Day 24 of the 7th Annual Holiday Beer Advent-ure Calendar
Day 24: Fat Head’s Brewery Pimp My Sleigh
Anyone that lives remotely close to Ohio, or even lives far away but knows their craft beer, knows about Fat Head’s. They win a major award nearly every year and seem to only be getting better. Holly Jolly usually steals the spotlight during winter time but we can’t forget about Pimp My Sleigh. “This rich, complex Belgian-Style holiday brew has intricate aromas and flavors of sweet dark malt, dark fruit, raisins, figs, anise and spicy phenols. A thick, creamy head always tops it off.”
Reflections
Ben: Full disclosure, drank this one during a blackout, which is fitting cause if you drank a whole 4-pack of these that’s exactly what would happen to you. I still love this beer though. It’s become one of my favorites during this time of year, and they actually released it early this time around with all the other holiday beers so we were able to enjoy it for longer. It covers all the holiday bases for me: dark, boozy, warming.
Julia: I know already that I prefer Fat Head’s Holly Jolly, which is one of my all time favorite Christmas beers. Pimp My Sleigh is a delicious Belgian ale but I only want a small amount. It’s just too strong and too boozy for me. I get notes of dark fruit, malt, and Christmas spices. I will admit it’s a great beer for getting cozy by the Christmas tree. If you like dark traditional Belgian beers then I definitely recommend this for you.
Scott: The Pimp My Sleigh by Fat Head’s is a strong, heavy, high alcohol Belgian ale and is not really my normal go to beer. I will make exceptions for the holiday season and Fat Head’s really doesn’t brew a bad beer, so happy to have this again.
Christa: Pimp My Sleigh is my Christmas ale. It’s my favorite holiday beer to date, I’ve yet to find one that tastes better or makes me feel the most like it’s the holiday season. When I first moved to Cleveland all those years ago, I tried this after Great Lakes Christmas ale and wondered if I was being duped. Why wasn’t everyone talking about this? If you come to Cleveland, start with Great Lakes, because it’s history, but finish with this. It’s one to take home.
Tony: We’ve had a lot of Belgian style holiday beers on the list this year and we’ve had this particular one on the list before. This one leans much more toward the spice side of things vs being fruit forward. It’s spicy, malty and pretty well balanced aside from being quite boozy. 10.5% abv will make sure your Christmas is merry and bright….but not too bright because you’ll likely be quite hungover after a few of these. I can’t remember if I’ve liked this in the past or not but I do like it this year. Merry Christmas Eve!
Megan: If you’re looking for a boozy Christmas Eve, look no further. I smell booze and malts. Seems to have a rich and complex profile but mostly just boozy. There’s something else I smell but can’t exactly pinpoint, maybe some fruitiness? Seems like a good beer to enter in the holiday weekend.
Brad: Eh. It’s definitely a strong ale. I love Belgians but at this point I’ve had too many spiced, malty beers and I can’t finish it. It’s good and I love Fat Head’s, but it is very strong and you can taste all the booze.
Heather: Oh Fat Head’s, how do I love thee! Pimp My Sleigh has been a staple here in the Tunstall house for years, and it always feels especially Christmasy because our tradition is to take off the Friday a week before Christmas to go shopping, and we always have lunch at Fat Head’s when we do. French onion soup, chicken tenders with honey mustard, and Pimp My Sleigh. So, it just tastes like the holidays to me. The flavor balance has been perfected into a smooth, holiday-style Belgian, which (duh) works for me. I love it!