Last Christmas beers (2021)

Yes, indeed. February is almost TOO late for this one to be published. But things on this site get a bit delayed. Between the holidays, our trip, work, school… stuff gets a bit lost and misplaced. Regardless here we are, and for many reasons: 1) we spent money on it, 2) we took very nice pictures of the contending beers and 3) we love beer! … and we need to keep the consistency and commitment with you all.

A very funny design on the tin, really keeping up with the brand as the design is slightly revolting and not very fancy fancy as it has a hairy Santa on a beach as the image, so not really candle lights and Christmas trees, but more vulgar and hilarious. The taste is light and lime-y, and you will be shocked when you have drunk four of these and in the meantime you have become the life of the party. So really an overall great beer that has some Christmas spirit, while also shining some light in the winter darkness.

Have you ever tried Egils Malt? Well if not, you should! It’s a malt drink that might be similar-ish to malt drinks in other places such as the USA and Sweden, however it offers a peculiar taste with a bit of alcohol, compared to the original Malt drink which comes non-alcoholic. So go ahead and try a classic taste of Iceland, but with a bit of “fun” added. A sure classic for the Icelandic X-mas!

Are you looking for a nice, cheap-ish Christmas IPA? well Jólabóndi might be the one. Offering a flavourful punch of hoppyness and that classic IPA taste, you surely won't be disappointed with this one! A basic craft beer, brewed by a large company, but a good one overall. You can find it in the store by looking for the classic lopapeysa pattern on the can with a seasonally appropriate name such as “jólabóndi” or the more warm “Sumarbóndi”, i.e. just look for a “bóndi” (farmer).

Looking for a darker, “nuttier” Xmas beer? Then the Hnetubrjótur, also known in Anglican as the “nutcracker”, might be the choice for you. This beer offers a nutty but smooth flavor with its creepy imagery on the can that stares you in the eyes every time you take a sip. We would recommend you not to have too many of these as it is quite heavy and “full” in flavor, maybe good to enjoy with your Christmas dessert.

The difference from the Jólabóndi and this one is that our friend the Gluggagægir (one of the Santas) will get you well drunk. Clocking in at 9% alcohol level and being an IPA, it offers a strong and savory IPA taste while really packing a punch. This Santa goes great with food and sipping slowly during Christmas this year! Let's see which Santa visits us next year!

Another Viking beer on our list. Viking, the creators of the very Icelandic-looking “bóndi” line of beers, come to this list armed to the teeth with two beers no less! This one however is different as it is a White Ale. A smooth-tasting mandarin-flavored beer that really screams Christmas, as the mandarin come to stores around Christmas and it's not uncommon for the local school Santa to give the kids some sweet mandarins at the Christmas ball before the annual Christmas break. Very easy to drink while being relatively strong and cheap-ish. A great recommendation for your Christmas party with friends.

This one was a bit of a disappointment, we must say. The design really doesn’t scream Christmas while at the same time the IPA flavor is quite “cereal” and dull. We can’t say we recommend this one as there are clearly other IPA’s that are higher on this Christmas list then this one.

This one promised us Xmas but sadly did not deliver fully on its promises, and left us alone on the street waiting for a taxi to get home. A sweet flavor of cinnamon and spices is a clear indicator of a good Christmas drink, which this beer delivered at the start, but as soon as the liquid goes down, the taste fades into a rather dull and bland lager flavor.

A potato beer?... yup that's it. A black porter made with potatoes. We could be a fan, but sadly we are not really. A good idea but the flavor really doesn’t spark our interest as we are not the biggest fans of these really dark porters or stouts. However, this is a good idea and hopefully, we will see more potato-based beers in the future as it expands the horizon of beers overall. So if you like potatoes, bitterness, and dark beers… This one might be for you!

A classic Christmas character, but the beer does not really live up to its name of the horrid child-eating beast that is Grýla. While Grýla herself is a creepy Icelandic folktale character and the mother of our beloved Santas, the beer is bland and really overall quite disappointing. A slightly golden lager beer with a thin watery flavor that will leave you wanting more. The only upside, it's cheap.

Now this one was a rather special one. It promises us a classic Icelandic Christmas cake. However the flavor that we get from this darker than dark imperial stout is a flavor of… artificial banana? I don’t know but it might just be us, we get the roasted flavor of the “baked cake” but the banana flavor comes from something that we really don’t care much for. All we can say, at least not for us.

Vulgar, super strong, dark, and expensive. That really sums up this beer. The taste is basically rum with coconut (Malibu?) but in the form of a beer. We really don’t like it and it was a hard task finishing this 10,5% beer. We don’t recommend it, if you go for it, be warned. It might not be for you… or maybe it is, what do we know?