubbel from the local micro-brewery where my brother works. I hope they make it to Sunday!
I wouldn’t normally think of Oktoberfest for Christmas, but it’s a nice call – a good malty treat for the holiday. Enjoy yourself, and I give your beers until Saturday until they’re gone! 😉
Hopefully my father-in-law has replenished his stock of Sam Adams Winter Lager. On top of that, I am bringing some Rude Elf Reserve and Sierra Nevada Celebration, and possibly some of the Anchor Winter.
Truthfully, I’m kind of tapped out on the winter-specific beers. They’re either too mild variations of the normal brews (Sam Smith, Magic Hat, Sierra Nevada, Anchor, Avery) or “too-big-to-drink-more-than-one” varieties like Mad Elf and Rude Elf.
Next year I’m going to try ignore the hype and go back to enjoying my Harpoon Winter Warmer and the aforementioned Sam Adams, with the occasional porter or stout (like Fuller’s London Porter) mixed in for variety. Seasonal AND drinkable…
Ha, that’s funny. I was having a Mad Elf before while gazing at the tree (and doing work email and minding the blog) and thought it was getting a bit tiresome. Too much of a good thing perhaps. Think I’ll switch to Backwoods Bastard.
Something else to consider are the Belgian winter/holiday beers. Nice warmers that won’t blow your mind.
Anyway, I hope you have a great Christmas Mark.
You too! And thanks to you and your brother for keeping such a great blog. It’s definitely inspiring me to expand my beer horizons.
I forgot to include that I had a few of the Belgian type winter beers lately, like the Allagash Black. They were good!
tonight is Victory’s Yakima Glory. Tomorrow we have:
St Bernardus Christmas Ale,
Rogue Santa’s Private Reserve,
Port Santa’s Little Helper,
Southern Tier Krampus Imperial Helles &
3F Dark Lord
Sounds like a super-solid line up, Ken. I hope “we” consists of dt least 3 people, otherwise it’ll be an Advil Christmas!
Have fun and a vert Beery Christmas!
Well, D&J, this is what we did tonight. Some might see it as a failure as we didn’t finish the job we started. (I had a few killer beers{Allagash Curieux, Terrapin Wake-n-Bake} before we started counting.) You’re privy to the post before I send it out to everyone else. Merry F@#$in’ Christmas.
Wow, The Man has destroyed my link cause he don’t want you to know the awesomeness that I’m drinking.
I’ll try again: http://itsafuckingbeer.com/2010/12/twas-the-night-before-the-night-before-christmas/
A profane Christmas rhyme! Yay!!
I have all three Sausin DuBuffs out in my magical garage. You make me want to drink them. At 8:22 in the morning.
Have a great holiday, wild man.
thanks! the same to you and yours.
i just hope my family doesn’t wonder why I’m squinting so hard at lunch today…
Don’t worry – I’m sure they know why!
Teetotalers are an easy lot to deceive. If you stop moving, they don’t even know you’re there.
I plan on consuming a good portion of my Christmas Ale I made. Oh, and some SA Winter Lager. 🙂
Nice. It’s cool to drink your own on Christmas. Unless you’re me, then it’s best to avoid them. 🙂
You need to get back to brewing! I am doing all-grain now after 7 batches of extract. Lots of fun.
I’ll get rolling again soon. I love it when it snows so I can cool my wort in a snowbank. Plus I gotta earn back that pot!