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Beer Advent Calendar – Day 19: Schlafly Christmas Ale presented by Zephyr Adventures

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Beer Advent Calendar – Day 19: Schlafly Christmas Ale presented by Zephyr Adventures

To celebrate the Holiday Season, 2Beerguys.com and Seacoastbeveragelab.com have teamed up with beer bloggers around the country to host the first annual beer bloggers advent calendar. This is the season of sharing and we intend to share our love of beer with you. 31Bloggers Blogging – click here for the running list of beers/bloggers.

• Blogger: Elle Potter, Conference Admin and Community Director with Zephyr Adventures.
• Website: http://www.zephyradventures.com/ and http://www.beerbloggersconference.org/

• Beer: Schlafly Christmas Ale
• Brewery: Schlafly / Saint Louis Brewery
• Website: http://www.schlafly.com/

Commercial Description:
Our Christmas Ale is a big-bodied, higher alcohol beer, flavored with orange peel, ginger root, juniper berries, cardamom and clove. Large amounts of 2-row and caramel malted barley and honey create the sweetness of this ale.

Many breweries produce richer, higher alcohol beers for the winter holiday season, bolder than their year-round offerings. Belgian breweries use spice for their holiday beers. Instead of using spice, English and German breweries make higher alcohol, stronger beers for the season. Some American brewers blend these two traditions for their Christmas ales.

Details:

• Style: Winter Spiced Ale (Herb/Spice/Vegetable Beer)
• ABV: 8%
• Bitterness: 30 IBUs
• Appearance: Deep copper, bright
• Process: Spiced with orange peel, juniper berries, ginger root, cardamom and cloves
• Hops: Hallertau Tradition
• Malts: 2-row and caramel malted barley, Munich malt, chocolate malt, honey
• Yeast: American Ale
• OG :18.2
• Available: November-December

Why I selected the Schlafly Christmas Ale from Saint Louis Brewing Company:

I had my first Schlafly brew (Pumpkin Ale) at the Night of Many Bottles in Portland for the 2011 Beer Bloggers Conference and was enamored by bright and uncomplicated flavors. As I am now spending the winter in St. Louis this year, I have plenty more opportunities to experience not only the bottled varieties of Schlafly, but also the limited edition flavors that are continuously coming available only on tap at either of their two brewpub locations.

Christmas Ale is available through the holiday season and has all the flavors that are unequivocally Christmas-related in my mind, like ginger and cloves. It’s the kind of beer that might actually become your favorite dessert in lieu of all the cookies, cakes and sweets. That being said, before the holidays are over, I will absolutely be putting this beer in a pumpkin bread.

About Zephyr Adventures and the Beer Bloggers Conference:
Zephyr Adventures has been running active hiking, biking and skating tours for 15 years now, and recently ran their first ever Active Multi-Sport Beer Tour in Yellowstone.
In 2010, Zephyr created the first Beer Bloggers Conference, which was held in Boulder, Colorado, as a way to share a community of beer lovers.

After successful and fun London and Portland conferences in 2011, the biggest take-away was a sense of community. We felt that draw as well, and were inspired to put together a beer community website to that can become a great tool and resource for beer lovers, much like the Complete List of Beer Blogs has become a recognized asset. As beer bloggers are also as ardent locavores as they are craft beer advocates, we have also begun what we are growing to become the Complete List of Beer Industry Blogs as a way to invite all the breweries to get involved in this larger community, from microbrews to more nationally recognized names.

The next two conferences (Leeds, UK May 18 – 20, 2012; Indianapolis, IN July 13 – 15, 2012) are sure to be monumental in education, participation, and a continuing of sharing the beers we are all so passionate about with our growing audiences.  http://www.zephyradventures.com/ and http://www.beerbloggersconference.org/

About Schlafly / Saint Louis Brewing Company:
When we opened twenty years ago, we had no business plan beyond making great beer and food in a fun atmosphere. Twenty years on, our business plan is still as simple as our original vision: To make a wide variety of great beers and throw some really fun parties.

The Schlafly Tap Room
The Schlafly Tap Room first opened its doors in 1991 and proudly holds the distinction of being the first new brewpub in Missouri since Prohibition.

Housed in a beautifully-restored wood and brick building on the National Historic Register, The Schlafly Tap Room enjoys a reputation as a casual, earthy place to drink, dine, listen to great live music or host a special event.

Schlafly Bottleworks
Schlafly Bottleworks has been described as the ‘local home of beer’ and one of the best places in St. Louis to arrive hungry and thirsty.

It is fun, friendly, warm and inviting and has become a gathering place for the local community and their families. As St. Louis’s first new production brewery to open since the end of Prohibition, the free tours are not to be missed.  http://www.schlafly.com/