Well readers, it’s that time of year again — the frost is setting in, home-cooked meals roast in the oven, and families are reuniting for another holiday season. If you’re like me, all of those things mean you need a drink.
Let your holiday helpers at CITY find some good stuff to imbibe.
We’ve spent the past month pouring, sampling, and discussing some of the region’s finest brews to bring you another round of our beer advent calendar. It’s our second year of the tradition and thanks to some better planning this year, we had tons of fun putting it together for you all.
Beer is one of life’s small pleasures and the cascade of effervescent nectar from malt, yeast, and hops provides a welcoming respite from the chaos of life. Given the events of the past two years, we all need a little bit of that.
Likewise, with the end of the year approaching, the holidays are a great time to take stock and realize all we have to be grateful for, even if it’s just the many treasures that the breweries in this region produce.
After all, it’s often the little things that make life worth living, so let’s toast to that.
Cheers! Or perhaps, since we’re featuring a few German styles this year, we should say “Prost!” instead.
Dec. 1
“Brewcy Fruit” from Brindle Haus Brewing Company
Rotating sour series (Pictured: Passionfruit, Orange, and Guava)
Brightly acidic with heavy emphasis on passionfruit, this sour ale walks the tightrope line between light sessionability and overly-fruited decadence. Find other versions with different fruit blends.
Dec. 2
“Raspberry Lemonade Sour” from K2 Brothers Brewing
Sour ale with raspberries and lemon
This offering from Penfield staple K2 Brothers is reminiscent of the summertime and it delivers on the promise of its name. Escape the December chill with visions of boat days and beach parties.
Dec. 3
“Bath Bomb” from Fifth Frame
Rotating sour series (Pictured: Pina Colada)
A demonstration of excess from the St. Paul Street sour ale auteurs at Fifth Frame combines copious amounts of fruit puree into a base sour ale, ending in a viscous, smoothie-like barrage.
Dec. 4
“Oh…” from Other Half Brewing Company
Double Dry Hopped India Pale Ale
Citra, Galaxy, and Motueka hops provide tropical, berry, and citrus notes that accompany the light malt body.
Dec. 5
“Hefeweizen” from Swiftwater Brewing Company
German-style wheat beer
An unassuming, slightly sweet malt base opens up with estery notes of cloves and bananas before delivering a final punch of crisp herbal hop goodness.
Dec. 6
“Local Liquid” from Steuben Brewing Company
New York Pilsner
Brewed entirely from local ingredients, this endlessly crushable offering is deceptively complex, brimming with subtle notes of sweet malt and faint stone fruit, as well as roasty tones.
Dec. 7
“Shakedown Cruise” from Iron Tug Brewing Company
Extra Pale Ale
Is it an IPA? Is it a pale ale? Do words truly have prescribed meaning, or is language so fluid and malleable as to give them no purpose at all? Philosophers are free to ponder these prompts over this lightly bitter and overtly floral brew.
Dec. 8
“Melon Head” from Three Heads Brewing Company
Watermelon sour ale
Watermelon Sour Patch Kids are a top-tier candy, and this is the liquid, alcoholic version. Find notes of artificial watermelon up front that turn into an easygoing tartness.
Dec. 9
“Ambrosia Salad” from Noble Shepherd Craft Brewery
Sour ale with pineapple, blood orange, tangerine, marshmallow, toasted coconut, and vanilla beans
Joyous liquid recreation of the southern staple Jell-O “salad.” A sweet, fruity, and cloying brew sure to delight even the most beer-opposed drinker.
Dec. 10
“Gather House” from Drowned Lands Brewery
Unfiltered Wit Beer
While hazy as the most New England of IPAs, this wit beer gets its character from an array of malt and yeast notes rather than liberal amounts of hops. Expect malty sweetness punctuated by funky hits of farmhouse ale.
Dec. 11
“Mosaic Kolsch” from Naked Dove Brewing Company
German lager spiked with mosaic hops
Tradition meets modern in this Canandaigua mash-up. This light-drinking German lager finishes with an unexpected hit of tropical hop notes that invite another sip.
