While many seasons are claiming styles of beer these days I still enjoy making a big deal out of tasting as many holiday seasonal brews as I can find. Which ones have you tried and how would you describe them?

I had a splendid experience the other day. One of the wine bars (oddly enough) in town held a tasting of four years of Sierra Nevada's Celebration Ale [sierranevada.com], 1999-2002, on tap.

This is one of the cleanest holiday brews I've encountered. The hoppy goodness balances out the high alcohol taste very well, and it gets more complex with age (to a point, of course). With a little practice I believe I could have identified each year by the level of hops vs. the malt taste.

The '99 was quite grain/not-so-sweet-malt dominant. With each successive year the hops flavor becomes more and more prevalent. This taste difference is almost all due to age since they do not change their holiday beer recipe from one year to the next. My favorite was from 2001. It had a pleasant floral/hoppy aroma and taste with a malty finish.

Other holiday beers I've tried so far are:
Portland Brewing's Bobby Dazzler [portlandbrew.com], full-bodied and a bit more alcoholic tasting for my preference. They are getting better at this one, the first few years had some yeast issues.
Portland Brewing's Mac Frost [portlandbrew.com], a sort of Weiss beer with yeast difficulties. This isn't typically a style of beer I'm opposed to but, like lagers, is difficult to pull off.
Deschutes' Jubelale [znetsolutions.com], full-bodied, a bit on the alcoholic side, but the malt flavor is dark and rich.
Full Sail's Wassail [fullsailbrewing.com], the darkest I've found so far. Smooth and sure to knock you on your ass in no time.

Oh, so many more to try before the season is gone. I better get to some serious drinking...er, I mean tasting.

In Response to Oedipa_Maas (#2862):

Over in the UK, I've recently discovered the delights of a raspberry-flavoured beer from Belgium, called Frambozen. It's gorgeous, not too sweet, but with a definite kick. Get some if you can.

In Response to Lonely Goatherd (#3011):

Hmmm, I've seen that one on the shelf and been afraid of it. Fruity beers usually give me the heebie-jeebies.

With such a high recommendation from a Goatherd such as yourself, I'll look closer at it next time I come across it. Good to hear that it isn't too sweet; that's where fruity beers often go awry. Is it a seasonal, or am I likely to see it other times of the year?

In Response to Oedipa_Maas (#2862):

Pete's Wicked Ale does a holiday brew - it sucks donkey balls

In Response to Dynedain (#3025):

I think Pete's holiday seasonal is created after they hold a home brewers recipe contest. It is different each year, and I haven't tried their offering this year. Good to know I don't need to waste money or valuable tasting time on it. Thanks.

In Response to Oedipa_Maas (#2862):

Sierra Nevada Celebration is a longtime favorite of mine. Of course, I don't think I've yet described a single beer as "too hoppy."

I'm a big fan of Portland Brewing in general, even if I don't like every single beer they release.

I noticed this year that every single goddam West Coast brewery (except for Pete's) decided to go with a koelsch for their Summer brews. Nothing against the style, but if that don't spell conspiracy...

In Response to Oedipa_Maas (#3030):

i haven't tried this year...i had it either last year or the year before

In Response to Dynedain (#3043):

Didn't they do a new millenium brew, or just a new year one sometime? That was good. Or maybe I'm thinking of someone else...

For holiday beer...what's so good about it? I mean, if anything, it's generally a wierd gimmick or color, and rarely good. One should just stick with what one likes. Or eggnog, as that's alright.

I love the holidays for the holiday scratch-off tickets. Fun variety!

In Response to Arrus (#3058):

I'm not sure about Pete's brewing a millenium/new year beer.

Part of the holiday beer thing for me is nostalgia. Back in my day, when new beers weren't out every few months, the only seasonal brewed by microbreweries around here were holiday beers. These beers offer the novelty of a new recipe, the challenge of trying to sample as many as possible and (not as important but fun on occasion) higher alcohol than one might find normally in beer.

You're not the first person I've encountered who doesn't care for the holiday beers. I guess I'm in an area where holiday beers aren't just spiced or fruited gimmicks.