Just in time for the holiday season, we have “The More the Merrier” Celebration Ale. We’ve been looking forward to the release of this beer for some time! The name of this beer is quite accurate as everything about this beer was big, bold and fun. Sticking to our Belgian roots seemed the most fitting way to ring in the holiday season and the new year, not least given Belgium's rich history of spiced and fruited Christmas strong ales. The base beer is a true-to-style Belgian Dark Strong with Medium Crystal, Biscuit, Vienna, and Cara Amber malts. Alongside the malts in the mash, however, we added a blend of rosebuds, cinnamon, allspice, candied iyokan peel, and cloves. From there, this beer underwent a long two-hour boil to concentrate the rich malt flavours, while adding some Kokumitsu sugar to deepen the caramelized character even further, and help boost the ABV. This beer was lightly bittered with classic European hops to balance out the malt sweetness and, later in the boil, another hefty addition of spices was added, including more cinnamon, clove, and allspice, but this time with some nutmeg, and candied kiyomi peel. The wort coming off the brewhouse smelled incredible and, while the weather hadn’t cooled off quite yet, it was making us already look forward to sipping this on a cold evening. This beer was brewed all the way back in October, and allowed a long slow fermentation and cold conditioning, before being packaged and can/keg conditioned for more a natural and classic carbonation. The deep amber and brown hues, rich flavour, and immense depth of aroma makes this beer a special treat. This is of course one to celebrate together with friends and family over the holidays, but also definitely one to continue sipping in a comfortable chair with a blanket on the cold winter evenings beyond.