By
Chris Martin
published
in Features
It’s the time of year for festive cheer. And today we’re saying cheers to all the Christmas beers out there. We all like a drink or two over the holiday season and breweries around the world treat us with some amazing seasonal brews.
Traditional Christmas ales are rich, dark and spiced and we have plenty of those here. Colder weather and murky evenings call for beers that will warm your cockles and make your cheeks rosy.
However, the rise of craft beer means there are also some interesting alternatives.
2024 Update! Having thoroughly updated our selection from previous years, you'll find eight all-new brews for Christmas 2024 in our list below. Whether you're after a stroopwaffel-inspired milk stout, or a ruby-red winter warmer, there will be something for all tastes below.
Most of these beers are only made during the Christmas season so grab them while you can. The darker, stronger ones will also age well so why not drink one this year and see how it changes in flavour come next Christmas.
Remember to upvote your favourite Christmas beer.
Best Christmas beer
£36 at orbitbeers.comWe’ve never seen a Christmas lager before, so we just had to try this from Orbit. Joly Saint Nico is a spiced version of the brewery’s core range Kolsch sticking at a drinkable 4.8%.It doesn’t look any different to normal but added spices give it that wintery warmth. Importantly, the nutmeg, cinnamon and allspice are delicately balanced to avoid being overpowering.
at heatonhops.co.ukImperial milk stouts aren’t typically Christmas beers but Brew York has made it so with this beer, inspired by the Dutch treat of Stroopwaffels.Not done by half measures, this is a big beer at 8.5% abv so there’s plenty of booze to keep you warm. It’s thick and creamy with lactose and has oodles of syrupy caramel sweetness with a biscuity base and a hint of cinnamon.Brew York’s Christmas range also includes an apple and cinnamon sour and a lower abv florentine milk stout.
£5.40 at brewyork.co.ukBrew York has a selection of Christmas beers again this year and this sour makes for an unusual seasonal tipple. It’s a festive twist on one of the brewery's most popular sours, combining cranberry and cherry with the warming addition of cinnamon.Proof that Christmas beers don’t have to be porters, stouts or barleywines but you can also look out for BA Nightmare of Brew York, a peanut, pecan, maple and vanilla Imperial Milk Stout aged for 12 months in bourbon barrels.
£4.85 at heatonhops.co.ukSour fans can rejoice because Vault City has released no less than 8 Christmas themed beers and Mulled Apple Sour is our pick of the bunch, though Damson Plum Cobbler came very close.Yet more brewing wizardry from Vault provides you with the flavour of a mulled cider in a zingy approachable sour beer. Thick and juicy like pulpy cloudy apple juice, with mulled spices and the nostalgic feeling of Christmas markets despite being cold.
£5 at amitybrew.coAmity has taken its Plum & Hedgerow Porter and given it a festive twist. The original was only available in cask but you can get Star Of Amethyst in cask, can and keg. This plum porter has a nice creamy carbonation and pours a wonderfully rich aubergine purple.Its morish plum flavour is accompanied by subtle cinnamon, clove and nutmeg as well as a complex 10 malt bill providing roasted flavours and more. At 4.6% abv, it’s one of the most sessionable Christmas beers around.
£6.90 at epochal.co.ukIf you prefer something lighter in colour, then this stock pale ale inspired by 19th-century Scottish brewing tradition is a really interesting tipple to sample this year.While it might be plain in appearance, the aptly named beer has plenty of flavour starting off with a light and funky acidity followed by a zing thanks to the clementines it was fermented with along with a blend of spices bringing a quintessential Christmassy flavour.
£4.50 at elusivebrewing.comRed ales don’t typically feature in the world of Christmas beers but Elusive Brewing have done the seemingly impossible and turned one into the flavours of a yule log.On the nose, Crimson Carol smells just like the festive chocolate cake, abundant with chocolate and vanilla. The taste is more of the same along with caramelised nuts and at 5% abv it’s boozy while ensuring you can have more than one.Elusive also has another Christmas beer in the form of Santa's Stomp, a panettone porter.
