Twelve Beers of Christmas: Day 6

Dogfish Head Pennsylvania Tuxedo

While this beer has been on many of my lists, it must be included as a Christmas beer as well. The spruce flavors and aroma is nothing short of drinking in a Christmas tree.

While DFH describes it as “sessional”, at 7.5% ABV I'm not sure that qualifies by definition, but it certainly does by drinkability. Spruce in a beer may not be for everyone, but I still remember my first full drink and finishing my first bottle and thinking, “That was not enough, I want another one”. And by my definition, that does qualify as a sessionable beer.

DOGFISH HEAD PENNSYLVANIA TUXEDO — A spruce-infused pale ale, Pennsylvania Tuxedo pays homage to the flannel-suited hunters and gatherers who dwell deep in the backcountry of north-central PA. A dry yet doughy malt backbone lets the hops and spruce shine while still balancing out the bitterness, making this one an easy sipper.

Brewed in collaboration with family-run outdoor clothing company Woolrich, Pennsylvania Tuxedo is a sessionable concoction with a grassy citrus kick complemented by the resinous conifer notes of fresh green spruce tips. We went into the forests of north-central Pennsylvania and Georgetown, DE, to pick these fresh tips ourselves.

ABV: 8.5
IBU: 50
Release: November
Original Release Date: 2014
STYLE: Pale Ale