Merry Christmas in July! I'll start this post by saying that today's beer isn't the beer I'd intended to do up for Xmas in July '24. When I found myself at a nearby bottleshop in February looking for a beer among their straggling holiday ales, hoping to find the one today, I inadvertently snagged something that'd I'd reviewed before. Honestly, considering I've been doing this whole blog thing for nearly a decade, I'm surprised incidents like that don't happen more frequently.

I didn't realize my mistake until last weekend. In July. Do you know how many of last year's holiday beers are still kicking around on store shelves this deep into the summer? I headed out to another nearby bottleshop with little hopes of finding anything worth drinking for today.

Despite my forlorn outlook, luck was on my side! They had a cart full of four-packs of Toppling Goliath's Holidotz clearanced out for $8/pop. Having had and liking one or two of the brewery's beers before, I saw this as a sign and grabbed a pack. Let's see how this special holiday lager's drinking!

Let's try something. If I were to ask you to close your eyes and picture a location that you associate with Christmas, what would you conjure? The North Pole and Santa's workshop? Bethlehem and a little manger? A farm with the perfect tree hidden, just waiting to adorn your living room? A crowded auditorium where you sit beside other people watching a children's pageant? A snow-covered countryside flying by the window as your parents drive you to your relatives' to celebrate the holiday with your extended family, Christmas songs coming through on the radio?

Did I guess it? Well, regardless, I'm willing to bet (unless you're part of a select group of folks), you didn't think of Akron, OH. And I get that. There was a time that I wouldn't've, either. The city makes one of my favorite Christmas beers (which, if you catch me on the right sort of day, I just might call my favorite beer), so the city actually crosses my mind whenever I think about Christmas. 

Today, on this too-hot July day, I'm turning my attention another Christmas ale from the city, one I've never before tried: Hoppin' Frog's Frosted Frog Christmas Ale. Let's see if it'll become a new holiday classic.

This has been an absolute whirlwind of a summer and I've been torn pretty damn asunder by it. Luckily, today's about tradition. It's July 25th. That means one thing: Christmas in July!

I have something special for you today: The 2021 variant of the Bruery's 2 Turtle Doves. This dropped late in the holiday season last year and, against whatever odds might have been stacked against me, I managed to track a single bottle of it down before it sold out. Now, it's time to pop it open and see how Christmassy I can make the rest of the day.

I always worry that I begin looking for a good brew to save for Christmas in July a little too late in the season. To be fair, I never actually look for one--I somehow manage to stumble upon a can or bottle in the wild. 

This year, I changed it up. I found a bottle that I wanted to use for today's post in mid-December '20. I saw one of my local bottleshops share an image of it on their social, and I sped out to nab a bottle. I say bottle--it was actually a box set of two bottles. Yes, I thought. Finally, I've managed to prep myself adequately for Christmas in July. I don't have to sweat it from New Year's until I stumble upon a beer.

Today's beer isn't a beer from that set I bought. No, this is a beer I stumbled upon in February as Michelle and I were on our way out of town for a short holiday. I'd never been to Mount Orab, OH's Sons of Toil Brewing although I'd intended to get out and sample some of their wares for years . When I discovered our route was going to take us by their facility, I packed a growler to fill up with something they had on tap. 

While the bartender was filling my growler, I noticed they had bombers in a fridge. One of those bombers was Winter Warmer, their holiday ale. I quickly weighed my options and bought one. That box set I bought with intentions for today can wait. This year's Christmas in July is all about Sons of Toil's Winter Warmer.

Can you believe it's finally Christmas in July? 2020's been a whirlwind of a ton of different stuff but at least it's all going by super quickly. Today, though, is a day for me to slow down. I'm celebrating the day with a beer. Tonight, I'll be watching a Christmas movie, listening to some Christmas records, and breaking into one more Christmas brew. If you want to see what that second beer is, you'll have to follow along on my Untappd.


But, I can get into a bit about today's first Christmas beer now. In fact, I'll give you a whole post about it. Sure, the temperature might be pushing 90° right now, but I'm happy to be out on the porch with a beer I remembered to grab in February before it was all sold out. That beer, by the way, is Illuminated Beer Works' War on Xmas, a spiced holiday stout. Again, it's nearly 90°.

You never if you'll be lucky enough to find a Christmas beer on store shelves when Christmas in July rolls around. Sometimes, my luck holds out and I'm able to nab a wintry-spiced bottle amongst the sweltry July days but, last December, I made a snap judgement to not push it.


So, when was collecting the final beers for my big 2018 Christmas Blow-Out, I picked up an extra bottle: Holiday Ale from Rockmill Brewery. One glance at its ABV told me it'd keep for a good while and I squirreled it away in a cool, dark place for today.

Wouldn't you know, the bottleshop I grabbed this from still has two bottles of it on the shelves! Maybe if this is good enough, I'll go back for another one and keep it for next year's Christmas in July post. Let's find out if this is a likelihood, shall we?

Merry Christmas in July! This is my fourth annual Christmas in July post, and it's one I look forward to every year. When I wrote the meat of this post last night (I work tonight and there's no way it was going to get done when I come home) I was listening to The Cloisters' Little Winter. If you want the full experience from reading this, I suggest you throw that on your speakers.


This year's Summer Xmas post come's all the way from Belgium's Brouwerij (or, Brewery) Corsendonk: Corsendonk Christmas Ale. When I saw it at my local bottle shop the other week, I knew I had to get it for this post. I have another beer that I initially wanted to write about for this, but I think it can age another year.

I've been holding onto this beer for months. I'm pretty sure I picked it up in March, and by then it was already probably five months old already. But that age is nowhere near what it'll take to humbug my Christmas spirit. That's right, folks. Welcome to the third annual Christmas in July post!


This year, we have a little something special for the occasion: West Sixth's Christmas Ale. Will it enhance my holiday mood or remind me of the cruel summer weather outside?

Once again, it's that magical time of the summer. Who cares if it's 90-something degrees on the opposite side of my window air conditioning unit? Not me! By sitting here with the air cranked and Christmas music flowing through my earbuds, I can (almost) convince myself that it isn't late July. With just a hint bit of holiday cheer, I can practically envision sugarplums dancing and gifts beneath the tree. All I need is a little bit of something else. But what?


Beer! Christmas beer, in particular. This is where Revolution Brewing's Fistmas Ale comes into the picture. I've never had it before so this is a completely blind review. The can I'm about to crack open has been sitting in my pantry, aging, since mid-May when I found it marked down at my local beer shop (it was out of season). Will Fistmas have me singing carols all night (and, by extension, annoying the snot out of my roommates)?

Merry (summer) Christmas! I've been listening to holiday music all day--well, whenever I've been able--to get into the mood for today's post. My dinning room (where I'm typing this) is currently a nice, balmy 85° so I need any help I could get.

Today's brew is Weyerbacher Brewing Company's Winter Ale. Yes, I know, I know; a winter ale is not a Christmas brew. However, it's nearly August so I'd appreciate it if you'd cut me some slack on this one.