On the 2nd day of Christmas, Julia recommended to me…

Blood of the Unicorn from Pipeworks Brewing Co. (Chicago, IL)

and

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964)!

A hoppy red ale to go with a happy red-nosed reindeer! Today features another longtime favorite brew of mine paired with a universally beloved Christmas classic.

Blood of the Unicorn is a hoppy red ale with 6.5% ABV. It has a fruity, almost maraschino cherry, quality on the palate and in the glass this brew has a rich, red color that is evocative of our favorite Christmas-saving reindeer’s nose! If you’ve ever spent too long looking at the beer fridge at your local liquor store, you might be wondering what distinguishes a hoppy red ale from a red IPA. Here’s my relatively well-informed take: the line that separates these two styles is extremely thin. A red IPA is a sub-category of IPA that has a stronger malt profile than other IPAs while a hoppy red ale is a sub-category of red ales with a stronger hop influence than other red ales. Send both of these styles to the Island of Misfit Beers!

What’s not to like about this holiday classic? If you’ve got a problem with claymation, then you’ve got a problem with me, buddy! Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a masterpiece chock full of delightful characters and snappy musical numbers. I can’t totally pin down why, but I am brought to tears laughing every time the movie reaches its climax and (spoiler alert) Santa delivers his iconic line, “Rudolph, with your nose so bright, won’t you guide my sleigh tonight?”

Infinite Galaxy is a 7.3% ABV IPA made with, you guessed it, Galaxy hops! I can’t help but sing the praises of anything that prominently features Galaxy hops, which are known for giving beers passionfruit-y, tropical flavor profiles. These brews are no exception and are all-around hella tasty, though often tough to track down. Much like our own galaxy is filled with countless bright, shining stars, it’s Rudolph’s bright, shining nose that saves Christmas!

Hardcore Normcore is a 6% ABV brown ale made with coffee that one reviewer online described saying, “If all brown ales tasted this good, they would move from the near bottom to the higher ranks of my favorites.” Regardless of the brown ale slander, I have to agree that this brown ale is a fantastic example of well-integrated, delicious roasty caramel-ness that is at the forefront of some darker beer styles. Though, since coffee stains your teeth, I’m sure Hermey the elf might think twice about cracking open one of these cans.

Can’t find Pipeworks in your area? As long as you’re sipping on something that Yukon Cornelius would grab, you’ve got a fab pairing on your hands! If you’re lucky maybe you can track down the latest Yeti from Great Divide Brewing Company! I mean, look at this guy—you can’t tell me he doesn’t crush craft barrel-aged projects on the regular.

Happy holidays ya filthy animals!