Regardless of what part of the country (or the Northern Hemisphere) you live in, you’re bound to have at least a handful of teeth-chattering cold days left before spring. The type of day where, instead of waiting for your car to warm up so you can head off to work, you’d rather just call in sick and stay home in front of a fireplace and sip warming alcoholic beverages all afternoon. Especially if that warming treat is a malty, rich beer.
When we talk about warming winter beers, we’re talking about winter warmers, barleywines, Scotch ales, and other bold, warming beers. And who better to highlight these wintry beers than the people who actually make them? We asked a handful of well-known brewers and craft beer experts to tell us the best beers to warm up with this February — keep scrolling to see them all!
Deschutes Black Mirror
Matt Lally, head brewer at Evil Genius Beer Company in Philadelphia
ABV: 13%
Average Price: $19.99 for a 22-ounce bottle
The Beer:
I’d have to go with Deschutes Brewery Black Mirror. It’s a malty, oak, very well-balanced, warming barleywine well suited for the winter months ahead.
Tasting Notes:
The strong notes of vanilla, whiskey, caramel, and coffee are what I really love about this one.
Firestone Walker Sucaba
Judy Neff, founder and brewer at Checkerspot Brewing Company (winner of Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream 2022 Experienceship) in Baltimore
ABV: 11-13%
Average Price: $12.99 for a 12-ounce bottle
The Beer:
Sucaba from Firestone Walker. This English-style barleywine is matured for a minimum of a year in a combination of barrels that formerly held Four Roses, Heaven Hill, and Old Fitzgerald bourbon.
Tasting Notes:
It has the characteristic dark fruits like raisins and dates, caramel, and brown sugar, but so well balanced and a real treat to sip out of a snifter during the cold months.
Van Trapp Trösten Lager
Jessica Eaton, assistant taproom manager at Exhibit ‘A’ Brewing Company in Framingham, Massachusetts
ABV: 6%
Average Price: $11.99 for a four-pack
The Beer:
Trösten Lager from von Trapp Brewing. It’s a great beer to ‘warm’ your inside when it’s so cold outside. This dark, nutty lager translates to ‘comforting’ and that’s exactly what it is.
Tasting Notes:
I really enjoy the roasted malt flavors, chocolate notes, and a touch of smokiness to round it out.
Traquair House Ale
George Hummel, grain master of My Local Brew Works in Philadelphia
ABV: 7.2%
Average Price: $6.50 for an 11-ounce bottle
The Beer:
Traquair House Ale from Scotland is just a wonderful Wee Heavy. The estate once gave shelter to Bonny Prince Charlie whilst fleeing the British Army. When he left, the gates were closed ‘n’er to be opened till the rightful Scottish King regained the throne in Britain.’
Tasting Notes:
Just a marvelous swirling of dried fruit, brown sugar, sherry, and plums. What could be better during the winter months?
Boulder Killer Penguin
Bryan Donaldson, the brewing innovation manager at Lagunitas Brewing Company in Petaluma, California
ABV: 10%
Average Price: $8.99 for a 22-ounce bottle
The Beer:
Killer Penguin from Boulder Beer. I have a lot of family in Colorado and Boulder Beer is probably the brewery outside of California that I have been going to the longest. I don’t remember the first time I had Killer Penguin, but I do know that it is delicious and dangerous.
Tasting Notes:
Lots of malt character, with hints of bourbon and butterscotch. Lots of dried fruits — you could almost call it a fruitcake in a can, but much more enjoyable than most fruitcakes.
Three Magnets Old Skook in the Woods
Zach Fowle, advanced Cicerone and head of marketing at Arizona Wilderness Brewing Co. in Phoenix
ABV: 11.2%
Average Price: Limited Availability
The Beer:
Three Magnets Old Skook in the Woods is a bourbon barrel-aged version of Old Skook, the beer that earned Three Magnets its first Great American Beer Festival medal.
Tasting Notes:
It marries rich, caramelized malt flavors—brown sugar, cinnamon, maple, fig—with deeper notes of bitter cocoa, molasses, orange juice, and gentle vanilla for a drinking experience like dipping into a bag of bourbon-flavored Rollos.
Fort Point Wishlist
Rob Day, vice president of marketing for Jack’s Abby Craft Lagers in Framingham. Massachusetts
ABV: 6.1%
Average Price: Limited Availability
The Beer:
Wishlist from Fort Point Beer Company. It’s a coffee dark lager. Need I say more? Well, I will. This mocha-inspired dark lager is brewed with Crystal and roasted malts and was brewed to taste like an iced mocha.
Tasting Notes:
This velvety smooth dark lager is highlighted by flavors of dark chocolate, roasted malts, and freshly brewed coffee.
Fuller’s Old Winter Warmer
Fal Allen, Brew Master at Anderson Valley Brewing in Boonville, California
ABV: 4.8%
Average Price: Limited Availability
The Beer:
Fuller’s Old Winter Warmer from London is a dark and distinctive beer that wraps you up like a warm blanket in delicious malt complexity and character, yet it is only 4.8% ABV so it won’t knock you over the head like some of the stronger winter beers.
Tasting Notes:
This beer is a nice mix of caramel malts, candied nuts, and floral, earth hops. Surprisingly warming even with its low ABV.
Fair State Work Life Balance
Garth E. Beyer, certified Cicerone and owner and founder of Garth’s Brew Bar in Madison, Wisconsin
ABV: 13%
Average Price: Limited Availability
The Beer:
I tend to gravitate to English-style barleywine more than American because it showcases fig, raisin, and toffee more prominently. The favorite barleywine in question is Work Life Balance by Fair State Brewing Cooperative.
Tasting Notes:
What makes it special is a tinge of roast (think dark coffee bean rather than campfire) that’s subtly strung through the sweetness of the malt. It’s both chewy, warming, and pleasantly caramel-y. A wonderful wintertime sipper.
Sierra Nevada Bigfoot
Ryan Pachmayer, head brewer at Yak & Yeti Brewpub and Restaurant in Arvada, Colorado
ABV: 9.6%
Average Price: $14 for a six-pack
The Beer:
Vintage Sierra Nevada Bigfoot is still a very fun one to drink. While most modern barleywines that are well-hopped will oxidize poorly or turn to an herbal hop mess, Bigfoot manages to age gracefully.
Tasting Notes:
The early years have a sort of guilty pleasure numbing bitterness to them, but it’s after five or six years when things start to get interesting, the hops (while still somehow there), ease up just enough to let some developed sherry notes shine.