Dec. 12
“It Was Written” from Rising Storm Brewing Company
Rotating Sour IPA series (Pictured: Blackberry Apricot)
A tribute to Nas’s sophomore album from the hip-hop connoisseurs at Avon’s Rising Storm, It Was Written is a sour IPA packed with fruit additions. Sweet pulp mingles on the finish with deeper floral and tropical hops.
Dec. 13
“European Swallow Beer” from Peacemaker Brewing Company
English Bitter
A confounding take on the classic English bitter, European Swallow Beer has a hearty bitter bite that follows malty notes of caramel, toffee, and light roast.
Dec. 14
“Liquid Lollipop” from Froth Brewing Company
Rotating sour series (Pictured: Peanut butter and jelly with strawberry, grape, raspberry, and peanut butter)
Liquid Lollipop represents the single Buffalo contribution to this year’s calendar but oh boy, what a contribution. A truly asinine level of fruit makes this dessert sour an exercise in gluttony rivaled by few. (Tip: you can make a cross-town collaboration by blending it with a Genesee. It helps thin things out).
Dec. 15
“Double Middle Finger Lakes IPA” from Reinvention Brewing Company
Double IPA
A big, hearty IPA which eschews subtlety in favor of sharp pine, citrus, cloying resin, and intense bitterness. Harken back to the West Coast IPA days of yore.
Dec. 16
“Hydra” from Mortalis Brewing Company
Rotating Sour Series (Pictured: Blackberry, Black Currant, Sweet Cherry)
The swan song of Rochester beer and a marvel of the fruited sour genre, the monster’s many heads are made up of constantly changing experiments in fruit puree and other additions. Thick, hearty, and proudly over-the-top, Hydra is a must have for lovers of extreme beer.
Dec. 17
“Lakeside” from Young Lion Brewing Company
New England IPA
Young Lion’s take on the hazy IPA genre is a lesson in balance. Notes of sweet malt are complemented by tinges of citrus and sweet fruit and contrasted by a deep, yet palatable, bitterness.
Dec. 18
“PB&J with Churchill” from War Horse Brewing Company
Coffee Stout
Execution of a fruited stout typically leaves much to be desired, and it seems like the brewers tempted fate with this confluence of coffee, peanut butter, and jelly. But this beer succeeds in its audacity, perfectly representing a canned version of a childhood lunchtime staple.
Dec. 19
“Cran Orange Kellerbier” from Genesee Brewing Company
Kellerbier
Why this blend of clearly artificial cranberry and orange flavorings in this light German zwickelbier works is beyond me, but it does. It’s easy-drinking, flavorful, and unquestionably holiday-tinged.
Dec.20
“Der Rauchgarten” from Aurora Brewing Company
Rauchbier
CITY’s creative director Ryan Williamson best described this beer as like a Genny that had been left out beside a campfire. That is fitting. A light amount of smoked malt brings a deep, earthy character to this otherwise sweet, malty brew.
Dec.21
“Massive Spire” from Strange Bird Brewing Company
Rye Barleywine
This absurdly hopped, aggressive barleywine also has the heftiest alcohol content of all the brews on this calendar. A hefty malt base is counterbalanced by strong bitterness and spicy rye notes on the finish.
Dec. 22
“Ski Bum” from Ellicottville Brewing Company
Winter Ale
An unassuming brown ale with a hefty bitterness, this beer is a perfect fit for a long, cold day on the slopes.
Dec. 23
“Old Top Hat Lager” from Stoneyard Brewing Company
Lager
A traditional, unassuming, and unpretentious lager based on a simple malt profile and modest hops. What’s not to love?
Dec.24
“Vanilla Porter” from Rohrbach Brewing Company
Porter
This roasty porter imbued with vanilla is as classically Rochester as a beer can get. Simple, timeless, and robust, it’s a perfect sipping beer as the holiday season comes to a close but the cold winter months are still long ahead.