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Beer review: 6 of Ohio's seasonal brews that will guarantee hoppy holidays for brew lovers

Winter holiday beers, from left: The Brew Kettle Winter Warmer; Rhinegeist Dad; Great Lakes Christmas Ale; Brewdog Hoppy Christmas; Heart State Cheer; and Warped Wing Holiday Special
Winter holiday beers, from left: The Brew Kettle Winter Warmer; Rhinegeist Dad; Great Lakes Christmas Ale; Brewdog Hoppy Christmas; Heart State Cheer; and Warped Wing Holiday Special

It might seem that holiday/Christmas beers first start appearing in stores sometime in August, but now that the calendar has moved past Thanksgiving and turned to December, it's officially time to start cracking them open.

Because the holidays are imbued with the sense of giving and goodwill toward others, Dispatch photographer Adam Cairns (who delivered these beautiful photos with the story) selflessly volunteered to help out a colleague and sample the variety of holiday offerings in this review.

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From among the many local, statewide and national brands, we chose six widely available brews from Ohio and split them equally. Here is what we found:

Patrick's three Christmas beers

Rhinegeist Dad hoppy holiday ale
Rhinegeist Dad hoppy holiday ale

Dad, Rhinegeist Brewery, Cincinnati

$9.99 for a six-pack of cans; 6.0% alcohol by volume

If you're going to name a beer "Dad," you'd best have Dad jokes on the can, and Rhinegeist delivers right off the bat. "Hi Thirsty, I'm Dad" it begins, and I bonded with this beer immediately, like two dads who show up at a party wearing the same shirt (which they both bought 17 years ago at Kohl's).

Billed as a "hoppy holiday ale," it pours dark-reddish/caramel in color and has malt flavors up front and a slight bite of hops at the end. It's nicely balanced and not heavy on the usual spices — which can be a good thing or bad thing depending on what you want out of your holiday ale. Smooth and drinkable, I would call this a safe, middle-of-the-road choice.

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Warped Wing Holiday Special lager
Warped Wing Holiday Special lager

Holiday Special, Warped Wing Brewing Co., Dayton

$9.99 for a six-pack of cans; 5.5% ABV

Anyone for the Griswold's family Christmas? Warped Wing's can touts holiday traditions such as "Clark plastering the house with 85,000 Italian twinkling lights," and "not falling in love with Cousin Eddie's tenement on wheels because he's taking it with him when he leaves next month."

For those seeking a traditional holiday beer on the lighter side, this lager might be for you. With a low-ish ABV, it definitely has the body and mouth-feel of a lager. It pours a cloudy caramel color and isn't overly sweet or spicy despite being brewed with honey, molasses and spices.

This would be a good choice for those who don't want a heavy beer amid all the holiday food, or who aren't all-in on the cinnamon/nutmeg bandwagon in some of the more flavor-intense holiday beers.

Great Lakes Christmas Ale
Great Lakes Christmas Ale

Christmas Ale, Great Lakes Brewing Co., Cleveland

$12.99 for a six-pack of bottles; 7.5% ABV

Hail to the big dog of Ohio holiday ales. This ubiquitous offering from the North Coast debuted nearly three decades ago (1992) and still retains its original recipe.

Though some might claim Christmas Ale tastes different from year to year — its natural ingredients allow for some variation — Great Lakes media coordinator Adam Ritterspach told Cleveland Magazine earlier this year that “The difference is really, really going to be subtle.

“There are Christmas Ale diehards who say, ‘I definitely got a little bit more cinnamon last year than this year.’ I'm not going to tell them they're wrong.”

I have had many a Christmas Ale over the years, but I can't claim my palate is sophisticated enough to tell one vintage from the next. (I also believe that how you experience beer — how you're feeling physically and your mood can vary; having it in bottles vs. cans vs. on draft; having it with food vs. watching TV with a beer next to you; being out and about in a busy atmosphere with others vs. somewhere quiet — greatly influence your perception of flavor and can make apples-to-apples comparisons tricky.)

Leaving behind the philosophical arguments in favor of once again sampling the familiar ale, the cozy/boozy brew pours a clear, deep-red/caramel color and has engaging notes of honey, cinnamon and ginger amid a smooth mouth-feel and mild sweetness. Its well-balanced flavor profile speaks to a successful recipe proven over time and, at 7.5% ABV, perhaps this is the choice for those looking to forget it's Christmas.

Adam's three Christmas beers

Heart State Cheer holiday ale
Heart State Cheer holiday ale

Cheer, Heart State Brewing Co., Gahanna

$10.99 for a six-pack of cans; 7.2% ABV

Looks great. Little full. Lotta spice. The can says "bold," but I find it very smooth and drinkable. That doesn't mean that it's not full-flavored. The clove and nutmeg spices stand out, but there is also a sweet honey note. The ginger and orange peel give it a bit of a bite in the finish. Has a cloudy, light-brown look to the pour. The caramel malt flavor is well-balanced.

The beer would definitely pair well with the ginger snaps you leave for Santa. If you're feeling crazy, it definitely could be embellished with a brown sugar rim.

Heart State breaks with their heart-themed naming convention for its seasonals, but Cheer is still appropriately named for how it makes me feel when I drink it. For a brewery in its first year of existence, they nailed the holiday spirit.

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Brew Kettle Winter Warmer spiced Christmas ale
Brew Kettle Winter Warmer spiced Christmas ale

Winter Warmer, The Brew Kettle, Strongsville

$10.99 for a six-pack of cans; 8.2% ABV

White Rajah, a West Coast IPA from this northeast Ohio brewery, is one of my all-time favorites, if that shows you my palate — I like beers hoppy and full-flavored.

This winter seasonal has a more-subdued flavor than a lot of other Christmas ales, more like a red ale. If you aren't one for strong spiced beers, you will enjoy this winter offering. It pours a nice copper color with a good head. First taste is a sweet, caramel, malt-forward flavor. The 2021 version is very smooth, but the orange peel and cinnamon give it a slight kick. The caramel sweetness really stands out.

A few of these would make putting together those "some assembly required" gifts much more tolerable on a cold winter's night.

Brewdog Hoppy Christmas IPA
Brewdog Hoppy Christmas IPA

Hoppy Xmas, BrewDog, Canal Winchester

$9.99 for six-pack of cans; 6% ABV

We had to check our list twice to make sure BrewDog was eligible for this all-Ohio review, and we both agreed that the Canal Winchester water used by the Scottish brewery gives them enough Buckeye points to count.

The nose is merry and bright with citrus flavors. You can smell the grapefruit as soon you pop open the can. It pours a deep golden color. The piney, grassy hop flavors linger a bit, and it finishes very crisp. It reminds me of a lighter version of Elvis Juice, but that doesn't mean you will have a "Blue Christmas." The tropical tones give it much more of a "Mele Kalikimaka" vibe.

While most people don't immediately think of IPAs as holiday beers, nevertheless this one features festive packaging, which includes a snowflake-covered can that states "batteries not included."

And when sampling holiday ales, who needs batteries?

pholbrook@gannett.com

acairns@dispatch.com

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Reviewing Christmas/holiday beers from around Ohio