Christmas Ales

My favorites at Max's on Broadway's Christmas Tasting Tuesday evening:

• Cask Dominion Winter (sort of a strong Belgian amber with notes of a dubbel)
• Cask Gales Christmas (at 8.5%, unusually strong for a British beer, thick and sweet with lots of apple-rum-raisin flavors like a liquid fruitcake; out-of-balance really, but it just seemed so right for the season)
• Draft Winter Reserve from Clipper City (a flavor-BALANCED American IPA at 8%)
• Anchor Our Special Ale ( Cottonwood tree on the label, indiginous to California and Arizona. The flavor reminded me of the German Christmas cookie -Pfeffernüsse).