{"id":3772,"date":"2012-12-23T21:45:14","date_gmt":"2012-12-24T03:45:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tombedell.com\/?p=3772"},"modified":"2017-10-26T08:18:30","modified_gmt":"2017-10-26T14:18:30","slug":"twelve-beers-of-christmas-4-2xmas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/tombedell\/golf\/lifestyle\/3772\/twelve-beers-of-christmas-4-2xmas","title":{"rendered":"Twelve Beers of Christmas 4: 2XMAS"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Here\u2019s something different. From the brewery that has brought you Imperial Pumking Ale, 2XIPA and 2XStout comes a brew inspired by Swedish Gl\u00f6gg. This is probably the end of the Scandinavian theme we sounded two days ago with the Nogne \u00d8 Winter Ale<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Gl\u00f6gg is a mulled wine\u2014a warmed concoction of wine, brandy, fruits and spices, more or less the same mix used here\u2014ginger, cloves, cinnamon, orange peel, cardamom and crushed figs. Southern Tier adds four varieties of malts, and two kinds of hops (not sure what kind and I can\u2019t call on a Sunday). But the brewery suggests the beer would be better chilled than warmed.<\/p>\n

\u201cMint!\u201d my wife cried when I had her take a whiff. While I don\u2019t think there\u2019s any Mentha<\/em> involved, the aroma is a little like heading into the resort spa for a eucalyptus treatment. Probably a heavy hand with the cardamom, though it\u2019s appealing to me.<\/p>\n

Those I was assuring yesterday about the barely noticeable spicing in Samuel Adams Winter Lager<\/a> should run the other way today. This one\u2019s all about the spicing, and you\u2019re liable to turn your thumb up or down accordingly.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s thumbs up from me. The spicing mix strikes me as unique, and having had plenty of beers with all the ingredients save the figs, I\u2019m giving all credit to the figs. While the exotic spicing remains the predominant flavor characteristic throughout, it\u2019s amply carried along by the honeyish malts, and all in all makes for a stunning Christmas package.<\/p>\n

Southern Tier is only ten years old, but has grown by leaps and bounds since its modest 2002 beginning. Radiating from brewery headquarters in Lakewood, New York, south of Buffalo near Lake Erie, the beers are now in more than half of the U.S. states, heading out to the Dakotas and leapfrogging to Oregon, Washington and Alaska.<\/p>\n

The 2XMAS is new this year, maybe because the brewery needed to get its spicing act on. Since 2003 it has annually produced Old Man Winter Ale, a 7% ABV warmer without any extras–a beer now definitely on my must-try list.<\/p>\n

But the annual Imperial Pumking already proved Southern Tier was not timid about opening wide the spice chest. It\u2019s not only one of those pumpkin pie spices beer, it\u2019s one of those pumpkin pie spices beer with the whipped cream on top. (Actually, some vanilla, buttery crust and roasted pecans.) I\u2019m not normally a big fan of the style, but Pumking was so over the top it seduced me pretty handily.<\/p>\n

Maybe Nat King Cole works for you. Since you get Nat singing a Christmas carol with it, here\u2019s a fun video from the brewery\u2019s website about the making of the 2XMAS beer:<\/p>\n