{"id":9770,"date":"2024-12-22T23:13:43","date_gmt":"2024-12-23T05:13:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theaposition.com\/tombedell\/?p=9770"},"modified":"2024-12-29T15:19:05","modified_gmt":"2024-12-29T21:19:05","slug":"12-beers-of-christmas-2024-1-berkshire-brewing-holidale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/tombedell\/golf\/lifestyle\/9770\/12-beers-of-christmas-2024-1-berkshire-brewing-holidale","title":{"rendered":"12 Beers of Christmas 2024 – 1: Berkshire Brewing Holidale"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"BBC<\/a>I said yesterday that Berkshire Brewing might make the list again this year, and this morning I figured, Why wait? After all, we used to begin the 12 Beers of Christmas<\/strong> each year with the same beer, Anchor\u2019s Our Special Ale, the catch being that Anchor changed the recipe every year, so it was truly a different beer. The same is true of the Holidale.<\/p>\n

(For those who have innocently wandered onto this 12 Beers of Christmas<\/strong> post for the first time, head immediately to the 12 Beers of Christmas 2023 Reprise<\/a>\u00a0where all is explained. In a word, this and eleven more holiday or winter warmer beer reviews are coming up on a more or less daily basis.)<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, BBC\u2019s beers aren\u2019t available nationwide. But then Anchor\u2019s aren\u2019t available anywhere at the moment, so BBC wins that round. They\u2019re pretty ubiquitous here in New England, especially the dependable flagship Steel Rail Ale, once you step over the Massachusetts state line.<\/p>\n

This makes the fourth appearance of the Holidale: last year<\/a>, and in 2018<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a02019<\/a>.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s ample history about the brewery in those posts, but briefly, the brewery celebrated its 30th anniversary in September. It was founded by Gary Bogoff and Chris Lalli in 1994. Bogoff is still at the helm, although he\u2019s passed on the head brewer\u2019s honors to his son, Noah, who is clearly doing a splendid job.<\/p>\n

\"Holidale<\/a>I also noted in an earlier post that Gary and I teamed up on my son-in-law, Glenn Brunetti, when he was trying to figure out his beer offerings back in 2013, when Wildwood Barbeque<\/a>\u00a0was getting ready to open in Hadley, Massachusetts. The three of us had met at the brewery in South Deerfield and it took some doing, but we convinced Glenn to serve no crap beer.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I\u2019ll have to have Bud on tap, won\u2019t I?\u201d Glenn asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, no you won\u2019t,\u201d said Gary. And Wildwood never has.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s had Steel Rail, though. According to Glenn, \u201cIt\u2019s been on tap since Day One, so 11 years and eight months straight. Best-seller right along.\u201d<\/p>\n

Berkshire has its stable roster of beers but also churns out scads of seasonals and one-offs each year, some 35 to 40 in all, including the Holidale, each one of which I\u2019ve had have been superlative. This year is no exception, a 9% ABV Imperial Dark Wheat Beer, BBC\u2019s version of a traditional German-style Weizenbock.<\/p>\n

Think Andechs Weizenbock and you\u2019d be on the money, though that German seasonal comes in at 7% ABV. The Holidale is using the Andechs Weizen yeast, making this a top-fermented ale as opposed to a lager, where bocks are usually classified. It\u2019s fashioned from dark and pale wheat malts, making for an attractive clear, ruby-hued beer with a light tan head.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s all to style, with an enticing, somewhat fruity nose, a sweetish entry giving way to a spicy, clove-accented bite. I coerced my wife into trying some and she thought the initial impression had a touch of honey, maybe a hint of molasses, but then giving way to the spice. After the beer warms up a bit it becomes a mouth-coating wonder, sweet but not cloyingly so, with a mild suggestion of raisins or prunes.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a sturdy and festive start, a solid winter warmer. I picked up a four-pack and may have to save one for Glenn, who will join the tasting panel in a couple of nights. He\u2019s not keen on hoppy beers, but a fan of malty ones. Hmm, stocking stuffer?<\/p>\n

\"BBC<\/a>Name: Holidale 2024
\nBrewer: Berkshire Brewing Company, South Deerfield, Massachusetts
\nStyle: Weizenbock
\nABV: 9%
\nAvailability: Seasonally, mainly in MA.
\nFor More Information: berkshire-brewing.com<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[December 22, 2024]<\/em><\/p>\n

< 12 Beers of Christmas 2023 Reprise<\/a>
\n12 Beers of Christmas 2: Greater Good Powder Season<\/a> ><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I said yesterday that Berkshire Brewing might make the list again this year, and this morning I figured, Why wait?… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":9772,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[939,627,18],"tags":[676069,708488,975721,975722,975796,975813,1002722,749,1016809,603,370950,370599],"class_list":["post-9770","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-beer-on-tap","category-tap-beer-of-the-week","category-lifestyle","tag-christmas-beers","tag-weizenbock","tag-wildwood-barbecue","tag-hadley","tag-glenn-brunetti","tag-holidale","tag-12-beers-of-christmas","tag-christmas","tag-south-deerfield","tag-massachusetts","tag-berkshire-brewing-co","tag-gary-bogoff"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/tombedell\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2024\/12\/BBC-e1734930327960.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/tombedell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9770","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/tombedell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/tombedell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/tombedell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/tombedell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9770"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/tombedell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9770\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9794,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/tombedell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9770\/revisions\/9794"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/tombedell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9772"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/tombedell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9770"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/tombedell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9770"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/tombedell\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9770"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}