Tasteful tidings: Three Wisconsin brews that elegantly convey holiday cheer

The "spirit of the season" often seems to be one of exaggeration. No matter how genuinely you enjoy the holidays, it always gets jammed down your throat just a little bit, whether in the form of ear-numbing Christmas music or your co-workers' carelessly spiked egg nog. But there's still nothing wrong with letting in the warmth and comfort. The A.V. Club recently sampled a few Wisconsin microbrews to help that happen in peaceful, intimate fashion.

Wisconsin Cran-bic, New Glarus Brewing
The New Glarus "Unplugged" series, in which brewers Dan and Deborah Carey attempt bold adventures beyond such staples as Spotted Cow and Fat Squirrel, has yielded a mellow, mature alternative to sparkling cider this year. Having already jammed the sweetness of Door County cherries into those indulgent wax-topped bottles of Wisconsin Belgian Red ale, and combined hops with another strong fruit in Raspberry Tart, the Careys harness Wisconsin cranberries in a less-imposing fashion. The result goes down somewhere between champagne and a more bubbly vodka-cranberry. Cran-bic is one for grown-up toasts, and it'll restore your hope in this particular fruit if you end up having to choke down slices of jellied cylinder at a family feast.

Black Scotch Ale, O'So Brewing Company
Among Wisconsin craft brews, Scotch ales are often second only to stouts in rich, reassuring flavor and hibernation-aiding alcohol content. Plover's O'So Brewing challenges that idea a bit, investing its Black Scotch Ale with so much peat flavor that even single-malt-Scotch lovers might be taken aback by the acrid smoke that seems to linger at the back of the throat after every sip. It both complements and upstages the admirably heavy-bodied dark ale, but it'll at least make you glance at the hearth to make sure those chestnuts aren't burning.

Satin Solstice Imperial Stout, Central Waters Brewing Company
Before it turns to grey-brown slush, a new snowfall can be refreshing and invigorating. Savoring a crisp whiff of the stuff is almost as nice as getting inside from it, and Satin Solstice (brewed in Junction City) combines both of those small winter pleasures. That balances out whatever guilt might come with pounding such a strong brew (take this one slowly and moderately), and it almost rivals Lake Louie's incredible Milk Stout in its balance of hearty texture and woodsy, coffee-sprinkled nuance. Named for the shortest day of the year, it could almost make us look forward to these long winter nights.