Day 24 of the 2nd Annual Advent-ure Calendar
Day 24: Thirsty Dog Brewing Company 12 Dogs of Christmas
Many Northeast Ohio folk claim this beer as their favorite. In the recent years, Broad has grown to love this beer even more than Great Lakes. Interestingly enough, this is said to be the original Christmas Ale recipe as a brewer from Great Lakes left for Thirsty Dog. Of course this could just be rumor, and probably is (especially if this article is any indication), but it’s a fun bit of local beer folklore. From their website: “This beer’s name sums up the idea of brining the best together to celebrate. It is filled with seasonal flavors form generous amounts of toasted and caramel malts, mixed with equally generous amounts of honey, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. We feel it is the perfect libation, filled with flavors of the season.
REFLECTIONS
Beard & Broad
Beard: Maybe it’s just because we’re getting towards the end of the month and the Christmas beers have been hanging out on the shelves for a while, but this is starting to get oxidized. But, as a testament to Thirsty Dog, it’s still not bad. Of all the spiced holiday stuff out there, I think this is my favorite. It’s the most subtle and beer-y while still being full of holiday flavor. I’d like to blind taste this against Fat Head’s Holly Jolly and Great Lakes Christmas Ale to see which is the definitive local holiday winner, but until then this will probably be my beer of choice when I want to be especially festive.
Broad: I’ve always been a huge fan of this beer. In the recent years, this has surpassed Great Lakes in my opinion. I don’t know if their recipe differs, but I do think it doesn’t taste the same every year. It’s warm, full of holiday spice and has the perfect amount of maltiness. However, something seems off with this particular bottle. I think it’s oxidized because it has a metallic taste. But with the other times I’ve had it this year, it’s been delicious. If I had out of state friends coming into town for the holidays, this would probably be the first local Christmas beer I’d have them try. Well this one and Holly Jolly
Adam & Alex
Adam: For a lot of Clevelanders Great Lakes Christmas Ale is the holiday beer that they’ll mention first when asked but for my money (and our household) 12 Dogs is the gold standard. You can have the pomp and circumstance of ridiculous lines for GLBC tappings. I’ll take the perfect combination of holiday spices and booze that 12 dogs brings. Simply put, it’s my favorite example of a winter beer. It’s the one I look forward to when they release it (usually at the start of November) and it’s the one that is in our fridge most often throughout the holidays.
Alex: I am comfortable saying that twelve dogs is my favorite Christmas beer. It has the perfect amount of spice and warms me up so well. It is a very comforting beer to me for some reason, and it’s the holiday beer we buy most often.
Scott & CT
Scott: 12 Dogs is my favorite Christmas beer of all time. After 23 others, this hasn’t changed for me but I definitely found some new favorites I’ll be enjoying each winter. Spoiler alert for tomorrow, but this beer tastes very similar to Great Lakes, which I also love, but to my tastes this is slightly smoother and easier to drink. This isn’t the most flavorful, unique or even Christmasy as others on the list but this beer just does everything right for me. The only way this beer could be better is if they delivered 12 actual dogs to my house each time I crack open a bottle.
CT: I will drink 12 Dogs any chance I get. It’s one of the Cleveland brews I bring home to Cincinnati to impress my family and friends. The nose is all cinnamon to me, always has been. It’s one of the few beers I remember actually smelling before tasting, back before I knew anything about beer. It’s a smooth and sweet power house that’s above all the rest. Holly Jolly is still my favorite but this one is nostalgic to me. It’s the first Cleveland beer staple Scott got me hooked on, back when I was on the fence about moving to Cleveland. It of course wasn’t what made me finally do it, but it sure didn’t hurt.
Lou & Jen
Lou: A Christmas Eve special! 12 dogs is a local Christmas beer staple and it lives up to the legend every time. A delicious blend of spices, malt, and generous ABV. I can drink these all throughout the holiday season!
Jen: It’s a Christmas miracle! I love 12 dogs in all its holiday splendor. After a long day of traveling to see families near and far, it was nice to enjoy this delicious beer. Merry Christmas to all!
