Merry Christmas to Breckenridge Brewery & August Schelle Brewing Company

Since it's the holiday season, I thought I'd not only pick up a few holiday brews, I'd also review a few along the way. Today's first Merry Christmas salutation goes to Breckenridge Brewery (Word is, its a brewpub that serves BBQ...awesome!) for their Christmas Ale.



Breckenridge's Christmas Ale is definitely a winter beer. It has a nice body, I'd say about medium-heavy, with about a medium tone in taste, almost leaning toward a darker quality, but a very nice balance which makes the beer unquestionably drinkable. The ale has a very appealing bitterness, or not too much to go overboard, and not too little to be dissatisfying. The alcoholic taste is very low-level, but definitely there if you try my sure-shot method of finding its character: hold the swig in your mouth and let it lay directly under your tongue, but take it easy on the amount or you'll be sorry you tried.

The smell of the brew offers a sweet maltiness with a hint of the alcohol coming out. The color of the head is off-white and the lacing is thin and dissipates. The beer itself is a solid amber, kinda close to Yuengling Traditional Lager. At 7.4% ABV, it's definitely a beer worth trying at least once. If I ever find myself in Colorado and am near the Breckenridge Brewpub, I'll be heading in for a few brews and some BBQ ribs. Merry Christmas, and here's to Breckenridge Brewery: Cheers, and drink well!

Moving on to Schell's Snowstorm, 2009: I'm reminded of the phrase, "Don't judge a book by its cover." My first consideration of this beer speaks volumes in relation to that phrase.



When I first looked at the label, I thought, "Hey, this looks like a typical, domestic, run of the mill lager." Wow, was I off! Out pours a dark porter and a delicious looking beer (I completely failed to read the label around the neck, "Baltic Porter"). Unfortunately, for not doing my homework, namely not knowing that it was a porter, I poured the beer into my mug wrong, but managed to shake up a decent looking head and I'm continuing to swirl as I sip. Personally, I'd say the pour for a porter should be somewhere in between a lager and a stout, so kind of down the middle, but a little down the side(Beer snobs are thinking "This guy doesn't know what he's talking about").

I'm earning a very thin layer of head with my swirl, but its there and the retention is pretty good. The taste offers a dark, burnt coffee flavor, with enough sweetness to form a contrast, culminating into a balance that is quite remarkable. The color of the beer is damn near pitch black, but I'll save the 100% category for the stout I run into that deserves it. The lacing is thin, but the head itself is darker than that of Breckenridge's Christmas Ale, similar to the foam of a fancy coffee. The body of the brew is generally medium-heavy, but just a tad bit heavier than Breckenridge's Christmas Ale. The bitterness of the brew is very close to that of Breckenridge's Christmas Ale as well (if only a little drier), so you could definitely pair the two as I have done.

This is a very drinkable beer, but I'm guessing 5-6 of these in a night and you'd be set. If you see it, definitely give it a try. The ABV is 5.8%, and its only brewed once a year. In fact, this brewery sends out a different style of brew with the name Snowstorm every holiday season. I like that idea. Here's to August Schell Brewing Company: Cheers, and drink well!