Style: Winter Warmer
Brewery: Birra del Borgo (Lazio, Italy)
ABV: 9.5%
IBUs: unknown
Availability: unknown

Back across the pond today for the big beer of the day only this time I am giving the Belgians a break and heading to Italy for Birra del Borgo’s 25 Dodici. I first became aware of Birra del Borgo through their collaboration with Dogfish Head on the My Antonia. Leonardo DiVencenzo, head brewer at Birra del Borgo, is often compared to Dogfish Head’s Sam Calagione for his adventurous brewing techniques and use of non-traditional adjuncts. And while there spirit is the same, their equally-spectacular results are really quite different.

Appearance: Pours a deep brown with a rich reddish hue. There’s no head at all from the poor but it does leave a bit of residue on the glass as you drink. No lacing.

Smell: The nose is really tart here, almost like orange Starburst candies mixed with lots of fresh berries. There’s a good amount of chocolate and roasted notes as well with really subtle hints of honey and grass. Quite a bit going on once you get into it.

Taste: The flavor is very light but there are a lot of complex elements too it. The bitter orange peel comes forward as well along with some pepper, coriander and burnt caramel. Beneath the initial flavors are some pine and oak notes which make this taste like a cross between a saison and and a pale ale. The orange flavor lingers nicely in the finish.

Mouthfeel: 25 Dodici is dangerously light bodied for a 9.5% alcohol beer. It comes across slightly watery with almost no carbonation and finishes slightly sweet on the tongue.

Drinkability: This is highly, highly drinkable for a big beer. It is light, dry and refreshing. The only off-putting element is the lack of carbonation but it could have just been my bottle. Otherwise, I could easily put back a few of these with dinner (dangerous).

Overall: 25 Dodici is really unique. At first I thought it was way flat but then the lack of carbonation grew on me. It’s a nice introduction into the world of Italian craft beer and the high level of drinkability makes it worth hunting down for a try.

Brewing Notes: Malt: Pilsner malt, munich malt, vienna malt, cara munich malt, cara
weizen, chocolate malt. Hops: Hallertau Northern brewer, Hallertau hersbrucker, styrian golding, simcoe.
Spice: Bitter orange peel

Christmas is sort of like a final culmination of beer geekery for me. A time when I get out all these random east coast bottles and submit my west coast hop loving brothers to what I have been slinging back all year. Its also a chance to crack a few bottles I’ve been saving up and share them with my family. This year has gone way overboard and I’ve broken it all down to a seven course, five hour extravaganza drank amongst four or (hopefully) five people. This is sort of a predecessor to my “Best of 2009″ list coming next week…

Appetizers (paired with baked clams and antipasta)
Goose Island Matilda (22oz)
Goose Island Juliet (22oz)
Goose Island Sofie (22oz)

Pasta Course (paired with fettuccine alfredo)
Avery Dugan (22oz)
Allagash Victoria (750ml)

Pre Dinner Intermission
Dogfish/Sierra Life and Limb (750ml)

Main Course (paired with baked ham)
Southampton Saison (750ml)
Brooklyn Local One (750ml)

Pre Dessert Intermission
Jolly Pumpkin Noel de Calabaza (750ml)

Dessert (paired with fruit, nuts, Italian pastries and brownies)
Nectar Black Xantus (22oz)
Captain Lawrence Nor’easter (22oz)

Post Desert Evening Closer
Brooklyn Black Ops 2009 (750ml)

Brewery: Harvey & Sons, LTD, Leeds, UK
Style: Christmas Ale, Winter Warmer
ABV: 8.1%
IBU: 45
Availability: annually, winter months
Pairing: Vanilla Ice cream, Cherry Cordials, gingerbread cookies

Harvey’s Christmas Ale appeared randomly in my brewshop (aka the Whole Foods on Bowery) the other day – a lowly 375ml bottle amongst the Noél behemoths – with no gold foil, no cork and cage, and one of the most basic punk-rock photocopy looking labels I’ve ever seen. Simple words on the glass: Holiday beer brewed with spices. So what do we do? Pop the top, pour it out, give it a try.

Appearance: Pours a deep, deep red. Good carbonation that resides quick.

Smell: There are lots of sweet flavors up front; notes of caramel and toffee. When I get through all of that there is some pepper, some chicory, tangerine, allspice and clove. This is not a spice monster and these notes are very subtle and balanced.

Taste:this guy has a big, syrupy body. It reminds me a bit of a barley wine in the sheer amount of malt flavor happening. The taste is right on point with the nose as the malt is back by prunes, raisins and a peppery, lingering finish.

Mouthfeel: Thick, sweet, with a fine carbonation that, when combined with the spiciness, to leave a bit of tingle on the tough. I can taste the alcohol finish in this one but it goes well with all the big flavors. This may be a bit syrupy for some some.

Drinkability: Look elsewhere if you want a crisp refreshing brew, this is a true winter warmer. The flavor is not so complex that it needs to be savored but the thickness and high amount of alcohol keep you my from slinging it back. The first one go down nicely but I fear a second would be a bit long-winded.

Overall:I drank through about 80% of this one and then hit a wall. It just became overly sweet and the alcohol started to set in. This is a nice winter sipper but I’d have trouble putting back more than one of these. It’s more of a heavy classic (brewed for over 25 years) than some of the more finely nuanced strong beers you see today. There’s something to be said for a classic but I wish it was a bit less sweet and more complex.

Brewing Note: Harvey’s Christmas Ale has been brewed for over a quarter of a century. Maris Otter Pale Ale Malts are blended with highly roasted ‘crystal’ malts and pinhead oats. Harveys pride themselves on brewing from local Fuggle and Golding hops grown within 35 miles of the brewery. Fermentation takes place in their traditional ‘open’ fermenting vessels using a strain of yeast which has remained unchanged in the brewery for over forty years. In conditioning tanks the brew is then dry-hopped. The beer remains in these tanks for between two and three weeks during which time it undergoes a secondary fermentation and the hop oils are incorporated into the complex flavor of this brew, giving a most splendid aroma to the finished product. (source)