Noël Beers

Chick’s Café and Wine Bar

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

The ancient bards knew the truth of the matter, it is always darkest before the beer, which like the sun provides warmth and hope. Winter Solstice, or Midwinter, marks the longest night of the year and has been celebrated as a time of community and renewal as far back as the Bronze Age. The Roman holiday, Saturnalia, commemorated the dedication of the temple of Saturn, the god of agriculture and fertility. Gifts were made and exchanged, gambling was allowed and the social order was turned on its head, with masters and slaves exchanging roles. The traditional Saturnalia greeting, “io (pronounced yo), Saturnalia,” has more than a hint of Philadelphia therein.

Mid-Winter festivals and celebrations, such as Yule and Wassail to give but two examples, are common in most cultures and religions. Yule traditions vary as the holiday was an amalgamation from various Scandinavian and Germanic tribes. In some places Yule logs would be lit and feasting and the accompanying drinking (perhaps of the spiced juleøl beer) would last as long as the logs burned, sometimes as many as twelve days. The original Wassail (“be in good health”) beverage was probably a mulled beer, spiced with cinnamon, ginger or nutmeg.

Later, with the rise of Christianity, Noël traditions spread across the globe and local variations sprang up. In Belgium, Santa Claus is called Sinterklass/Saint Nicolas and wears a tall bishop’s hat and carries a wooden staff. While Sinterklass distributes gifts to all the good children his helper, Zwarte Piet (Black Pete)/Père Fouettard (whipping father) punishes the ne’er-do-wells. In France, children leave out shoes by the fireplace to receive gifts from Père Noël. In Italy, on Christmas Eve, families celebrate La Vigilia, the Feast of the Seven Fish. Pantomime plays based on popular children’s stories, such as Little Red Riding Hood, are always part of Christmas in England. Christmas in Japan is more of a secular celebration, especially as it immediately precedes the most sacred holiday, New Year’s Day. Christmas Eve is a time for couples to exchange gifts or spend a special evening out, strolling under the Christmas lights

By the early 1970’s the holiday beer style was nearly unknown in the United States. No major American brewers were marketing a special beer for the holidays and very few foreign holiday beers were being imported. The turning point came in 1975, when Fritz Maytag at Anchor Brewing in San Francisco introduced Our Special Ale. Not having much of a model to work from, Maytag decided to create an English-style brown ale, dry-hopped with Cascade hops. Our Special Ale was a hit, but even with a success on his hands Maytag decided to play around with the recipe each year, starting to add various spices in 1987. It has now become common for holiday beers to change the recipe each year, giving each edition the possibility of something really different and special.

By the 1980’s other breweries were following Anchor’s example, with F. X. Matt Brewing of Utica, NY introducing Season’s Best in 1983. Soon Sierra Nevada’s Celebration Ale, Grant’s Winter Ale and Winterhook’s Christmas Ale joined an ever increasing annual lineup. The arrival of Samuel Smith’s Winter Welcome from England marked the true re-introduction of European holiday beers to American shores. Holiday beers, ciders and meads from countries all around the world soon followed suit.

There are numerous theories as to why holiday beers are generally stronger, more malty or spicier than their workaday counterparts. One line of thinking ties the use of spices that were traditional in holiday food dishes with their use in beers made at the same time. Others aver that it was a way for brewers to thank their patrons for another years custom with a special, memorable beer. Still others contend that with harvesting finished for the season and no need to get up early for work the next day in the middle of a festival it was a congenial time to have beers of a much higher alcohol content. In many ways, it was these holiday beers with more malt, more adventurous spicing and a much higher alcohol content that are the forefathers of todays “big beers”.

Beer List

La Choulette’s La Choulette de Noël (7% abv) 1977 saw Alain and Martine Dhaussy bring brewing back to the former Brasserie Bourgeois-Lecerf, which dates to 1885, in Hordain. Marrying the frank bitterness of Brewers Gold hops with the slightly spiced flavor of Hersbrucker Hops this is a fuller flavored version of the classic bière de garde.

Etienne Dupont’s Cidre Cuvee Colette (7.5% abv) Using a mix of 80% bitter-sweet (Mettais, Binet Rouge and Frequin) and 20% acid (Judaines and Petit Jaune) apples Etienne Dupont continues the Dupont cidermaking tradition in Normandy, which stretches back to 1837. Wild yeasts are used in fermentation and during the aging period the bottles are rotated manually daily, slowly moving from horizontal to vertical. This is in order to allow the sediment to gather at the neck of the bottle, where it is frozen and then removed enclosed in ice.

Brasserie Des Franches-Montagnes La Dragonne (4% abv) The Brasserie des Franches-Montagnes (Free Mountains) started brewing in 1997 (Happy Tenth!) and now offers some of Switzerland’s most interesting and inventive craft beers. La Dragonne is a winter warmer made to be served warm. After primary fermentation honey, cinnamon, anise, orange peel, cloves, coriander and juniper are added to the maturation tank. There is little or no carbonation and the spices predominate, as might well be expected.

