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10 Colorado Christmas beers to drink this season, from stouts to IPAs
For Colorado beer drinkers, there’s no better time of year than the weeks between Halloween and Christmas, because that’s when local breweries load up their sleighs full of big, rich beers and gift them to all of us, regardless of whether we’ve been naughty or nice.
While 2022 has seen fewer big (and expensive) releases thanks to belt tightening after a brutal two years of pandemic and inflation-related woes, there are still plenty of delicious offerings to unwrap, including new ones from the likes of Ska, New Belgium and Great Divide.
Here are 10 that should put you in the mood for some fa-la-la.
Great Divide Brewing Gingerbread Yeti Imperial Stout
Great Divide has added to its already extensive lineup of seasonally flavored Yetis by canning Gingerbread Yeti for the first time. Made with a blend of holiday spices, honey and vanilla, the 9.5% ABV beer is backed by the brewery’s classic roast imperial stout flavors of chocolate malt and coffee. It is on draft and available in 19.2oz cans.
2201 Arapahoe St. and 1812 35th St., Denver; greatdivide.com
Woods Boss Brewing Magical Narwhal Unicorn Candy Cane Stout
Made with nearly 15 pounds of candy canes, this amazingly named beer carries all the chocolate peppermint flavors of the season. Put together as “cheers to our friends, family and beer lovers everywhere,” it “feels like a big, warm hug piled with heaps of candy canes straight from the North Pole,” the brewery said. It’s available on draft and in canned four-packs at the taproom.
2210 California St., Denver; woodsbossbrewing.com
Odd13 Brewing Codename Holidayfan
Brewed with powerfully flavored Citra, Simcoe and Eukuanot hops, Holidayfan is an absolute whopper of a triple IPA, coming in at 10% ABV. It began as a version of the brewery’s flagship Codename: Superfan, but has since taken on a life of its own. The label is one of the few to feature not just Christmas cheer but also Hanukkah happiness and a nod to Festivus.
301 E. Simpson St., Lafayette; odd13brewing.com
Diebolt Brewing Joyeux Noël Spiced Winter Lager
Diebolt Brewing has taken a slightly different approach to this winter warmer. Although it is spiced with sweet orange peel and Ceylon cinnamon sticks, Joyeux Noël was brewed as a lager, which means it has a lighter feel on the palate. The addition of Belgian candi syrup gives it a sweet finish that complements its rich malt bill. It is on draft and available in cans to go. (Oh, and Diebolt also releases Jingle Juice, brewed with three kinds of hops, on Dec. 3.)
3855 Mariposa St., Denver; dieboltbrewing.com
River North Brewery Chocolate Peppermint Candy Cane Imperial Porter
This fun collaboration is between a century-old Denver stalwart, Hammond’s Candies, and a newer one, River North Brewery, both of which have operations along North Washington Street. Inspired by Hammond’s chocolate cream-filled candy canes, this 12.5% ABV porter will be on tap and in bottles at both River North taprooms starting on Saturday, Dec. 3.
3400 Blake St. and 6021 Washington St., Denver; rivernorthbrewery.com
Sanitas Brewing Nutcracker IPA
Here’s the backstory behind this citrusy, piney IPA, brewed with Talus and Centennial hops: When brewery co-founder Michael Memsic and his wife, Arlynn, found out they were having a second child, their firstborn daughter, Ayla, “was equally excited, Sanitas said. Since it was around the holidays, Ayla decided to call the child Baby Nutcracker. “A two-year-old running around telling everyone that mom and dad are having a ‘Baby Nutcracker’ became an unforgettable family story, and the family nickname stuck.” Get the beer on draft or in cans to go.
3550 Frontier Ave., Boulder; sanitasbrewing.com
New Belgium Brewing Holiday Ale
New Belgium has delivered a new winter seasonal for 2022 called Holiday Ale. It offers “festive aromas of cinnamon and nutmeg followed by flavors of cranberry, orange and a pinch of brown sugar,” according to the Fort Collins brewery. Coming in at 7.5% ABV, it’s available in six packs.
500 Linden St., Fort Collins; newbelgium.com
Burns Family Artisan Ales Buche de Noel
Burns specializes in brewing high-octane beers, and Buche de Noel, which will be released on Saturday, Dec. 3, there are no exceptions. The 15.6% ABV bourbon barrel-aged imperial stout was designed to taste like the traditional Christmastime chocolate log cakes served in France, Belgium and other countries. Although no flavorings were added to the beer, it carries notes of milky cocoa, dark fruit and vanilla. Buche is an annual tradition for Burns.
