The pouring for Saturnalia MMXI begins on Plaid Friday, November 25.

It's time again for NABC's annual Saturnalia primer.

Just like last year, some listed selections for Saturnalia MMXI will begin pouring on Plaid Friday, November 25. I'll post the starters some time that morning. In the past, we were able to have many more Saturnalia beers pouring at once, but these days there are fewer taps to fill with 12-15 NABC house beers are on tap all the time. There'll be six, maybe eight Saturnalia beers on draft at any given time, plenty enough to last through December.

The NABC Pizzeria & Public House opens at 11:00 a.m. on the 25th. Note also that in the interest of saving a few bucks, I'll once again refrain from printing the official program, although it will be posted as a .pdf at the website, and you can download and print it yourself if desired. The link will appear here and on Facebook as soon as the program is finished.

Following are the simple listings of 30 beers for Saturnalia MMXI.

Anchor Christmas Ale (“Merry Christmas & Happy New Year”) 2011
Boulder Never Summer Ale
Boulevard Harvest Dance Wheat Wine 9.1%
Boulevard Nutcracker Ale *
Breckenridge Christmas Ale
Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout 2010
Clipper City Winter Storm
Corsendonk Christmas Ale
Dark Horse Tres
Einbecker Winter Dopple Bock
Great Divide Belgian Yeti
Great Divide Chocolate Oak Aged Yeti
Great Divide Hibernation Ale
Left Hand Fade to Black 2011
Mahrs Christmas Bock
NABC Bonfire of the Valkyries
NABC Naughty Claus
NABC Solidarity
New Belgium Snow Day
Ommegang Chocolate Indulgence Stout
Ommegang/Chouffe Gnommegang
North Coast Brother Thelonious
Schlenkerla Eiche
Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale
Stone 15th Anniversary Escondidian Black IPA
Stone Belgo IRS 2011
Stone Double Bastard 2010
Stone Vertical Epic 10.10.10
Three Floyds Alpha Klaus Xmas Porter
Two Brothers Hop Juice

For those just tuning in, we've been doing this for a while.

In pre-Christian Rome, Saturnalia was the annual winter solstice celebration coinciding with the feast days for Saturn (god of sowing and the harvest), Consus (god of the storage bin) and Opa (goddess of plenty).

Many of our contemporary winter holiday traditions derive from Saturnalia’s pagan roots, including the hanging of wreaths and garlands, donations to the needy, prayers for peace, time off work to be enjoyed with family, and of course eating, drinking and merriment.

NABC pays tribute to these ancient pagan origins with Saturnalia, our holiday draft celebration. When the doors open at 11:00 a.m. on our new Saturnalia kick-off day, Plaid Friday (November 25, 2011), the first wave of sacrificial MMXI Saturnalia selections will be tapped in the traditional, ritualistic manner, and the hedonistic pleasures will begin. The remaining kegs will be deployed as the days pass, and the revelry is expected to continue throughout the month of December.

Pricing and portion sizes vary according to alcohol content and style. During the festival’s run, information and updates will appear on our web site: www.newalbanian.com