Snowy, cold weather is tons of fun for the week of Christmas and very little fun when it lasts four months straight. But with wintry conditions comes darker, richer, slow sipping beers. When the weather turns dark and dreary, you can head for stouts and porters, but there’s one special wintertime beer that is the focus of the season. It’s a beer brewed specifically to celebrate the holidays: Christmas Ale.
This sweet elixir is made for, you guessed it, Christmas. You’re probably not going to grab a bottle in July. It might be a little heavy for the sun and humidity that goes with summertime imbibing. One of the most famous of these seasonal beers is Anchor Christmas Ale. Arguably the most popular of this style, Anchor has been releasing this holiday favorite for 43 years.
“This year’s brew is a smooth and creamy winter warmer with subtle hints of honey and herbal spice,” says Anchor Brewmaster Scott Ungermann.
There’s little debate that Anchor started the trend of Christmas Beers in America. When the first Anchor Christmas Ale was released in 1975, it was the first holiday beer to be produced since prohibition. Even though Anchor was the first, it’s far from the last. Breweries all over the country have since tried their hand at creating a Christmas beer. And some are even pretty good.
We decided to list some of our favorite Christmas beers below. Check them out and let us know if we missed your favorite in the comments.
This beer is smooth, rich, and full of holiday spices and hints of caramel, vanilla, and honey. At 6.7% ABV, this beer isn’t as strong as many darker, winter beers on the market. But, even though it isn’t high in alcohol, it’s still high in flavor. It’s malty, subtly spicy, and perfect for a cold winter’s night whether it be Christmas, Hanukah, or Festivus.
This 7.5% ABV beer from Great Lakes is full of holiday spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and honey. A very balanced holiday beer, it has just as much of a kick of holiday spices as it does of honey, caramel sweetness. But, don’t take our word for it. We aren’t the only ones who love this holiday brew, it’s a six-time medal winner at the World Beer Championships.
Available from October until December, Deschutes Jubelale is 6.7% ABV and features myriad malts, including: Crystal, Pale, Roasted Barley, Extra Special, and Carapils. Heavily hopped for a winter beer, Jubeale is chocked full of Bravo, Cascade, Delta, US Tettnang, and East Kent Goldings hops.
The combination gives the beer a spicy, floral, malty, festive flavor perfectly suited for holiday get-togethers.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BcizG3aHEks/?taken-by=sweetwaterbrew
Atlanta’s Sweetwater has gained a large following in the beer world in the last few years. These beer fans eagerly await the brewery’s Festive Ale each year. This year, the brew sits at 8.1% ABV and is full of Centennial and Golding hops as well as holiday flavors like cinnamon, nutmeg. Together, these flavors create a well-rounded beer that deserves to be sipped slowly in front of a roaring fire.
If the name “Mad Elf” didn’t explain it already, this holiday beer is not to be taken lightly. At 11% ABV, this Belgian Strong Dark Ale packs a Christmas punch but the strong malt presence and Spicy Belgian yeast, along with flavors of sour cherries, honey, caramel, cinnamon, and cloves will make you want to drink more than just one.
This Imperial Stout is no joke. At 13% ABV, it’s pretty much the equivalent of almost three average beers. It’s perfectly suited for imbibing on snowy, winter nights. It’s almost as dark as a moonless night with hints of vanilla, chocolate, caramel, and a whole lot of Christmas spices. The main holiday flavor you’ll notice is gingerbread which makes this winter favorite a borderline dessert beer.
This 8.2% fireside warmer is a very limited winter release for the popular Colorado brewery. If you can get your hands on this, you’ll be greeted with a delicious blend of malt and spicy Abbey Ale Yeast as well as a number of holiday spices. It’s sweet, rich, and has flavors of cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and dried fruits. This holiday classic is the kind of brew that you’ll look forward to Santa leaving under your tree year after year.
Avery Old Jubilation
https://www.instagram.com/p/hFGb3Pqw5p/?tagged=oldjubilation
Jubilation is defined as “a feeling of great triumph or happiness”. If that doesn’t sum up the excitement of the holidays, we don’t know what does. This 8.3% ABV English Strong Ale doesn’t contain “holiday spices” like some of the other Christmas beers on this list. But, it does have five malts, including chocolate malt. The result of these malts, along with London Ale Yeast, is a rich, delicious, malty beer with hints of hazelnut and caramel.
