After tasting it, I’m of course glad that St. Bernardus Christmas Ale is still just as beautiful a beer as it ever was, not that I really suspected that the opposite would be the case. I simply ...

“It’s not like a 4.4% Modelo Especial.” Christmas brews, though, take the idea even further, embracing flavors of fruit, sweetness, spices and smells redolent of the holidays.

One Christmas beer that truly tastes like the season is Troegs Mad Elf, an 11 percent ABV strong ale in the Belgian tradition that’s brewed with honey and cherries.

Our Christmas beer styles are all over the place, from emulations of dark and spicy European styles to hoppy IPAs or beers brewed to taste like gingerbread cookies or some other Christmastime dessert.

Beer writers Marc Bona of The Plain Dealer and Rick Armon of the Akron Beacon Journal blind-tasted two local Christmas ales. See if they can distinguish the ales from Cleveland's Great Lakes ...

9. Sly Fox Christmas Ale (Pottstown, PA; 5.50% ABV): A November Beer of the Week, Sly Fox Christmas Ale is dominated by cinnamon both in aroma and taste.