I’ve always frowned upon Christmas beers of any sort. Just like pumpkin beers, save for a special few, brewers throw too many spices into them. But, yesterday I drank a Christmas Porter, 2018 Alpha Klaus from Three Floyds that was drinking well, and today we’re drinking a 2015 Frosted Frog Christmas Ale from Hoppin’ Frog, that turned out much better than I’d hoped. This ale has been aged for almost 5 years, on the same shelf, behind the same curtain, allowing little to no light. But still, I wasn’t expecting anything special from this beer.

I don’t go out of my way to purchase Hoppin’ Frog beers. This was a gift from my wife, who puts together a 12 Beers Of Christmas for me each year. She tries to find a good mix of stuff from sours, to stouts, from haze to IPA’s. It’s been something I look forward to every Christmas.

The first thing I noticed was the color. It didn’t match the amber pours I had previously seen in a lot of the pictures on Untappd. Instead, my bottle expels matte charcoal that evokes a Christmas cookie bake-off. Bubbling up over the top of the glass, the two-inch head dissipates quickly, leaving behind a ton of carbonation, that propels this beer forward.

Cold, there’s tons of cinnamon, followed by vanilla, and chamomile, all in the first sip. As it warms, there’s a battle waging in your mouth. Who’s going to win, Snickerdoodle or Oatmeal cookie?