Shelton Brother’s Christmas Beers The best beers...imported by hand.
What exactly does that mean, and how does Shelton Brothers do it?
The best beers are brewed with a sense of place, a distinctive house character, and an appreciation for tradition, value, and/or the natural art of beer-making. Most often, this is expressed in breweries producing less than 5,000hl per year, though some brilliant exceptions exist, especially in Germany.
Beer should have depth, texture, and nuance – it should sometimes even be a little rough around the edges. There are a few (very few) exceptions to every rule, but generally speaking, that means the following about a brewery’s beers:
• Brewed in small batches using traditional methods
• Unsweetened
• Unpasteurized
• Unfiltered / Bottle-conditioned
• Little to no use of spices or adjuncts
• Slow-fermented
• Distinctive house yeast or yeasts
• Dry as opposed to sweet
There’s no miracle to importing good beer – just hard work and a lot of travel. They specifically seek out unmanipulated beer, generally looking to small breweries with craftsmen taking seriously their passion for a natural, traditionally-made product.
Shelton Brothers is the only beer importer with these specific criteria for hand-selecting what we offer to our customers. They’ve turned down offers from large European breweries, and will continue to do so. They’re only interested in bringing you the very best. Bad Elf:
Style: IPA/Hoppy beer, Winter/Holiday beer
Alcohol Content: 6%
Bottle type: 500mL bottle Without a doubt, the Bad Elf rocked last year. This year, just for the sake of change, it’s a different brew, and even better. Look for something a little less hoppy, a little more malty, and a little more festive this time around. This Elf is so bad, it’s way good.
Olde England meets the New World in this strong, warming golden ale. A generous amount of famous English malt is masterfully balanced with an astounding 45 ounces of fresh hops – including English Cascade – per barrel. Bad Elf is brewed by Peter Scholey, master brewer for the late and much-lamented Brakspear Brewery of Henley-on-Thames, England. Peter has bought up the entire crop from the single row of Cascades grown in the U.K. Criminally Bad Elf:
Style: Barley wine beer
Alcohol Content: 10.5% (you know its good)
Bottle Type: 500mL bottle
Dark toffee and caramel flavors do time with an oaky astringency and a good dose of alcohol burn. Be careful with this one. At 10.5% it might make you do something stupid and end up like the little guy on the label. Lump of Coal:
Style: Stout, Winter/Holiday beer
Alcohol Content: 8%
Bottle Type: 500mL Looking forward to a depressing holiday? Here is liquid consolation. This 8% bittersweet chocolate stout is the best you could hope for in these dark times. Actually, come to think of it, considering how bad you’ve been, this little coal-black gem is more than you deserve for Christmas this year. The handiwork of vastly talented (but altogether too cheery) master brewer Peter Scholey, Lump of Coal is the perfect stocking stuffer for the beer lover or manic depressive in your family. Santa’s Butt: Style: Porter, Winter/Holiday beer
Alcohol Content: 6%
Bottle Type: 500mL bottle Everyone said it couldn’t be done, but they did it: Santa’s Butt, the beer, coming to a theater near you for the holidays. It’s a splendid, satisfying Winter Porter at 6% -- a souped-up version of the classic Entire Butt Porter that you’ve enjoyed in the past. Everyone wants a piece of Santa’s Butt.
This special porter is made for winter -- rich and warming, the way they like it in the North Pole. It was inspired by this famous line from a well-loved children’s story book:
"And Santa sat on his great butt, drinking a hearty brew."
In case you find that amusing, we hasten to point out that in England ‘butt’ refers to a certain barrel used in brewing -- a very large barrel, in fact, holding 108 imperial gallons. Back in the day it was quite a normal thing for a brewery to put its beer up in a large butt for storage.
Seriously Bad Elf:
Style: English Ale, Winter/Holiday beer
Alcohol Content: 9%
Bottle Type: 500mL bottle Another masterpiece from Peter Scholey. Seriously Bad Elf is Peters's very English interpretation of a Belgian Tripel, brewed to warming 9% alcohol, especially for his rapidly-growing American following.
Seriously, you don't want to miss this beer. Insanely Bad Elf:
Style: Imperial Red Ale, Winter/Holiday beer
Alcohol Content: 11.2%
Bottle Type: 12oz single bottles
We can't find anything online about this brew, even on the importer's website, so you'll have to stop in and try one for yourself. Reindeer’s Revolt:
Style: English Christmas Ale
Alcohol Content: 6%
Bottle Type: 1PT.9 FL Oz
This is another brand spankin new beer from the folks at Ridgeway, and another one that I can't find any info on, so come on in and try it for yourself! | 
