Our local brewery just released their winter seasonal beer, and we’d seen a few other Christmas beers around town, so we gathered a few and had a tasting.

• We started out with Swamp Head Hoe Hoe Hoe — which they describe as their Cottonmouth Wit infused with ginger, cranberry and Tupelo honey. I like Cottonmouth quite a bit (it was the first keg in our kegerator). This beer isn’t much different — there’s just a hint of honey and spice, and we couldn’t find any cranberry at all.  It’s also unusual to make a light Wit as a winter seasonal, but I guess you have to make allowances for Florida.

• Next up was another semi-local beer, Sweetwater’s Festive Ale.  I think this is the first Sweetwater beer I’ve had, though I often see them around town.  In sharp contrast to the Hoe Hoe Hoe, this beer is a very dark Winter Warmer.  It has a smoky coffee bitterness like a porter, but also a big malt and aromatic spiciness that provide a good counter-balance.

• St. Bernardus Christmas Ale is very similar to their Abt (which is one of my favorite Belgian beers), but with a sharp ginger note added.  This seemed very jarring, but perhaps I should actually follow the temperature guidelines on the bottle instead of drinking at fridge temperature.  As the beer warmed up, the sickly sweet malt mellowed a bit, and the spiciness didn’t seem as sharp, and they seemed to make a better blend.

• Affligem Noël fell into the same trap as Hoe Hoe Hoe — there was just not much difference from their Dubbel.  I like the Dubbel just fine, and the additional of a little spiciness is a nice improvement.  But I was hoping for something a little more distinctive.

The Sweetwater Festive Ale is the clear favorite here.  I really enjoyed the balance between the spicy/sweet and bitter/smoky aspects.  Though, unlike the other beers in this bunch, I haven’t had a similar beer from Sweetwater, so that could be a factor.