My favorite holiday offering from Trader Joe's, except maybe the pumpkin waffle mix!  

If you have a beer pairing for the peppermint Joe-Joe's please share it below!

DBA isn't a holiday specific beer but that won't stop me from using it here. This fantastic beer and its barrel "flavor" notes, pairs so well with the ginger and white chocolate coating that it can't be passed up. 

One of my favorite beer pairings is Wookey Jack and peanut butter. That's why I'm pairing it with peanut butter filled Joe-Joe.  Really, what could be better than a dark chocolate cookie filled with peanut butter creme and covered in milk chocolate?  How about a dark chocolate cookie filled with peanut butter creme and covered in milk chocolate paired with Wookey Jack!

So, as I was searching for the Jimmy Durante version and couldn't find any suitable clips - there're only slideshow clips -they must have great internet copyright staffers. But I did come across this great animated version of the song.

...but if you are looking for the CBS classic, then here you go! 

If it hadn't been for that magic hat ... well you know the rest and that's the reason Magic Hat's Graupel is the perfect pairing for this day!

This wheat wine clocks in at 10.8% and it's sure to have magical effects on your attitude.  After 750ml, and I'm certainly not saying you should drink that much, but if you did it will certainly help you get through this 40 minute CBS special.

I love the campy acting and animation in this video especially the part where the mom (probably one of the guys in drag) is chasing the bad elf around the living room in Benny Hill fashion.  

And just in case you don't know who, what or where Hollis Queens here is a Wikipedia page just for you! 

Just to play on the whole bad elf theme from the video I needed to pair Seriously Bad Elf from the UK based Ridgeway Brewing. After all, this video wouldn't have been as entertaining without a seriously bad elf.

However, if you have seen this episode of South Park, then you know the true spirit of Christmas and you won't ever be considered a super King Kamehameha biotch. 

On a side note if you are a true SP fan and you have a fecal fishing net handy, this episode will most certainly jingle your bells and fa, la-la, your la's!

Un, Kono Kuro, a coffee stout from Japan, may be the only beer pairing suitable for Mr. Hankey the Christmas Poo.  This beer is literally made from poop.  Elephant dung to be precise.  

Now, if you know anything about herbivores, their poo is pretty safe, nothing like humans, and that is why parts of their poo are being used in brewing.  The elephants eat coffee cherries and poop out the undigested beans.  The beans are then used to add a little kick to this coffee stout.

You have to make sure you watch all the way to the end after the credits so you can join in on the sing-a-long or just FF to the end in the video below if you don't have a spare hour and 20.  Hooray for Santy Claus!

I am kinda surprised it took me 5 days for Samiclaus to show up in this feature.  At one time, early in my beer drinking career, this was the strongest beer available.

At 14% this is still a BIG beer and and it is sure to enhance Santa Claus Conquers the Martians quite nicely. 

HoHoHo!

This traditional Christmas carol is near and dear to my heart.  I liked the song well before high school and so I was super stoked when, as a mediocre first chair saxophonist, I got to play the main melody solo in my high school concert band.

I'm going the route of "What Child is This?" for this beer pairing and I found a wonderful beer that will warm you from the inside out, on these cold December nights.  A 9.5% Tripel aged for three months with sour cherries and raspberries.  

This beer will put you in a Ray Charles kinda mood.  His version of this song is my favorite vocal rendition.  Unfortunately, Ray has some good internet monitors and there are no free versions of this so you will have to by the full album to hear his version. There are other great songs on this album, too, so you won't be disappointed.  

Click image below to download.

1.       Print snowflake design on 8.5” x 11” paper.

2.       Cut off the extra paper around the square or circle design.  A paper cutter will give you the best lines.

3.       Fold the paper in half along all the lines.  Open up the design after each fold before you move on to the next fold, this will give you tight fold creases making it easier to fold the design together in the next steps.  

4.       Fold the design into a triangle shape with the design in the top, left hand section. Crease the folds again.

5.       Fold the bottom right triangle up and behind the top right triangle. Crease the folds again.

6.       Fold the bottom left triangle up and behind the top left triangle.  Crease the folds again.

7.       Fold the blank triangle (top right-hand triangle) behind the triangle with the design. Crease the folds again.

8.       Cut out all the gray portions.

(The following steps will make your snowflake a one-of-a-kind!)

9.        Using a sharp exacto-style knife, cut out the mug handle space. Use light pressure to cut only one layer of paper at a time. If you push too hard you will break the tip of the blade or the bottom layers will bunch up causing a messy, torn edge.

10.        Using a sharp X-acto-style knife, cut out the flying foam details following the cutting directions in #9.

11.         Using a sharp exacto-style knife, cut out the inside of the mug following the cutting directions in #9.

12.        Free hand trim the “foam” head and light reflection on each beer to make them balanced not symetrical.

This movie coulda used a little more Snoopy.

The best use of the Charlie Brown Christmas Special soundtrack, ever.

You knew I had to pick a tree themed beer for this pairing.  I was intrigued by the name initially but the description sold me on this pairing.  Evergreen needles were used in the brewing of this beer.  

I can imagine that if you empty the dredges out of each beer you might find enough needles to recreate Charlie Brown's sad, but proud, tree. 

Click image below to download.

1.       Print snowflake design on 8.5” x 11” paper.

2.       Cut off the extra paper around the square or circle design.  A paper cutter will give you the best lines.

3.       Fold the paper in half along all the lines.  Open up the design after each fold before you move on to the next fold, this will give you tight fold creases making it easier to fold the design together in the next steps. 

4.       Fold the design into a triangle shape with the design in the top, left hand section. Crease the folds again.

5.       Fold the bottom right triangle up and behind the top right triangle. Crease the folds again.

6.       Fold the bottom left triangle up and behind the top left triangle.  Crease the folds again.

7.       Fold the blank triangle (top right-hand triangle) behind the triangle with the design. Crease the folds again.

8.       Cut out all the gray portions.

(The following steps will make your snowflake a one-of-a-kind!)

9.        Free hand trim the “foam” head and light reflection on each beer to make them balanced not symetrical.

10.   Free hand cut the top of the glass line by cutting a very thin triangle to help separate the top of the glass from the foam.

There are so many great clips and on-liners in this movie that it was hard to find the right one for this pairing.  The clip below does a great job of setting the scene - for those who haven't seen the movie yet.  

If your a purist and you prefer A Christmas Carol (the George C Scott version is the only version worth watching, in my opinion), Bah Humbug will go well with this movie as well.

I picked this clip because I played Jacob Marley's Ghost in my Senior play.  Ahhh, Christmases Past.

No matter the season or holiday, Wychwood probably has a perfect beer pairing.  They nailed this pairing with a Christmas Ale full of spices and just the right amount of alcohol that is sure to get you reminiscing about Christmases past and dreaming about Christmases future.