2X the Holiday Cheer!

Brewery- Southern Tier Brewing Co.

Beer- 2XMAS

Style- Herbed/Spiced Beer

ABV- 8.0%                                     

Brief Sidenote-  Southern Tier actually based the recipe for 2XMAS on a traditional Swedish Glögg recipe. Swedish Glögg is a spiced red wine served traditionally during winter, especially around the holidays.  So, 2XMAS is very much a great meeting point for wine and beer lovers alike.  

Description- Southern Tier 2XMAS pours a clear ruby red color showing  a slight golden hue with a mild beige head that quickly dissipates.  The aroma of figs, cinnamon, raisins, gingerbread, and slight hints of clove and orange will be evident upon your first smell of the beer.  Immediately upon your first sip the cinnamon and ginger spices will make an immediate appearance on your taste buds and the taste will linger long on your palate after swallowing.  The aftertaste has slight hints of caramel, along with the aforementioned spices, with a mild amount of heat from the alcohol, but not enough to detract from the experience.  2XMAS is a very malt forward beer with very little evidence of hops, mainly due to the spicing involved.  The carbonation in 2XMAS is very mild, but enough to rinse the palate after each sip.  This is a true holiday treat and no holiday celebration would be complete this year without this beer on the table.

Food pairing- Southern Tier 2XMAS is a perfect desert beer that is a dream for any chocoholic.  A true treat is to have some dark chocolate slowly melt in your mouth and just before it is all gone, take a nice sip of 2XMAS and let the beer linger in your mouth briefly, once you swallow you will be grinning from ear to ear.  Did Santa Claus leave some gingerbread cookies behind?  Well grab some 2XMAS and finish them off for him.  The spices in the beer and the gingerbread are a beautiful match and if Santa had some 2XMAS with his cookies, he may not leave any behind! 

The Final Word – Southern Tier has built up quite the reputation for award winning beers and every year they continue to release new beers that continue to amaze.  2XMAS was added to the beer lineup in 2012 and it has successfully made it into the seasonal rotation and with good reason!  This is a very unique take on the traditional higher ABV style and is also a great beer to serve to those friends who prefer wine; you just might win them over with this great beer!    2XMAS is a must to have every holiday season, so grab yourself some bottles and start a new holiday tradition!

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Where can I get it?-  Currently available in bottles at:  J and H Beer- Wilkes-Barre,  Wegman’s- Both Dickson City and Wilkes-Barre,  Georgetown Beer and Deli- Wilkes-Barre, and Backyard Alehouse- Scranton.