On September 2, 2023, Seelos Brauhaus had a special brew day to make its first Christmas Ale. The beer brewed was a best-effort clone of Anchor Steam’s annual Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Ale, a classic winter warmer that has been discontinued since Anchor Steam went out of business. Seelos Brauhaus wanted to pay tribute to this legendary beer and bring some holiday cheer to its members and guests.
The brew day was a success, with 15 gallons of beer produced that will go into three 5 gallon kegs for serving at our 1st annual Christmas party. The party will be held on December 9th, 2023 and will be a pot luck dinner. Signups for pot luck dishes will be sent out by Jeff soon, so please keep an eye on your email and RSVP as soon as possible.
We would like to thank all those who came out to help on the last few brew days, including when we brewed the Golden Halo (Liquid Gold) Bier, a Munich-style golden Lager that is a copy of what you drink in the Meadow of Theresienwiese (Oktoberfest fairgrounds, Munich). Their names will be included in the credits when we send some samples off to more contests and be eligible to move up in brewership ranks of Seelos Brauhaus. We appreciate your dedication and enthusiasm for brewing and sharing great beer.
We also want to remind you that Oktoberfest is coming up soon, on October 21st, 2023, in the St Angela Merici school gym. This is a big event hosted by SAMA, where we will showcase our German-style beer and celebrate the culture and tradition of Oktoberfest. We will serve the next keg of the Golden Halo Bier on the Friday night before for all those that come to help set up for Oktoberfest. This is a great opportunity to have some fun and promote our homebrew club to the community.
Finally, don’t forget that Thursday, September 7th, we will serve the last keg of the Marzen Bier, a smooth and malty amber lager, at the SAMA Meeting. This is another chance to spread the word about Seelos Brauhaus and invite more people to join our club and enjoy our beers.
As you can see, Seelos Brauhaus is more than just a group of people who love making and drinking beer. We are also a fraternity of friends who share common values and interests. We are proud of our German heritage and our connection to the Catholic faith. We are inspired by the life and legacy of Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos, a German-born priest who served in New Orleans and died of yellow fever while caring for the sick. He is our patron saint and our role model.
That is why we celebrate Christmas with joy and gratitude. We remember that Christmas is not only about gifts and decorations, but also about the birth of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. We follow the German Christmas traditions that have been passed down for generations, such as lighting candles, decorating a Christmas tree, baking Christmas cookies, and maybe spin Christmas music on vinyl.
To make our first Christmas Ale, we followed the recipe of Anchor Steam’s Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Ale as closely as possible. This includes even simulating the water content in San Fransico, CA.
We are very excited to share this beer with you at our Christmas party. We think it captures the spirit of the season and the legacy of Anchor Steam. We hope you will enjoy it as much as we enjoyed brewing it.
We want to thank again all who are helping brew and especially cleaning the equipment on brew days. We know that brewing is a labor of love and that cleaning is not the most fun part of it. But we also know that cleaning is essential for making quality beer and preventing infections and off-flavors. So we are very grateful for your hard work and attention to detail. You are the backbone of our club and we couldn’t do it without you. We hope to see you all at these upcoming events and thank you for your support and participation in Seelos Brauhaus. Prost (Cheers)! 🍻
