Lowlands Group of restaurants, including Cafe Hollander and others, has penned a new holiday song and recorded it with employees.
It's also offering customers a deal on the "12 Biers of Festivus," honoring of the song of the same name.
The beers are winter brews from Belgium that will be on tap at all the group's "cafe" restaurants this holiday season, including Hollander, Cafe Centraal and Cafe Benelux.
When you order one of the beers, listed below, you'll get a punch card. Try them all and you'll get a $20 gift card valid at any Lowlands Group restaurant.
- Santa Rampage Winter Ale – Belgian Dubbel, 7.5% ABV, Brouwerij Van Steenberge
- Val-Dieu Winter – Amber, 7%, Abbaye du Val-Dieu
- St. Bernardus Christmas – Quadrupel, 10%, St. Bernardus Brewery
- Delirium Noel – Belgian Strong Ale, 10%, Brouwerij Huyghe
- Chimay Blue – Trappist, Quadrupel, 9%, Bieres de Chimay
- Gordon Xmas – The Original Christmas Ale, 8.8%, Brewery John Martin
- Friar’s Festivus – Quadrupel, 10.2%, Monkless Brewery
- Gouden Carolus Christmas – Christmas Ale, 10%, Brouwerij Het Anker
- Duchesse Chocolate Cherry – Flanders Red Ale with Fruit Bier, 6.8%, Brouwerij Verhaeghe
- Silly Winter (Enghien de NoeÌl) – Christmas Bier, 9.8%, Brasserie de Silly
- St. Feuillien CuveÌe de NoeÌl – Belgian Strong Ale, 9.5%, Brasserie St. Feuillien
- N’ice Chouffe – Winter Bier, 10%, Brasserie D’Achouffe
The beers are celebrated in a new song – which you can hear here – that riffs on the "Twelve Days of Christmas."
The "12 Biers of Festivus" is performed by Lowlands staffers, and it goes like this:
On the first day of Festivus,
my true love gave to me,
Twelve gnomes a-gifting,
Eleven pilgrims wandering,
Ten farmers reaping,
Nine duchesses dancing,
Eight maids a-brewing,
Seven friars tasting,
Six gordons cheersing,
Five trappist biers,
Four jolly elephants,
Three Belgian monks,
Two golden rings,
And a Santa rampaging
Here's a bit of an explanation from the Lowlands folks...
"Twelve gnomes a-gifting refers to Brasserie D’Achouffe’s official brand mascot–the gnome–a symbol that represents the brewery’s effort to break away from traditional religious symbolism often found in Belgian bier culture.
"Eleven pilgrims wandering dates back to the year 655, when an Irish monk came to the town of Roeulx, Belgium to evangelize the region, and was subsequently murdered. At the site of his murder, religious individuals established the Abbey of Saint-Feuillien, a place of martyrdom that pilgrims visited for centuries.
"Ten farmers reaping paints a picture of Brasserie de Silly’s history. The brewery was founded in 1850 on a farm called Cense de la Tour in the village of Silly, Belgium. Its first bier, Saison Silly, was brewed to serve the farm’s seasonal workers.
"Nine duchesses dancing nods to Brouwerij Verhaeghe’s Duchesse collection, a trio of ruby red biers that are marked by an image of Duchesse Mary of Burgundy.
"Eight maids a-brewing commemorates Brouwerij Het Anker and its rich history of women in brewing. Female brewers at Het Anker date back to the 1400s, when a semi-monastic community of religious women, also known as the Mechelen Beguinage, brewed bier on the site of Het Anker’s current brewery.
"Seven friars tasting represents Friar’s Festivus, a Belgian strong ale brewed by Monkless Brewing. The Bend, Oregon brewery named this bier as such in an effort to play on the traditional association of monks and religion with Belgian brewing practices.
"Six gordons cheersing refers to Brewery John Martin’s Christmas bier, Gordon Xmas.
"Five trappist biers refers to all five biers in Chimay’s collection, all of which are trappist biers. In order to be considered a trappist bier, it must be brewed by or under the supervision of practicing Trappist monks in a Benedictine abbey.
"Four jolly elephants is in reference to Brouwerij Huyghe’s brand mascot, the pink elephant. The elephant was selected in an effort to paint a picture of hallucinations that can come from alcohol withdrawal, also known as Delirium Tremens, which is the name of the brewery’s top-selling ale of the same name.
"Three Belgian monks refers to the brewing practices of Belgian monks who fled France and sought refuge in Belgium, ultimately establishing St. Bernardus Brewery.
"Two golden rings acknowledges the logo for Abbaye du Val-Dieu, French for 'Valley of God.' The two interlocked golden rings represent the 'bond of peace,' which signifies the monastery’s commitment to fostering unity and harmony within its community and beyond.
"The final line in the song, 'And a Santa rampaging,' is one that Milwaukee folks might find familiar. The lyric refers to Lowlands Group’s exclusive Santa Rampage Winter Ale, a popular Belgian dubbel brewed by Brouwerij Van Steenberge, and the namesake for Wisconsin Bike Fed’s Santa Cycle Rampage ride that takes place every year."
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.