How does it work? Each month, members receive two different 750 ml selections, many of which are corked and caged, and Gift Memberships available from 2-12 months to fit any budget. And the club is offering Real Beer readers $10 off an order of any term. It really is a gift that just keeps on giving.

A Boston Beer Co. press release only begins to hint at how complex this beer is: “The 2012 Samuel Adams Utopias brew weighs in a bit above 29 percent alcohol by volume (ABV) and was aged in hand-selected, single-use bourbon casks from the award-winning Buffalo Trace Distillery to enhance the beer’s distinct vanilla and maple notes. The 10th Anniversary batch also spent time in a variety of finishing casks: Tawny Port casks and Vintage Ruby Port casks from Portugal, which contribute slightly more elegant, dark fruit aromas, and Rum barrels from Nicaragua, which add flavors of fig, chocolate, raisin, vanilla, and a slight spice.”

The brewers make fewer than 15,000. bottles of this limited-edition beer due to the long aging required. Samuel Adams Utopias is bottled in a specially designed 10th Anniversary black decanter. Shaped like a brew kettle, the exterior is etched with roots.

“This release of Samuel Adams Utopias is proof – 58 proof to be exact – that extreme beers have earned a permanent and respected place in the beer universe, a world now constantly evolving with new craft brewers and excited craft beer drinkers,” company founder Jim Koch said for the press release.

Buy fresh. Be sure to buy beers made by American craft brewers. This will ensure that you are getting fresh, flavorful beer produced with pride right here in the USA.

Use pitchers. Present the beer in a way that encourages sharing. A perfect way to do this is to pour bottles into a glass or clear plastic pitcher that can be passed around the table. Just don’t put out too much beer at one time: one to one-and-a-half beers per person should be enough beer on the table at the beginning of the meal.

Options Are Nice. Just as some like dark meat and some like white meat, you’ll find that some of your dinner companions may prefer one style while the others go for something different. Offering two different choices can help to keep everyone happy.

Glassware. While pint glasses are perfect for the pub, brewers have long used stemware for special beers. A thistle glass or “old-fashioned” glass is great if you have it, but wine glasses work well too. Otherwise, small glass tumblers that hold six to eight ounces have a pleasant feel to them and still help to mark the meal as a special occasion.

Courtesy of a Saint Arnold press release.

This package comes with notes about each chocolate and suggestions for pairing with the beers in the variety pack. Those include Boston Lager, Winter Lager, Holiday Porter, Old Fezziwig, Chocolate Bock, a White Christmas. The last beer, an unfiltered white ale brewed with cinnamon and nutmeg spices and orange peel, is a new addition. The chocolate box can be ordered online or purchased in Samuel Adams Boston Brewery gift shop.

He didn’t fly to Norway this year, but per usual he also didn’t settle for shopping in one store. He begins, “This year, I kept closer to home, but the beer run was no less fulfilling. It took me to Whole Foods’ Cold Point Pub at Plymouth Meeting’s madhouse mall, where the bottle shop is just brimming with holiday bottles. Those silly Pennsylvania liquor laws that limit takeout purchases to 192 ounces had me hauling the first load of bottles (Corsendonk Christmas Ale, Dupont Avec Les Bon Voeux) to the parking garage before hiking back for a fine-looking magnum of Mikkeller Red/White Christmas.”

Then he moves on, acquiring, among other things, Evil Twin Christmas Eve at a New York City Hotel Room (Denmark). “Sounds more like an O Henry short story than an imperial stout.”

Lakefront Brewery in Milwaukee has brewed a beer it calls Black Friday and will sell it only on Nov. 23, day after Thanksgiving, otherwise known as Black Friday. It is a Black IPA.

Lakefront will sell it only at the 1872 N. Commerce St. It goes on sale at 8 a.m. It’s the second annual Black Friday event at Lakefront, with 12 hours of continuous brewery tours planned this year.

The first 300 people who buy the beer will get a limited Black Friday pint glass.

Makes not mistake, Santa liked last year’s “replacement” beer, Lagunitas Sucks Holiday Ale, but he does appreciate a little Brown Shugga’ along with a cookie beside the fireplace.

You’ll recall that last year the brewery explained it would not make Brown Shugga’ because of production demands, and literally call Lagunitas Sucks Holiday Ale a Brown Shugga’ replacement.

Here’s the full story from last year:

This sad holiday season we didn’t have the brewing capacity to make our favorite seasonal brew, the widely feared BrownShugga’ Ale. You see, we had a couple of good years (thank you very much) and so heading into this season while we are awaiting a January delivery of a new brewhouse we are jammin’ along brewing 80 barrels of IPA and PILS and such every 3 hours. A couple of months back we realized that since we can only brew a mere 60 barrels of Shugga every 5 hours, that we were seriously screwed. For every case of Shugga’ brewed, we’d short 3 cases of our daily brews. The new brewhouse will help insure that this kind of failure never happens again. It’s a mess that we can not brew our BrownShugga’ this year and we suck for not doing it. There is nothing cool about screwing up this badly and we know it. Maybe we can sue our sorry selves. There is no joy in our hearts this holiday and the best we can hope for is a quick and merciful end. F*@& us. This totally blows. Whatever. We freaking munch moldy donkey butt and we just want it all to be over ….

Welcome back, Shugga’.

The Deschutes Brewery posted this photo, taken in a Portland grocery store, on its Facebook page Nov. 2.

We had two thoughts: a) drink some Jubelale, and b) time to start working on our Christmas Wish List.

“Real Beer for the Holidays” is officially open for 2012 business.

Bottle conditioned for a fresh, lively taste, it will complement or contrast with virtually any holiday fare, from soup to nuts.

Original gravity: 1079; international bitterness units: 30; 6.7% abw; 8.5% abv; shelf life: up to three years at 55-60° F.

A press release in 2009 describes it: “mahogany coloured beer has big, rich overtones of nuttiness, balanced with a light fruit flavour and delicate hop aroma – a festive twist to the traditional toast between family and friends.”

Meanwhile the brewery’s tips for how to be a good elf (we left the British spelling intact):

1. The first step to being a good elf is to acquire the appropriate attire. Anyone can find these special garments during the Christmas season. You will know the perfect pieces when you see them. They will catch your eye and you will find yourself smiling as you look at them and feel good when you picture yourself wearing them.

2. The best elf costumes always have a few small bells sewn into the design. Bells should always be small and only leave just a slight sound as you perform your secret good elf deeds. Bells placed in just the right spots will make a sound but make it hard for people to detect exactly where the sound is coming from!

3. The very best of elves are full of mystery. They secretly perform good deeds and hardly ever get caught! They work in the full light of day and also under the cover of night. The more good things you can get away with in secret, the higher the rank you will earn among the other elves. If you are really good and lucky at not getting caught doing good deeds you could become a fully fledged Santa’s Helper!

4. Santa’s Helper elves are good at recruiting new elves and teaching them their tricks. They change the world for the better by increasing the actual volume of good deeds being preformed everywhere! They make it a Christmas ritual to add fun and magic to the lives of others and many of them carry the spirit in their heart throughout the entire year, performing good deeds every single day.

5. Santa’s Helper elves are very special and do great deeds. They are experienced in keeping secrets and excellent at covering their tracks. It really is the highest honour!

Daniel Thwaites has operated as a family-run brewery since 1807.