It doesn’t feel like it could possibly be true, but we are already in the midst of the holiday season. Summer vacations, Halloween, and even Thanksgiving are firmly in the rearview mirror and the holidays are about to crank up into overdrive. This means that regardless of where you live, the days are growing shorter, and the nights are getting colder. It also means that Christmas beers are finally here.
The best part? You don’t have to wait until December 25th to unwrap these winter warmers, Belgian strong ales, wheat beers, and other seasonal offerings. You can crack open one of these bad boys right now. Heck, we don’t care if it’s noon. Everyone enjoys a nice, malty, potentially seasonally spiced lunch beer, right? Even if you’re going to wait until the evening, you can enjoy these beers from now until Christmas (and beyond).
This brings us to an important question: what exactly is a Christmas beer? While not technically an official category in the beer world, the term “Christmas beer” is used to describe a beer that (you guessed it) is supposed to be imbibed during holiday celebrations. While there are no specific rules, Christmas beers are usually higher in alcohol content than your average beer and are usually maltier, darker, and might even contain season spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, and others), herbs, and fruits (dried cherries, orange peels, and other fruits).
Now that we’ve defined this seasonal style, it’s time to actually find some to keep you stocked up through the holidays. Luckily, we did the hard work (drinking many beers) for you. We found ten great Christmas beers that deserve a spot at your holiday meal or as an accompaniment to NFL or college bowl games this month. Keep reading to see them all.
Anchor Christmas Ale
In the pantheon of Christmas beers, it’s hard to top Anchor Christmas Ale. The iconic seasonal offering has been released year after year since its inception way back in 1975. The best part is that each year the label is different (every label features a different hand-drawn festive Christmas tree) and so is the recipe. The 2022 version is a “rye-forward” spiced ale with hints of toasted malts, orange peels, sweet honey, and rich, memorable winter spices. It’s the most popular, highly beloved Christmas ale for a reason.
- Origin: California
- ABV: 7.2%
- Price Range: $11.99-12.99 for a six-pack
St. Bernardus Christmas Ale
When it comes to Christmas beers, you’d be remiss if you never left the US beer scene. There are numerous noteworthy Christmas beers from across the pond. One of the best is St. Bernardus Christmas Ale. This 10 percent Quadruple is known for its dark brown color and flavors of roasted malts, toasted nuts, dried fruits, milk chocolate, and wintry spices. This is the type of winter seasonal that, after one taste, will find a permanent spot on your holiday table year after year.
- Origin: Belgium
- ABV: 10%
- Price Range: $11.99-12.99 for a 750ml bottle
Southern Tier 2XMAS Spiced Double Ale
The 2X in this beer’s name is a reference to it being a bold, higher-ABV spiced double winter ale. This beer, that’s as close to a fruitcake in beer form as possible, is brewed with fig paste, orange peels, ginger root, cardamom, cinnamon, and cloves. Paying homage to the traditional European holiday drink of Glögg, Southern Tier 2XMAS is known for its flavors of caramel malts, holiday spices, dried fruits, and gently floral, herbal hops at the very end. It’s a truly unique beer that you have to taste to really believe.
- Origin: New York
- ABV: 8%
- Price Range: $11.50-12.50 for a six-pack
Great Lakes Christmas Ale
This popular 7.5 percent ABV Christmas Ale is brewed with Mt. Hood and Cascade hops as well as a malt backbone of 2-row base malt, wheat, Crystal 45, Special Roast, and roasted barley. While that might not seem like the makings of a holiday beer, the addition of honey, cinnamon, and ginger changes that. It’s a nice mix of sweet malts, light hops, citrus peels, honey, and seasonal spices. It’s the complex, well-balanced Christmas Ale of your dreams.
- Origin: Ohio
- ABV: 7.5%
- Price Range: $11.99-12.99 for a six-pack
Revolution Fistmas Holiday Ale
With a name like Fistmas, you can bet this is a real gut punch of a holiday beer (in the best way possible of course). This 6.5 percent seasonal offering starts as a red ale. It’s then steeped with ginger and orange peel to add to its December-centric flavor profile. What results of a beer with notes of freshly baked brown bread, caramel sweetness, dried fruits, ginger, and candied orange peel. It also results in tons of holiday mirth and good times.
- Origin: Illinois
- ABV: 6.5%
- Price Range: $11.99-12.99 for a six-pack
Tröegs Mad Elf Ale
While the elf that adorns this bottle might be a little too mischievous for us to want him to visit our home during the holiday season, that won’t stop us from drinking his beer. Tröegs might be one of the most underrated breweries in America and beers like this prove it. If this holiday ale brewed with a handful of different cherries and honey isn’t already one of your winter go-to beers, you’re totally missing out. It’s known for its slightly spiced, dried cherry, wintry flavor that leaves you craving more.
- Origin: Pennsylvania
- ABV: 11%
- Price Range: $15.99-16.99 for a six-pack
Boulevard Nutcracker Ale
If you’re anything like us, you’ve seen your fair share of nutcrackers during the holidays in your life. Also, if you’re anything like us, you’ve tried to use them actually crack nuts to less-than-stellar results. Either way, the nutcracker seems to be a holiday staple and this winter warmer is made in its honor. Chinook hops add a spicy, floral presence to a caramel, roasted malt-filled beer. Unlike many winter warmers, this seasonal brew relies on malts and hops to give it a great wintry flavor with no additional spices and ingredients.
- Origin: Missouri
- ABV: 7.8%
- Price Range: $11.99-12.99 for a six-pack
Shiner Holiday Cheer Wheat Beer
Often, when a brewery releases a Christmas beer, it’s a bold, malty beer like a winter warmer or strong ale. It’s also not your usual wintry spiced beer. Instead, this dunkelweizen is brewed with Texas-grown peaches and roasted pecans. It’s known for its bready malts, caramel, tropical fruits (including peaches), candied pecans, and light bitterness. It’s a very unique seasonal beer that you’ll likely start seeking out every year now.
- Origin: Texas
- ABV: 5.4%
- Price Range: $11.99-12.99 for a six-pack
Victory Merry Monkey Belgian Strong Ale
If you’ve never tried it, Victory’s Golden Monkey is a 9.5 percent Belgian-style Tripel known for its banana, clove, and fruity flavors. Its holiday version (Merry Monkey) is a 10 percent ABV Belgian-style ale brewed with Pilsner and roasted malted barley, Cascade and Tettnang hops as well as cranberry, orange peel, cinnamon, and nutmeg. It’s a bold, yeasty, spiced winter ale created to warm you from inside out.
- Origin: Pennsylvania
- ABV: 10%
- Price Range: $12.99-13.99 for a six-pack
Deschutes Jubelale
With a name like Deschutes Jubelale, you can guarantee, this is a festive, flavorful beer. This 6.7 percent ABV “Festive Winter Ale” is brewed with a malt base of Pale, Crystal, Extra Special, Carapils, and roasted barley. It gets its floral, spicy hop flavor from the addition of Bravo, Cascade, Delta, US Tettnang, and East Kent Goldings hops. It’s known for its warming mix of freshly baked bread, caramel, cocoa powder, and lightly earthy, herbal spices.
- Origin: Oregon
- ABV: 6.7%
- Price Range: $11.99-12.99 for a six-pack
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