Ring in the new year with beer

When I think of New Year’s Eve, the obvious comes to mind: Tipsy friends wearing pointed paper hats, annoying party poppers sending streamers flying and cheap champagne. I’m OK with the hats, poppers and tipsy friends, but I usually find a champagne substitute to ring in my new year.
After all, the French only export the champagne they won’t drink and most sparkling wines are too dry for my tastes. Why let the French reap all of the economic benefits of your New Year’s blowout, or waste your money on a $5 bottle of headache-causing California bubbly?
Give one of these brewed libations a try for your Christmas or New Year’s Eve celebration. You and your guests will be glad you did.

Big Stella
I’m a big Stella Artois fan, but I didn’t know the Belgian-brewed beer started as a Christmas-only offering from InBev — the company that recently acquired Anheuser-Busch — in 1926. The clean, slightly bitter lager was so popular the brewery added it to their line year-round. Stella is available on tap and in bottles around town and is growing in acceptance across the country. For those out there who might miss the pop of a cork shooting out of a champagne bottle, or aren’t quite sure about lifting high a glass of beer to toast in the new year, don’t worry. The classic pilsner is available during the holidays in 750 ml cork and cage bottles suitable for any cork-popping celebration. At around 5.2 percent alcohol by volume (ABV), Stella’s holiday bottles retail for around $6.

Love of lambics
Are you looking for something extremely unique and colorful with which to celebrate the passing of this year and the arrival of the next? Pick up a couple of bottles of Lindemans’ lambics. Lambics — spontaneously fermented ales brewed with naturally occurring yeast strains and infused with real fruit — were one of my first international craft beer finds in Seattle. Brewed in Belgium since 1811 and imported by a Seattle company since 1979, Lindemans offers a variety of flavors including raspberry (framboise), cherry (kriek), peach (peche), cassiss (current) and pomme (apple). The sweet but tart ales retail around town at around $11 for a 750 ml corked bottle. Fruit beers are extremely popular recently and I seldom find anyone who doesn’t smile when they take their first taste of a Lindemans.

“Pop” goes the pilsner
I’ve spent a lot of time sampling Boulevard Brewery’s beer lately. The company’s Smokestack Series of craft ales offers a treat for beer lovers, but it’s the brewery’s pilsners I have recently been picking up. Imperial Pilsner — Boulevard’s international collaboration with Belgian brewer Orval — packs a punch at around 8 percent ABV. Available since last January, Imperial Pilsner is a great beer for any celebration and a great buy at around $12 for a 750 ml corked and caged bottle. The golden colored brew piles up a stiff white head and looks rich in a tall pilsner glass, great for a holiday toast. When I spoke to John McDonald — Boulevard’s founder and president — a few weeks ago, he told me that Imperial Pilsner may soon be added to the brewery’s year-round line of Smokestack Series beers.

Online find
My love of hard cider is no secret, and many area retailers of adult beverages keep a pretty good selection of them on hand. I suggest trying a tall glass of fruit cider this New Year’s Eve. Ciders are a versatile drink and can be served cold, over ice or warmed and spiced, depending on the occasion. Many solid spiced cider recipes can be found with a simple online search. I was poking around online and found a brand I hadn’t noticed before. Bellwether Hard Cider — a line of ciders brewed in Ithica, N.Y. — run around $12 a bottle (case prices are available) at www.cidery.com and can be shipped around the country. Bellwether offers a full line of flavors including black current, cherry and traditional varieties made with Northern Spy apples, other fruit and special wild yeast strains. There’s still time to order online and get your holiday cheer in time for a New year’s Eve toast.
Cheers!