When it comes to dethroning the traditional midnight bubbly toast, only the champagne of beers will do. No, not Miller High Life (not that there’s anything wrong with that), but the kind of oversized bottles of brew with an equally-as-oversized cork for proper popping.
While there are plenty of beers meeting these requirements, we found four local standouts for those that favor the suds over the bubbly at midnight.
1. ENLIGHTENMENT ALES ENLIGHTENMENT BRUT
An American bière de champagne, brewed in the style of a Belgian strong ale but conditioned with similar techniques to a traditional Brut. Crisp, complex, slightly sweet and extremely fizzy. Oddly similar to a bottle of Don Perignon, but, you know, with a smaller price tag. And it’s beer.
2. NIGHT SHIFT BREWING MAINER WEISSE
Berliner Weisse style beers–a type of sour ale–were famously referred to as the “champagne of the north” by Napoleon’s soldiers. Seasonally brewed in small batches, Mainer Weisse is aged with Maine blueberries and cinnamon sticks, and has a deliberate sourness from lactobacillus culture, which basically causes the beer to spoil. Which sounds gross, until the powerfully tart finish gets your puss puckering just in time for a midnight lip-lock.
3. MYSTIC BREWERY AN DREOILIN
Specializing in farmhouse style Saisons, Mystic’s winter version is brewed to celebrate the solstice. Uncorked, this ale pours dusty gold with a fluffy white head and bursts with bright aromas and tastes of sweet banana, sour lemons, and even spicy pepper. All on a Korbel budget.
4. ALLAGASH BREWING COMPANY COOLSHIP RED
This Framboise is released gradually in small amounts. This batch is a rare find, but if found you’ll use the strong punch of tart, jam-y raspberry up front, mingling with a slightly grassy, sweet finish while toasting 2014.
