I hope you’re a Dark Charge Day veteran.   If you are, you’ll remember one of the fun releases from last year’s Winter Block Party was their Claus Peppermint stout, a really fun twist on a Christmas beer.  The brewery announced today that they’re not only releasing the beer in bottles this year, but that they’ve teamed up with Doscher’s Candies to create a fun gift pack too.

Let’s start simple, let’s talk about the beer.

About Claus

In the simplest sense, Claus is a sweet stout (clocking in at 5.5% ABV with a nice dosing of Peppermint.  It’s a fun twist on a Christmas beer, and has different sides to it’s personality depending on what temperature the beer is when you’re drinking it.

In the larger picture, the beer is named after the Santa Claus decoration that used to hang out in the Braxton garage when the Rouse boys were growing up.  As if that’s not enough, the rabbit hole gets even deeper when you start to talk about the collaboration with Doscher’s candies.

Doscher’s was founded all the back in 1871 here in Cincinnati by Claus Doscher.  Seriously… you can’t make this stuff up.  The company provided the peppermint that was used in the base sweet stout.  If you aren’t familiar with the company, they are the makers of the famous French Chew, and are the oldest manufacturer of candy canes in the United States… you should get to know them just for the historical knowledge alone.

The Gift Sets

Braxton is packaging up Claus into 500 special gift sets, which include a bottle, a special Claus glass and a handful of Doscher’s famous French Chew.  You can snag a gift box for $14.99 online starting today.  Any bottles that aren’t sold online by Friday the 17th at noon will be released from there to the public.

It’s pretty delicious stuff, if you didn’t get to try it last year.  If you get it while it’s still cold, the peppermint hides behind the chocolate notes from the stout.  If you let your glass warm up, though, you get a nice wintery blast of candy.  Don’t miss out on this one!