Christmas has a powerful way of finding you where ever you may be. Last year was my first Christmas spent away from home. My folks were in Hong Kong for my cousin’s wedding and I had just started a new job so I couldn’t afford to spend a month in the motherland crushing dim sum and haggling over bootleg DVDs. So I was a bit anxious since this holiday generally so family oriented (no politically incorrect pun intended).

Luckily my buddy Mike shared the Christmas spirit by inviting me up for an insane winter powderland at Vail, with a fortuitous 16 inches. Also, later that night my friends, Scott and Lisa had me over to celebrate the birth of baby Jesus with a dinner and bottle share, of which the three wisemen would certainly have bestowed approval.

My long winded point is that Christmas can come in many forms. But most importantly, you’ve got to make it your own and Golden Road Brewing has found a way to share that Christmas spirit and flavor in their Back Home Gingerbread Stout. This fantastic yuletide treat has captured the flavor of gingerbread cookies in liquid form, which for many means finding a way to can that familial sense of holiday nostalgia and wonder for mobile enjoyment.

As mentioned before the beer boasts a strong gingerbread flavor throughout it’s cycle of taste, but is also followed by strong spices of cinnamon and nutmeg with a bit of chocolate-y sweetness. While some stouts can finish a bit sticky and thick this has a bit of a stronger alcohol presences but finishes crisp.

The can design, adorned with gingerbread men, palm trees decked with lights, bears donning santa hats, and dreidels, so perfectly embodies that sense of traditional holiday elements being applied by non-traditional means.  The message is simple, while we may not always get the white Christmas so often sung about in holiday lore, we can create that joy and wonderment wherever and whatever the circumstances.

So Merry Christmas everyone. May your days be merry and bright!