I started weeks ago opening some gifts of the holiday season.

	Annie O'Neill, Post-Gazette photos Troegs Brewing's The Mad Elf Ale Click photo for larger image.

These have included beautifully wrapped bottles of Penn Brewery's smooth St. Nikolas Bock, spicy Great Lakes Christmas Ale and hoppy Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale. I also cracked open my at-least-one-annual bottle of Anchor Christmas Ale, which is the special flavored ale's 32nd annual version and its 32nd different tree label.

I'm glad I started early.

On a visit to the beer store earlier this week, I found the Anchor Christmas sunk and the Great Lakes dried up.

"It's like they say: Shop early for Christmas," said Bill Sukitch, owner of 3 Sons Dogs & Suds in Pine, which already has sold out of those two and other popular beers o' the season.

Listen In: Hear the PG's Bob Batz and Jim White make merry at a tasting of winter beers at D's 6-Pax in Regent Square (with the occasional interjection from soundman Peter King): English brewer Samuel Smith's Winter Welcome Ale (Jim White speaks first) From San Francisco, Anchor Christmas Ale From Belgium, Delirium Noel More about Delirium Noel and sweetness/fruit in beers Related article Name a beer tank

Others in the beer business warn that additional favorites are getting scarce, but that's part of the appeal of this holiday/winter cheer. You should still be able to find a wide array at the bottle shops including 3 Sons, better distributors and beer bars, as there are more new and different brews to unwrap every season.

At the Bocktown Beer and Grill in North Fayette, which has an entire cooler section full of about two dozen such seasonals, owner Chris Dilla also is a fan of Penn's and Great Lakes' and Sierra's offerings. She says, "you can't go wrong with Samuel Smith's Winter Warmer," the classic from England. Another import she loves is Belgium's Corsendonk Christmas Ale.

Market Street Ale House co-owner Tim Santoro also digs the Gorsendonk as well as Gouden Carolus Noel. In American brews, he likes all of Bell's (Kalamazoo, Mich.) avalanche of winter releases, including the new dark and strong Belgianesque Hell Hath No Fury and Hopslam. Also "a huge hit" is Mad Elf Ale -- it's huge as in 11 percent alcohol, thanks to the honey and cherries in it -- from Troegs in Harrisburg.

Penn Brewery St. Nikolaus Bock Click photo for larger image.

Causing a different kind of sensation this year is "Santa's Butt," an English winter porter that was briefly banned in New York and still is banned in Maine because of its cheeky label (though federal authorities deemed it to be OK). The brew was to be available at local outlets, including the Sharp Edge restaurants, but the local distributor didn't receive any. Other brews in the naughty series, including Bad Elf and Very Bad Elf, are available at the Sharp Edges, which are claiming their 40-plus Christmas beers are more than any other pubs in the region.

The Sharp Edges and 3 Sons, by the way, are among the places that sell their own beer gift packs and holiday gift baskets.

The theme of tonight's free weekly tasting at 3 Sons is "The Bell's of Christmas," where you can try Bell's winter lineup: Hell Hath No Fury, Hopslam, Best Brown Ale, Double Cream Stout and Cherry Stout.

Other relatively newly opened places where you can buy individual bottles and mixed six-packs to go include The Pub at the Aspinwall Grille (412-782-6542) and Dawg's Bottle Shoppe & Beer Bar in Greensburg (724-838-1460).

	Bell's Brewery Hell Hath No Fury Click photo for larger image.

Mad Mex locations are touting "the Twelve Beers of MexMas," including Wild Goose Snow Goose and Rogue Santa's Private Reserve, but they are carrying more than a dozen. See the seasonals highlighted in bold on the draft lists at www.madmex.com/drafts/losbrews.shtml.

But don't just call them all Christmas brews. Shmaltz Brewing Co. is celebrating the 10th anniversary of making He'Brew and other beers with a 10-malt, 10-hops, 10-percent-alcohol Hanukkah beer called Monumental Jewbelation. Unfortunately, there's currently no local distributor and so the closest you can find it is Ohio (www.shmaltz.com).

One new one I'm looking forward to trying is Weltenburg Winter-Traum, which is German for winter dream. Another is Snow Melt from East End Brewing Co. that's debuting during the Homewood brewery's "growler hours" from 5 to 7 p.m. tonight; it should be hitting area bars by this weekend.

Here's what some other local brewers are cooking up this holiday season:

At Wilkins' John Harvard's Brew House, brewer Andrew Maxwell's offerings include Fireside Winter Warmer and Belgian White Christmas. He reports, "In the near future I will be releasing the 'Holiday Happiness,' which is a Belgian double abbey." He's also soon to release a half-barrel of imperial stout that has aged since January 2004.

Samuel Smith's Winter Welcome Ale Click photo for larger image.

At Lawrenceville's Church Brew Works, they just put on a Biere de Noel, which brewer Brant Dubovick describes as a malty Northern French Christmas beer of about 7 percent. They also have a holiday pepper-spiced ale called Viper, and, coming in January, a yet-unnamed winter warmer. Says Dubovick, who recently took over the Church brewing helm, "This is the time of year I'm really excited to be a brewer."

Greensburg's Red Star Brewery & Grill will soon be releasing its Sully Bock as well as its traditional barley wine, called "Santa's Little Helper." For gift-giving, bottles of the stuff -- aged for one to five years -- also will be available.

At Johnstown Brewing Co., Barrett Goddard just put on tap a full-bodied amber lager called Wheelhouse Winterfest (as well as Riverside Raspberry Lambic).

At Slippery Rock's North Country Brewing Co., you can take in a Winter Solstice and the Yule Log Ceremony at 8 p.m. next Thursday (724-794-BEER or www.northcountrybrewing.com). You can sip brewer Sean McIntyre's yet-unnamed Belgian spiced ale, or a dry-hopped Jack Frost, "Guaranteed to warm your nose and curl your toes."