Beer Nut: Warm up with a winter brew

It finally snowed, and winter begins Dec. 22. It's my favorite season of all.

No, not the winter outside. I hate that winter. I'm talking about winter beers, my favorite seasonal beers.

It is a time where breweries bring out their dark and heavy stouts, their sweet barley wines and their spicy winter warmers.

Belgian brewers really take winter to heart. Several breweries produce Christmas ales, usually strong and dark, and suitable for drinking now or saving for next year to see how it ages.

One of the best is the Corsendonk Christmas Ale. Dark and smooth, it comes in at a hefty 8.5 percent alcohol by volume. This is an easy drinking ale, with a slight taste of licorice.

Other Belgian Christmas ales of note include the St. Bernardus Christmas Ale, Delerium Noel, Affligem Noel and 't Smisje Kerst.

But the United States is not to be outdone.

California's Anchor Brewing Company's annual Our Special Ale is in stores now. It's a typical winter warmer, brewed with what tastes like cinnamon and maybe nutmeg.

This would be a perfect dessert beer. The Our Special Ale is available in both 12-ounce bottles and 1<+>1<+>/<->2<->-liter magnums, the perfect-size bottle to have on hand at a holiday gathering.

Also from California, I recommend the AleSmith Brewing Company's YuleSmith. The winter version of the YuleSmith is one of the best double India pale ales on the market. Wonderfully balanced, it will satisfy any hophead's needs.

Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, also from California, has its top-notch IPA, Celebration Ale, available just in time for the cold weather.

Sam Adams here in Boston has several winter beers. Winter Lager is a great cold weather beer a little cinnamon flavor melds perfectly with the caramel malts. The brewery recommends drinking the Winter Lager with dessert, which makes sense.

Sam Adams' winter 12-pack also features three winter-only beers Old Fezziwig, Cranberry Lambic and Holiday Porter.

Other Massachusetts winter beers to be on the lookout for are Harpoon's Winter Warmer and Wachusett Brewing Company's Winter Ale.

Stouts are popular during the winter. Often dark and heavy, these are the perfect beers to warm up with after shoveling off your walk.

The Port Brewing Company of California is one of those strong West Coast breweries constantly producing fantastic beer. Santa's Little Helper, a Russian imperial stout, is no different. This hefty stout weighs in at 10 percent alcohol by volume.

The Brooklyn Brewing Company's Black Chocolate Stout is always a winter treat, and one of my favorite imperial stouts.

Dogfish Head Brewing Company has several cold weather beers on the shelves, including the Chicory Stout and the World Wide Stout. Be careful with the World Wide Stout it is nearly 20 percent alcohol by volume and is meant to be sipped slowly.

Some other top winter beers to seek out include Weyerbacher's Winter Ale, Avery's Old Jubilation, Clipper City's Winter Storm, Boulder Brewing's Killer Penguin, Samuel Smith's Winter Welcome Ale and Anheuser Busch's Winter's Bourbon Cask Ale.

Also this month, one of the most anticipated beers of the year will be hitting shelves Samichlaus Bier.

Samichlaus is brewed each Dec. 6 and released to stores the following year. Brewed by Castle Eggenberg in Austria, it was once the world's strongest beer at 14 percent alcohol by volume. Now it is only the world's strongest lager, but still a delicious brew.

Tastes of the season

On Saturday the Water Street Wine & Spirits on Nicholas Road in Framingham will host a beer, wine and liquor tasting from 1 to 5 p.m.

The beers to be sampled include Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout, Nut Brown Ale, Old Brewery Pale Ale and Organic Lager.

Also being sampled will be Lindeman's Framboise and Peche; Gouden Carolus and Gouden Carolus's 2006 Grand Crue of the Emperor and Wychwood Brewery's Duchy's Organic English Ale and Wychcraft Ale.

Norman Miller is a Daily News staff writer. For questions, comments, suggestions or recommendations, e-mail nmiller@cnc.com or call 508-626-3823. Check out the Beer Nut blog at http://blogs.townonline.com/beernut/