It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Beer: Birrificio Del Ducato Krampus

Yesterday, the film Krampus was released.  In honor of this, last night, I decided to break out a bomber that I had been saving just for an occasion like this, Birrificio Del Ducato's Krampus.  For those of you unfamiliar with the legend of Krampus, he is a horned, devil-like, anthropomorphic creature in Germanic (of course) folklore that acted as kind of a yin to Saint Nicholas's yang.  While Saint Nicholas rewarded good children by putting fruit and candy in their shoes, Krampus punished bad children by -- I kid you not -- kidnapping them, binding them in chains, and throwing them into a lake.

When my kids are acting like shits, I tell them about Krampus.  Even though my wife and I have told them time and time again that Krampus isn't real, they are still terrified of him.  As they should be.  I show them this picture, which I have saved on my phone (along with several others of Krampus) to use in times of insolence and refusal to brush teeth:

You may have your Elf on a Shelf, but my Krampus pics are just as effective.

So a beer named after Krampus has to be a good Christmas ale, right?  Wrong.  Remember that what Santa giveth, Krampus taketh away.  This was supposed to be a Belgian style strong ale (one of my favorite styles of beer), but I apparently kept this one too long because it tasted way too vinegary.  I looked a little closer at the bottle, and it said, "Brewed for Christmas 2010."  I bought it at Whole Foods in 2012 or 2013, so it was already a few years old when I got it.  Some beers can be cellared and be fine (or even better) after a couple years.  Five years was too many in this case.  Krampus wins again!

Name:  Krampus
Brewery:  Birrificio Del Ducato
Location:  Roncale Verdi di Busseto, Parma, Italy
ABV: 9.0%
IBU:  N/A
Good for drinking if:  you have been very very naughty
Rating (out of 5 stars):  1.5 stars