Nothing works those last nerves like the onset of the holidays. We suspect that’s why most beer makers roll out high ABV seasonals this time of year. How else do you keep people from coming unraveled as chain stores begin force-feedings of Christmas carols, and stir up a frenzy with Black Friday sales? That said, if you want to start stocking up some bottles of high-octane holiday cheer, you’re in luck. West Philly’s Dock Street Brewery is going to start selling a bunch of boozey brews with tonight’s Holiday Bottle Party. Tipsy tipplers like Prince Myshkin Russian Imperial Stout, Barleywine, and the award winning Prisoner of Hell will be on tap all evening.
But take-home selections include bottles of Prisoner of Hell, a Belgian Strong Pale Ale; Man Full of Funk Porter, a Cantillon and Brettanomyces infected Prince Myshkin Russian Imperial Stout aged for 3 ½ years in oak apple-brandy barrels; Prince Myshkin Russian Imperial Stout, aged in Hungarian oak barrels for 11 months before aging an additional 24 months in the brewery’s cellar; Barleywine, a “deceptively strong,” 10.5 percent ABV ale; Flemish Red Sour Ale, wild yeast fermented and bottle conditioned. The bottles range in price from $13 to $19, and are available only at the brewery.
Tomorrow will see the debut of Victory Brewing Company’s Red Thunder. It’s the brewery’s Baltic Thunder Porter aged in red wine barrels. It goes on sale at Victory’s Downingtown HQ at 8 a.m., as will $5 pours of it and an accompanying breakfast.
This holiday season Iron Hill is packaging its Bottled Reserve beers in gift baskets. Some combine brews like the the limited-release chocolate stout, Señor Chocolatoro, with two etched Rastal glasses, while others like the Belgian Abbey, features one bottle each of Iron Hill’s Belgian output with an Abbey Dubbel, Tripel, and traditional Belgian golden ale. Another basket offers a collection of the brewpub chain’s gold medal-winning beers like The Cannibal, a Belgian-style golden ale; Russian Imperial Stout; Saison, a classic Belgian-style farmhouse ale; and Wee Heavy, a full-bodied Scotch-style ale.
Related: Yes Virginia, There Will Be Plenty of Mad Elf to Go Around This Holiday Season
