Day 9 of the 4th Annual Advent-ure Calendar
Day 9: Market Garden Brewery Festivus Holiday Ale
We’re back with another Market Garden Beer, this time it’s their holiday seasonal, Festivus Holiday Ale. Festivus is “smooth, spicy and wholesomely malty with an elegant finish thanks to caramelized wort and a bit of brown sugar, nutmeg and ginger. This beer is sure to make all those Airing of Grievances worth hearing about!”
Reflections
Beard & Broad
Beard: I always forget if I like this beer or not. After drinking my .5 along with Broad, I do indeed like this beer. It’s very mellow and smooth and there’s not that dry spice character that a lot of other holiday beers have. This has just enough of those spices to remind you it’s for Christmas, but it’s subtle enough to still remain a nice drinkable beer. Unlike many spiced beers, I could have a few of these and be very content. Plus, Seinfeld reference. I’m always up for a good Seinfeld reference.
Broad: I would describe this beer as “Christmas ale light.” I get hints of brown sugar and ginger and other faint spices but it’s very light and not overpowering. It’s super smooth and a tad malty but very drinkable. I enjoy this beer every year but I prefer the more spiced Holiday ales. It has definitely earned a spot in our fridge every holiday season.
Adam & Alex
Adam: As we journey through this advent calendar once more I’m discovering that what I like most when it comes to holiday themed beers is balance. Regardless of the style, I the ones I like best at the beers that are balanced versions of each style and festivus is that in my mind for the standard spiced ale. It is a nice combination of ginger, nutmeg, and cinnamon but nothing is overly used. It’s just a quality example of a Cleveland spiced beer. This is one that I’d happily drink on our normal football evenings or holiday gatherings. It won’t jump out as the most memorable but I also don’t get tired of it.
Alex: I really enjoy Festivus. It’s one of the holiday beers that I keep in rotation. It has the holiday spices you would expect. I taste mostly nutmeg, and ginger, but they’re not overwhelming. I taste hints of caramel as well. It’s a beer that I drink often, and will continue to in the future.
Scott & Christa
Scott: Spicy, sweet and balanced flavors makes the Market Garden Festivus a winner on a growing list of local standout brews. It hasn’t topped 12 Dogs or Christmas Ale for me, but its definitely in my top 10 Christmas beers both locally and outside the 216 area code. We don’t make it to Market Garden as often as we like, so I’m so glad they decided to bottle this up for us homebodies who struggle making it past our driveway on cold winter nights.
Christa: Ah Festivus, such a delight. It’s one of my favorites beers for the holiday season. It has the perfect mix of sweet cinnamon and spicy ginger. I could drink 12 of these in front of the fake fire streaming on Netflix. It’s a beer sure to appeal to most and the one I would recommend introducing to friends new to Ohio’s holiday beer arsenal.
Tony & Megan
Tony: I like this one. Its much lighter in color than a lot of the Christmas beers, but it doesn’t lack in flavor. It has a nice, smooth caramel, malty flavor and I get a little bit of the ginger as well. Easy to drink, good flavor and the holiday spices comes through. Very solid holiday beer.
Megan: I think this one is really well rounded. It’s got the traditional Christmas spices and malts but it’s not dark or heavy. It’s very drinkable while sticking to the Christmas collage of flavors. I like this one a lot.