Stony Creek Holiday IPA and Jones Tree Farm Trail Mix Cookie

This pairing is all about holiday traditions, how to forge new ones that mix with the old.

The Beer: Stony Creek continues to put out new stuff that, regardless of your personal taste, always sounds intriguing. On an early December weekend I saw the holiday IPA on the shelf, I had to know how an IPA could fill the holiday beer role. As I poured it from the can, it smelled like an IPA... and yet also was somehow different. The can claims it includes spices, which I am not discerning enough to pick out but the character is definitely there. Overall a solid IPA with some of those great citrus notes, but appropriate for the time when winter sets in and you needs something to warm you up.

The Cookie: Jones Christmas tree farm is an institution and a tradition. We, with many CT folks, make the pilgrimage the first weekend after thanksgiving to walk the seemingly endless property in search of ‘the perfect tree’. Such a tree doesn’t exist in reality as there are dozens and dozens of trees that would be more than perfect in our houses. The perfect tree appears when the kids are getting tired, you have caught up with friends about the events of the month and the holidays ahead, and your sawing hands gets antsy. Before embarking on this journey, however, it is crucial to go prepared. As ingrained in the experience as these other steps is forgetting to bring snacks and realizing the importance of not going into the forest on an empty stomach and risking a hangry fellowship. Fortunately, we know where to go to solve the problem, getting a trail mix cookie and hot cider from the shop. The cookie is packed with goodies like dried fruit, oatmeal and is nicely spiced. Trail mix is usually a warm weather treat, to take on a hiking trip or an outdoor concert, but this transitions it to the perfect companion to a winter walk.

The Pairing: Both the beer and cookie are great holiday-appropriate adaptations of, what I consider to be, normally warm weather treats. It just so happens that they go together very well, with the spices working together and the citrus and juice from the IPA melding with the dried fruit and butter in the cookie. A dunk works well at a table, but I think this would really shine crunching through frosted grass on a chilly morning in December, looking for the perfect tree.