Day 6 of the 5th Annual Advent-ure Calendar

Day 6: Fat Head’s Brewery Holly Jolly Christmas Ale

One of our local favorites made our highly scientific list again and we couldn’t be happier. Not only is Fat Head’s one of the most beloved breweries in Ohio (let alone the country) they also happen to produce this crowd favorite spiced Christmas ale. Sweet malt, ginger, honey and cinnamon spice make this a pretty standard Christmas beer, but it still happens to stand out every season.

Reflections

Beard & Broad
Beard: If I’m going to drink a spiced beer, this is what I reach for.  Always consistent, always balanced. It has just enough holiday flavors and just enough hoppy bitterness. It’s real easy to screw up a spiced beer, but Fat Head’s screws up nothing so it’s no surprise that this is one of the best examples of this style that you’ll find anywhere.

Broad: Out of all the local Christmas ales, this one is consistently my favorite every year. It’s the perfect balance of holiday spice and it’s not too sweet and not too malty. Fat Head’s can truly do no wrong. I want to get cozy on the couch with it and watch Christmas movies all night. It can be be described as Christmas cheer in a bottle. We’re about to head to Ben’s holiday work party, and I can’t think of a better way to start the night than by drinking this perfect holiday beer 🙂

Adam & Alex
Adam: After years of drinking countless holiday beers with these fools, what I’ve realized is the thing I appreciate most is balance. holly Jolly perfectly hits the various Christmas spices of ginger and cinnamon with the subtle sweet honey finish. It’s not overwhelmingly sweet or syrupy. It’s just a perfectly balanced spiced ale. I adore this beer.

Alex: Holly Jolly is a holiday beer staple in my opinion.  I feel like it has a perfect blend of cinnamon and ginger with a touch of honey at the end.  I have always include this in my top holiday beers and will continue to going forward.  Have a Holly Jolly Christmas!

Scott & Christa
Scott: What a streak!   Santa’s Cookies, then Citra Noel and now an all-time favorite…HOLLY JOLLY!  More spicy and carbonated than the previous beers, Holly Jolly is one of Fat Head’s best and is part of the top 3 Cleveland Christmas beers (the others being GL Christmas Ale and 12 Dogs).  Other than the taste, Holly Jolly smells so good and should be put into candle form one day.  Taste, smell, fun label all make for an awesome experience.

Christa: To echo Scott, what a dynamite line up this week. Citra Noel and then Holly Jolly!? Sleigh, sleigh, sleighhhhh. Is it just me or is Holly Jolly a little spicier this year? If it is I am loving it. If you had to pick only one Cleveland beer to try, this would be my pick. I know it’s blasphemy to the Great Lakes worshippers but truly, this one stands above the rest when I think winter…holiday…joy. It’s malty, it’s spicy, it’s sweet, it’s…gone. I drank it way too fast. 😥

Tony & Megan
Tony: This beer is nice, reeeaal niiice! 👌. Right when we took our first sip, Megan mistletoe exclaimed, “now that tastes like a holiday beer!” Shes right. Right away you get that strong holiday beer flavor of malt, ginger, and cinnamon spice. Its all balanced together nicely, no syrupy-ness to it either really. This one screams “holidays” and is a fun one to drink.

Megan: This is Christmas in a bottle. It is full of all of those wonderful Christmas spices. The taste reminds me of the aromas lingering in the air after baking cookies. You get the cinnamon right away followed by the ginger and honey. It’s a little on the sweet side but I wouldn’t say it’s syrupy or too sweet that you couldn’t enjoy a few in one evening. I think I still like Great Lakes Christmas ale a little more but I’d be happy to see this under the tree as well.

Brad & Heather
Brad: Holly Jolly: I truly enjoy all Fat Heads beer. Holly Jolly is always one of my go-to holiday beer purchases. This year does not disappoint. The color is an excellent Amber. The smell reminds me of what a holiday beer should be, full of cinnamon, ginger and spices. The taste is smooth. With the high ABV, I’m definitely going to make bad decisions when I drink 4 of these.

Heather: There it is. A seasonal fave from one of our fave area breweries never disappoints. Holly Jolly is one of Fat Head’s best, and it is everything I want in a holiday beer: the color? Good. The spices? Good. The weight? Gooood. I could drink this all season (and I probably will).