Holiday Cheer in a bottle

After of a couple of weeks of watching it ferment first in the primary fermentor and then in the secondary, my Holiday Cheer was ready to bottle this weekend. Its not as dark as I would have liked, but it did indeed ferment out to a respectable 9%. It now needs a good 4 ~ 6 weeks of aging in the bottle, but it should be quite drinkable before Christmas. I sampled it a few times during the process of bottling and the alcohol was definitely noticeable, but it should mellow out a little as it ages. Unfortunately, it will probably be drinking best after the holiday season is long gone. I always plan on brewing my Holiday Cheer earlier in the year to allow adequate aging before the festive season begins, but I never think of it in time and its usually so damn hot here until at least mid-September. Right now would probably be a good time to starting thinking about brewing a good spring time beer, but unfortunately, my beer cellar is already bursting at the seams. I guess that means I'll have to spend the winter months emptying it out.