4. 2XIBA

Brewer:  Southern Tier
Location:  Lakewood, NY
Style:  American Black Ale
ABV:  8.0%
BA Rating:  85

3. Christmas Ale

Brewer:  Great Lakes Brewery
Location:  Cleveland, OH

Style:  Winter Warmer

ABV:  7.5%

BA Rating:  88

This is THE Christmas Ale that all Christmas Ales aspire to be.  It's one that everyone looks forward to year.  My giant eagle was running a special on growlers, and I hope they still are.  I'm going to fill one up tomorrow.  I wanted to include Great Lakes new winter seasonal Ohio City Oatmeal Stout, but it wasn't available in our area.  

At first taste the citrus notes are very prominent, almost to a point they had a metallic taste.  After a few minutes, the warm flavor of the ginger began to introduce itself.  I never really caught any of the cinnamon taste, I'll have to investigate further.

Side Note:  Great Lakes re-did all of their labels this year, I think they look fantastic.

Website:  GL Christmas Ale

Untappd 

2. Seasonal Reserve Hard Cider

Brewer:  McKenzie's Hard Cider

Location:  West Seneca, NY

Style:  Hard Cider

ABV:  5%

BA Rating: None they don't do ciders --> RateBeer:  89

I include one cider in the calendar every year.  I had McKenzies pumpkin cider back in October and it was delicious.  The seasonal reserve sounds like a great transitional Cider between the fall and the winter, the bottle says you can enjoy it cold or warm.  I might look into that,  I'll keep you updated.

Update:  Its definitely better cold.  It's very drinkable for a cider, "apple pie in bottle".  I drank 2/3 of my bottle cold, and then I got curious about how the label says it's good cold or hot.  Maybe the weather just isn't right for the hot cider right now, but I'm glad I only heated up 1/3 of the bottle.

Website:  McKenzie's

Untappd: Mark drank a Seasonal Reserve 3.25