2505 W. Second Ave., #Unit 13, Denver; burnsalesdenver.com
The Restaurants With the Most Loyal Customers
Being enthusiastic about a restaurant is not the same as being loyal to it. I had an absolute blast the last time I ate at Applebee’s, and I fondly recount the pulled pork nachos to anyone who will listen. But am I loyal to Applebee’s? No. I haven’t set foot in an Applebee’s in 12 years. Consumer loyalty is a hard thing to measure, but market research firm Datassential decided to put the question to consumers themselves, asking the definitive question: Which restaurants do you go out of your way to patronize, even when they’re not the most convenient option ? Using that data, Nation’s Restaurant News has compiled the top 24 chains with the most loyal customers.
What’s notable about this list isn’t just the two dozen restaurants that comprise the rankings, but the chains that have fallen off the list since last year. NRN notes that Five Guys, Starbucks, and even Chipotle failed to make the list in 2022. This makes a kind of sense, since the most habitual customers of those chains are most likely to be in a dense urban area where convenience and frequency of use are evenly distributed matched. It’s the stuff you have to make a track for that demonstrates greater overall loyalty.
Here are the top five most beloved chains, by Datassential’s metrics, and the percentage of consumers that reported being loyal to each:
5. In-N-Out Burger (58%)
4. Culver’s (58%)
3. Jet’s Pizza (59%)
2. Chick-fil-A (60%)
1. Papa Murphy’s Pizza (61%)
Several other heavy-hitters rounded out the top 10, including Jersey Mike’s (America’s fastest-growing restaurant chain), Red Lobsters (home of the Endless Shrimp), and Whataburger (purveyor of the best ketchup).
While you might have expected something with the more obvious name recognition to take the number-one spot, the dominance of Papa Murphy’s Pizza isn’t actually all that surprising. Pizza is, after all, a crowded landscape, and the big four chains—Domino’s, Pizza Hut, Little Caesars, and Papa Johns—offer only a slightly different product. A brand that sets itself apart can really endear itself to its customer base, and Papa Murphy’s take-and-bake pizzas are a differentiator in the market. (Consumer loyalty toward Jet’s Pizza only underlines this point, since it’s the one chain known for the unique Detroit-style pizza.)
If the top five loyalty-inducing chains demonstrate everything, it’s that having a signature menu item is integral to staying top of mind for consumers, even when they’re not in the immediate vicinity. Culver’s is the home of custard and ButterBurgers. In-N-Out is all about Animal-Style. Chick-fil-A? It goes without saying. The point is, none of these restaurants are trying to be everything to everyone. Loyalty is something that’s built up over time, and offering a curated menu that never loses sight of its core customers is the way to get there.
Damn, I really should go back to Applebee’s.
Hellmann’s Suggests Putting Mayonnaise in Eggnog
It’s a question I ask myself every Christmas season: What exactly is a “nog”? Most dictionaries define it as a shortened version of “eggnog.” But how much egg do you really need to make it a full-blown “nog”? According to Hellmann’s, you need however much egg is in its mayonnaise.
Yes, egg is the only third ingredient in Hellmann’s mayonnaise, behind oil and water. However, America’s best-selling mayo still believes that’s plenty of egg to give you a perfectly acceptable nog — and it’s created its own mayo-nog to prove it.
Working in collaboration with mixologist Cody Goldstein (of hospitality company Muddling Memories), Hellmann’s created the Frozen Mayo-nog & Snickerdoodle Mayo Cookie, billed as “an unexpected new cocktail and dessert pairing” and said to be “inspired by the classic holiday tradition of milk and cookies.”
As the name implies, the Frozen Mayo-nog completely swaps out the egg for mayo, mixing dark rum, apple brandy, whole milk, heavy cream, simple syrup, vanilla, nutmeg, and cinnamon with a quarter-cup of Hellmann’s mayonnaise per three -serving batches. Toss it all into a blender and blend until smooth to reach boozy mayo heaven.
Joalia Hospitality
If you want to try the Frozen Mayo-nog exactly as Goldstein intended, you’ll have to head to Amy Fontaine’s in New York City from now until December 15, as it’s the only place serving it. A single glass (which can also be made in a non-alcoholic version) will set you back $16, or you can grab it paired with Snickerdoodle Mayo Cookies (including a mayo glaze) for $24.
Not willing to travel all the way to Midtown Manhattan for a glass of Hellmann’s nog? Don’t fret. The recipe is also available on the Mudding Memories Instagram page.
Hellmann’s says the project is intended to “highlight the versatility of Hellmann’s Mayonnaise and encourage everyone to get creative in the kitchen this holiday season” — even with cocktails. But if you do get wild with your mayonnaise creations, maybe just color your taste testers first.
Hellmann’s isn’t the first brand to get creative with nogs for the holidays. Earlier this year, Kellogg’s partnered on a waffle-inspired Eggo Nog. And last year, Hidden Valley raised plenty of eyebrows with the release of their RanchNog kit. But maybe this is just a three-way nog battle waiting to happen at your house on Christmas Eve.