HOLY. CRAP. What a strange few weeks this has been. Seriously. Could it have gotten any weirder? David, Farrah, Ed, Billy, The SC Love-Gov, MJ, a serial killer, McNair, and McNamara. This all mixed in with the ongoing stuff in Honduras, North Korea, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and, of course, the good ol’ U.S. and A. Oh, and Wimbledon and the Tour de France. We need a beer! You?

This week we’re digging deep into some special stuff that’s delicious drinking right now: The Belgian winter ales. Not everyone would agree, but for me, some of these are simply “too hot” (alcohol-wise) to drink when they’re released. Some are delicious year-round. Furthermore, I think we all could use a little Christmas in July! So, here goes: A Christmas party. This week’s tasting will be $5/pp with proceeds going to our charity, FRIENDS of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Your donation will give the Parkway a summer Christmas present (or whichever non-denominational holiday-type thing you celebrate, if any) for letting you drive, bike, and crawl all over it.

FANTÔME Hiver—The winter offering of Dany Prignon’s farmhouse brewery. Different recipe every year in the dark Saison style! [8.0% abv]

FANTÔME Spéciale de Noël—A very dark and entirely unique holiday seasonal beer: Saison spiced with honey, caramel, coriander, black pepper, and other secret ingredients. Lots of deep-roasted chocolate malt, but still fairly dry and spicy, with a hint of wild yeast sourness at the core. [10.0% abv]

BARBÃR Winterbok—We love this beer. Always. Nothing fancy here. Just a nicely spiced brown ale with honey. Yum. [8.0% abv]

GOUDEN CAROLUS Noël—Possibly one of our favorite all-time holiday beers. We drink it year-round because it is so versatile with food. Strong, dark, ruby-red spiced beer with six kinds of hops. In 2004, Gouden Carolus Christmas won the Silver Award at the World Beer Cup in the “Dark Strong Ale” category. [10.5% abv]

DELIRIUM Noël—From the home of everyone’s pink elephant, this is the holiday release from the famed Delirium brand. Strong, dark and malty with a little candy sugar and dark fruit notes. [10.0% abv]

After the tasting, join us at the Asheville Tweet-up/Drink-up at The Thirsty Monk to sign petitions against the proposed NC beer tax.