Great Lakes Brewing Co. – Eliot Ness Amber Lager – One of my top five favorite beers even if I haven’t set down to rank them in any particular order. I’ll get to those beers when I drink them again which won’t be too far in the future with the holiday season coming around. It is an Amber Lager which happens to be my favorite family of beers. My cheap staple Yuengling and Saranac Amber Ale, a favorite from my days in Altoona PA when craft beer wasn’t as easy to come by, are both ambers. The malt & hops aren’t overwhelming and it has a little kick of caramel that makes it perfect going down. These states are where you can find Great Lakes. If you live near one of them, take a weekend trip and stock up.

Bell’s Brewery, Inc. – Christmas Ale – This one was a surprise to me. Most Christmas beers have clove, nutmeg or cinnamon. None of those spices are in this beer. It also doesn’t have as high an alcohol content as most winter seasonals. It’s only 5.5%. A quick comparison would be Great Lakes Christmas Ale which is 7.5%. It’s a Scottish Ale so it has a red tint which makes it look Christmas-y. It went down fairly smooth but it left me wanting a little more of a kick.

I neglected to pimp Keesh’s TheFullPint.com last week. I will link to their reviews in the future. Unfortunately, they don’t have reviews for Eliot Ness or Bell’s Christmas Ale. Enjoy your Sippy Time Beer this week. -Kevin