Rust-tinted Belgian X-Mas celebration ale, bitterer than most holiday offerings, decorates cinnamon-nutmeg-spiced ambiance with effervescent juniper hops and delicate caramelized malts. Ripe raisin heightens mint-y aftertaste.

Congenial coppery amber-glowed winter brew finds initial smoked wood seduction settling to barley roast pleasantry overlaying chestnut-butternut lilt and tobacco hint. But seasonal spicing is suspect.

Though lacking spicy seasonal expectancy, honeyed vanilla malts invite marzipan, pecan, and biscuit-y wheat illusions to come and go. Phenol dry-hopped astringency undermines stone fruit nicety, but macadamia-almond nuttiness makes up ground.

Tiny Flemish homebrewers’ wintry nickel-hazed reddish-glazed strong ale places orange-candied lemondrop tartness above warming alcohol sensation and spongy carbolic fluff. Serene seasonal spices tingle oncoming red apple ripeness and tangerine-orange tang as sugary yeast sinew further sweetens festive treat.

“Rich and dark like a dobbel,” spicier than a copper ale, but nowhere near as potent as Affligem Tripel. Buttery, ginger-snapped, hop-fizzed holiday treat crowds wispy cobwebs of spongy lace above heartwarming medicinal center aiding earthen wheat-dried red grape musk and latent prune-ripened gunk. ’07 version brought creamier caramel malting and bruised orange-cherry vigor to brandy-soaked Chardonnay sumptuousness.

Divergent tawny seasonal perks chewy caramel-butterscotch reliance with harvested spruce tips, mild chestnut-pine wood tones, and insurgent floral hops, abandoning predictable cinnamon-nutmeg wintering for heavily alcoholic dessert warmth. Complexities abound when syrupy flow turns bubble-gummy at thawed finish.

Venerable spongy tan-headed butterscotch-hued Imperial Red Ale celebrates winter solstice with lusciously fruity full-bodied seasonal that remains abundantly well rounded and remarkably consistent. Generous floral-tinged tangerine-orange sweetness caresses tropical pineapple-mango tang and candied apple glaze as countered grapefruit bittering increases. Moreover, creamy maple-sapped caramel-vanilla malting compensates resinous piney wood tones.

27th anniversary winter ale has a hazelnut-chestnut-walnut essence, seasonal pine luminescence, and pronounced mint-y clove follow-through. Its busy spiciness, rich creaminess, and sugary caramel malting anchor strong medicinal finish.

Serviceable clear garnet-ruby winter warmer less sweet than past seasonals, downplaying traditional cinnamon-nutmeg spicing for gingerbread-allspice-coriander conflux, raisin-currant backdrop, and molasses mellifluence. Smoked cedar and pine needles emerge mid-palate, whisked away by vegetative riptide, cigar ash dash, and cola nut hint.

Well-balanced cola-hued seasonal yields wintry cinnamon-nutmeg-gingerbread spicing above sweet sarsaparilla sufficiency and sugared fig-date-pecan illusions. Baker’s chocolate powdering and vanilla bean bittering coarsen residual dry-hopped vegetal earthiness.

Boozy dark-spiced ’08 seasonal sprinkles cinnamon, nutmeg, and coriander atop brown chocolate sweetness. Prune-dried sugarplum-fig illusions sweeten molasses malts countering parched tobacco pinch.

Black cherry brightens spruce-y Christmas ale. Perfect for any occasion, this nutty fuzzy-headed ’98 edition gains hop-procured clove influence to enduring caramel malt finish. Sappy yeast extract exhumes alcoholic might.