Birreria Baladin Noël (9% abv) The Baladin brewpub and microbrewery in Piozzo, right outside of Torino, was opened in 1986 by Teo Musso. Baladin Noël starts with a multitude of notes in the nose, including rose, dried fruit, toffee and licorice amongst others. Medium bodied with fruit and malty sweetness, Noël is dangerously drinkable with nary a hint of alcohol “heat” in sight, in spite of its high abv.

Brasserie La Rulles’ Cuvee Meilleurs Voeux (7.3% abv) Brasserie Artisanale La Rulles was founded in 2000 by brewmaster and malter Gregory Verhelst in the village of La Rulles, in the province of Luxembourg (Belgium). Made with top fermenting yeast from Orval Trappiste Brewery this holiday special has the fruity, malty aroma typical of La Rulles with a sweet malt body, balanced out with some dryness courtesy of a mix of Warrior, Amarillo and Cascade hops.

St. Pieters’ Zinnebir X-mas (6.6% abv) Brouwerij Sint-Pieters in Sint-Pieters-Leeuw is one of Belgium’s smallest commercial breweries. The name Zinnebir comes from ‘zinneke’, Brussels slang for the wild dogs that used to roam the poor parts of town. Now used to mean “little bastards”, in reference to the children of flemish/walloon marriages, St. Pieters reclaims the term, sticking up for the little guy and brewing a beer for everyone. Brewer Bernard LeBoucq eschews use of fruit essence or spices, thus we have something of a rarity, an unspiced Christmas beer.

Ten minute intermission with music by Leah Blewett

Kiuchi Brewery’s Hitachino Nest Celebration Ale (9% abv) Kiuchi Shuzou was established in 1823 in the tiny hamlet of Kounosu ("Nest"), making Sake. In 1996 the company started brewing beer and soon emerged as one of the most creative craft breweries in Japan. Celebration Ale mixes five malts (Pale, Munich, Crystal, Chocolate, and wheat), four hops (Styrian Goldings, Hallertauer, Tettnang, Saaz) and five spices (coriander, orange peel, nutmeg, cinnamon & vanilla bean) to create one spectacular beer. This is an Eisbock, where the water (but not the alcohol) is frozen, after three days the ice and protein are removed, leaving behind an even more concentrated offering.

Gale's Christmas Ale 2001 Vintage (8.5% abv) The Gale’s brewing tradition began in 1847 when Richard Gale acquired the Ship & Bell Inn, a venue already well known for its fine beer. Given the choice of traditional Christmas colors we can only breathe a sigh of relief that Gales chose ruby red over green for this sweet, malty, well-aged brew with raspberry, apple and raisin notes.

Lurgashall’s Christmas Mead (12.5% abv) Located in rustic Blackdown, the highest point in West Sussex, where Alfred Lord Tennyson once had his home, Lurgashall began making wines, meads and liqueurs in 1985. The making of mead from fermented honey goes back at least as far as the 8^th-11^th century, as noted in the Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf, where the monster Grendel attacks the Danish King Hrothgar’s famous mead-hall, Heorot. Perhaps a horn full of this succulent beverage would have assuaged his bloodlust. This special holiday version is served warm with cinnamon and nutmeg added.

Brauerei Schloss Eggenberg’s Samichlaus Helles (14% abv) Brewed once a year on December 6, St. Nicholas’s Eve, Samichlaus was once the strongest beer in the world. Originally brewed in Zurich by Hürlimann, beginning in 1980, it is now made in Castle Eggenberg in the Austrian town of Vorchdorf which has been brewing commercially since 1681. Although the brewers term this a Helles it is closer in style to a Doppelbock and is made with Munich, Caramel and Pils malts & Hallertau, Perle, Magnum and Tettnang hops.

Victory Brewing Company’s Hop Wallop IPA (8.5% abv). Victory Brewing Company of Downingtown modestly describe their golden IPA as a, “very hoppy ale.” Damn straight!

Accompanying holiday snack plate courtesy of Chef Jim Piano:

Vacherin Fribourgeois (Switzerland) – This raw cow’s milk cheese from the Fribourg canton (the same state as Gruyere) has a big, nutty, luscious flavor similar to Fontina.

La Florentine Panforte (Italy) First made in 1879 for Queen Margherita’s visit to Siena, this candied fruit and almond tart has a mellow sweetness and a dense and rich texture.

River and Glen Duck Prosciuto (Warminster, PA) This completely organic, corn fed, moulard duck breast, is rubbed with spices (dry cured) and cave aged for several months.

Kristen’s Christmas Chocolate Bark – Cinnamon and nutmeg spiced Valrhona dark (55%) chocolate with hazelnuts, sun dried cherries and orange zest.

Nella’s Homemade Cookie Plate – Chocolate and raspberry biscoti, chocolate pizelle, Christmas star sugar cookies, Santa is sure to visit us this year!

New England cranberry relish, apples with honey and cinnamon, and spicy peanuts

Text: David Cohen