Stifle your cynical elf and pick from nice list of holiday brews

Down the Hatch

[ With Dawnell Smith ]

Published: December 13th, 2007 02:29 AM
Last Modified: December 13th, 2007 02:16 AM

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Some people scoff at Christmas beers. They think breweries only want to capitalize on the holiday.

Well, of course they do. What business doesn't capitalize on Christmas these days? And really, the few that don't just haven't figured out how.

So complain all you want about the commercialization of the holidays -- you get what you pay for, after all -- but frankly, the making of special beers, meads, wines, liqueurs and beverages goes back thousands of years. People celebrate faith, friendship, culture and history by doing something different, something grander, something beyond compare.

A good holiday beer simply tastes beyond compare.

Not that all of them do. I hate to say it -- because I like the gesture and am a bit of a naughty elf myself -- but the Bad Elf beers taste rather shallow to me. Ridgeway's Bad Elf, Very Bad Elf, Criminally Bad Elf and Insanely Bad Elf ($5 to $7.50, available around town) don't taste all that "bad" to me. The marketing behind the beer certainly evokes grins and chuckles, but the beers taste mostly cloying.

I know "bad," and these beers ain't it.

Now, I admit that my all-time favorite go-to bad beer is Celebration Ale from Sierra Nevada (six-packs range from $7 to $9). True, I might not get the English sensibility behind those Bad Elf beers, but if you ask me, Celebration kicks them clear out of the North Pole when it comes to a twinkle and good cheer.

But though Celebration sustains my spirit day to day, year to year, I like to pepper the season with rarities that spark the darkness. So I asked Pamela Hatzis, owner of La Bodega liquor store in the University Center mall, for a recommendation.

She didn't bother making a list. Dupont Bon Vouex shot right to the top.

"It's a hidden gem," she said, "because the brewery doesn't make the label overly 'Christmas-y,' so only people who know how good it is get it."

The Dupont comes in a big green corked bottle with a yellow label ($10.95). It pours cloudy and effervescent, and it has all the hallmarks of a Belgian Saison -- spicy and lively with a bit of funk and bitterness. The full name of the beer, Avec les bons Voeux de la brasserie Dupont, means "with the best wishes of the brewery Dupont."

The beer originally went to brewery clients as New Year's gifts but now reaches beer lovers across the pond. The style and quality of Dupont make it a sprightly, rich brew ideal for those nights when "the usual" just won't do.

Stille Nacht, a Belgian beer from De Dolle Brouwers ($5.25), also tastes beyond compare but with a sweet, sticky temperament. The brewery increases the alcohol, body and fruit-sugar intensity by adding candi sugar to the kettle. Expect aromas and flavors of plums, apricots, cherries. It sells in manageable 11.6-ounce bottles that can sate even two imbibers.

Plenty of other beers make for awesome gifts or nightcaps this time of year. Try 750-milliliter bottles of Scaldis Noel ($18.95), Scaldis Prestige ($43.95) or Gulden Draak Vintage Ale ($13.95), or go for broke on gift packs and giant bottles of good stuff.

Right now at La Bodega, you can find a Boucanier Golden Ale gift set with a glass for $17.95, along with monstrous 3-liter bottles of Ommegang Abbey Ale, Duvel Belgian Strong Ale and Chimay for $75, $85 and $75 respectively.

Just browse, my friends, because the choices are really beyond compare. Beer aisles everywhere look flush, robust and super-bad to the bone.

Super-bad beer note

Talk about a super, deadly bad holiday gift -- check out the 2007 Deadly Sin gift pack by Midnight Sun Brewing Co.: a seven-pack of 22-ounce bottles of Gluttony Trippel IPA, Envy Imperial Pilsner, Greed Belgian-Style Single, Wrath Belgian-Style Double IPA (simply fabulous), Sloth Belgian-style Imperial Stout, Pride Belgian-style Strong Pale Ale and Lust Belgian-Style Dark Strong Ale.

They were still working on pricing at deadline, but the pack's available starting today at the brewery (7329 Arctic Blvd.; 344-1179).

Looking ahead

Alaskan Brewing Co. will spread the wealth in January by putting Alaskan Barley Wine in 22-ounce bottles for the first time. Everyone's been asking for bottles since the beer went on tap at the Great Alaska Beer and Barley Wine Festival in 2003.

The brewery makes the beer in the spring and stores it in the tunnels of the Alaska-Juneau Gold Mine. (No, bad elf, this it not a good time to take up gold mining.)

Look for more information on availability in future columns. In the meantime, let me know your favorite holiday beer before the stores run out.

?• Find Daily News reporter Dawnell Smith at adn.com/contactdsmith or call 257-4587.

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