As soon as you finish with finals, you'll have to deal with the stress of buying holiday gifts and cheek-pinching relatives. Many folks will reach for the eggnog and rum, but we'd like to present an alternative: Holiday beers. If you're unfamiliar with the selection available, don't get your long johns in a bunch. We've devised a new rating system to help you decide which beers you should invest in and which ones you should avoid.

Great Lakes Brewing Co. Christmas Ale

This extremely drinkable ale has much more than the standard hops, malts and yeast. A season's greetings of seasonings spice this beer with additional flavor. The start of the drink is slightly spicy - possibly cinnamon or a spice, such as cumin - and continues through a range of flavors as it hits your tongue. It finishes with a combo of the beer's natural flavor and honey with a persistent pulse of ginger. This beer gets our top rating of two raised pint glasses. We found it at West Oades' Big Ten Party Store, 314 S. Clippert St. in Lansing. Find it in your hometown, pick up a pack and share it with your obnoxious uncle.

Samuel Adams Winter Lager

This is a dark lager with a slightly stronger spice flavor than the previous beer, most notably cinnamon (certainly NOT cumin). The taste hints at a wheat beer, and has the underlying quality of the regular, non-seasonal Sam Adams that most people are used to. It maintains the brewery's crisp, hoppy identity. We've seen this at most convenience stores, so you should have no trouble finding it wherever your parents drag you when you get home. The Winter Lager gets our endorsement of two raised glasses. This is the beer you should reach for when you're sweaty from shoveling the drive, because it's both thirst-quenching and seasonal.

Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale

This isn't a bad beer, but it doesn't really fit the bill of a holiday beer. We're looking for something that makes it stand out from a year-round brew, but this could be enjoyed on the beach. The aroma is deceiving; the hops are noticeable to the nose, but we didn't expect them to be so strong in the mouth. If you like India Pale Ale, this is worth a try. Normally, it might get a mixed review from the Drinking Buddies, but, we're forced to give it no raised glasses. Its availability was good - we saw it at three stores while beer shopping. We're not advising you avoid it, but if you're looking to boost your holiday spirit with methods other than a fuzzy Santa hat, this isn't the answer.

Kalamazoo Brewing Co. Bell's Winter White Ale

A pungent scent of wheat introduces you to this winter beer, which we're sure is making the agriculture majors just pee in their overalls. Winter Ale is unremarkably similar to most summer white beers except for its slight tang of holiday spice. Although disappointed with its pedestrian taste, we were refreshed to find a light and drinkable winter brew in a season when most winter beers feel they must be heavy and thick. This beer receives one raised glass. It's available in most major retail outlets. We purchased ours at Shop-Rite, but have seen it available in Meijer and West Oades' Big Ten Party Store.

Scaldis Noel Belgian Special Ale

This Belgian (obviously) brew packs a Tyson-like bite ... er ... punch. The bottle doesn't list the alcohol by volume, but we suspect it to be more than average (average is around 5 percent). The spices are quite present and the malts are strong. The sweet flavor combined with the spices make it more appropriate for an after-dinner beer. Ryan doesn't enjoy the sweetness, but he can't argue with the Christmasy quality. This import gets one raised glass. We found it at West Oades. Check it out for a change if you like strong flavors, but beware of the price tag - this single beer rang up at more than $4.

Petrus Winterbeer

Petrus pours a beautiful glass. A light crown head with a slightly opaque amber color makes it something to admire. Well, after about an hour of just staring at its aesthetic qualities, we decided it would look better down our throats. Bringing it up to your nose gives you a whiff of what is to come: A drink with strong taste and alcohol. The spice of the season is there, as is the heavy taste of sweet malts and a strong carbonation. At 7 percent alcohol, this is certainly the drink to give Debbie at the office Christmas party in hopes that you'll get to see her boobs for the fourth year in a row. Availability is an issue with this beer. We managed to scrounge some up at West Oades (notice the pattern). Because of the lovely motif of Santa on a bobsled on the label, this beer manages to squeak by with a single glass raised.

These beers were rated and described with help from the adept tongue of advertising senior Dan Turkovich.