£4.50 at cloudwaterbrew.coTraditional German Christmas bread is an excellent food item to inspire a Christmas beer but it’s rarely picked. Luckily Cloudwater has taken up the mantle from Brick Brewery and made a stollen stout.The aroma is strong with marshmallow and this continues in the taste along with plenty of dried currants and other fruits, slight nuttiness as well as light spice and roasted malt. Sweetness gives way to a dry finish making it very morish. Fortunately, at 5%, it’s sessionable.
£3.50 at therunawaybrewery.comFans of gingerbread houses at Christmas can drink one in liquid form while building one thanks to Runaway Brewery and this stout which hides its 6.2% abv well.It’s not a milk stout so isn’t overly sweet but it’s full bodied and nicely creamy in texture still and a combination of root ginger, mace, cloves and cinnamon make it suitably seasonal.
£3 at northernmonk.comInstead of brewing an entirely new beer, Yorkshire’s Northern Monk makes a Christmassy version of its mocha porter called Northern Star.This festive twist on the core range brew has added chocolate, cinnamon and vanilla notes. If you like your beer dark, delectable and sweet but without too much spice, this is the one for you.
£4.25 at tremblingmadness.co.ukBelgian Christmas has been amped up since the original version and now weighs in at a boozy 7.8%, plus has a new elegant shiny gold label.Not only is it stronger but it's also darker and more flavoursome. Big Belgian esters of clove and banana remain prominent with dried fruit with complex layers of malt bringing notes of chocolate, coffee, nuts and caramel.No adjuncts, just brewing prowess.
£9.95 at beermerchants.comIn the ‘Go big or go home’ ultimatum, Norway’s Amundsen categorically does the former with this beer unequivocal proof of that.Big in every possible way, this barrel aged imperial stout is intensely boozy with bourbon coming in strong followed by strong notes of chopped nuts, cinnamon, maple syrup, chocolate and vanilla.Not a Christmas beer for the faint hearted and this is just one of many Christmas beers from Amundsen.
£7 at fullersbrewery.co.ukA tradition stretching back to 1997, Vintage Ale is one of the longest-running Christmas beers you’ll find and it’s the kind where the recipe is tweaked every year so no two are the same.This barleywine-style ale is brimming with festive flavours including dried fruit, spices and nuts. It’s a brandy-soaked Christmas cake in a glass with an experimental hop variety adding a citrus twist.We suggest you buy one to drink fresh and at least one more to age as Vintage Ale develops in the bottle for many years.
£6.65 at elusivebrewing.comNothing says Christmas snack like a mince pie and Elusive has made the iconic bakery treat into a barleywine, the most traditional of Christmas beer styles.This solidly boozy 9% abv barleywine has additions of orange, lemon and mixed spices give it that recognisable mince pie flavour, with the malts providing oodles of dried fruit. A real treat, whether it’s a night cap or otherwise and Elusive’s Lebkuchen Stout is back for 2022, too.
at adnams.co.ukAdnams has leaned into its 150-year heritage to brew a winter warmer of an ale. This festive beer pours rich ruby red making it a fitting colour for Christmas time and couldn’t be more inviting in appearance.The flavour is rich and deep with a nuttiness that combines with fruit, chocolate and a hint of roasted coffee beans too. A secret blend of spices finishes things off for this morish beer which is surprisingly seshionable at 4.5%. If you see this in a pub on cask, you know what to do.
£24 at wiperandtrue.comPlum Pudding is a regular on this list but Wiper & True has a new recipe for 2022 which includes lemon peel and cinnamon and a nice fresh hop aroma.The major change this year is a switch from predominantly prunes in the mix to plums, cherries and blackcurrants. The result is still rich, toasty and smooth but with a perfectly balanced jammy tartness from the fruit.A real delight that will pair nicely with all manner of Christmas food.
£15.60 at wiperandtrue.comOne of our old favourites has returned after a hiatus with a new can design and a new recipe to go with it, and we think this version is the best yet even though the golden reindeer is missed.One of the best plum porters you’ll find anywhere, it’s packed with jammy sweet yet slightly tart plums but this is perfectly balanced with the malt bringing flavours of slightly burnt toast, dark chocolate and a hint of smoke.The range also includes Christmas Fizz, a delicious cranberry and orange sour which we don’t think guests will even know is beer and Double Espresso Martini Shake.
£3.95 at arborales.co.ukThose wanting something a bit lighter should try this seasonal Pale Ale from Bristol’s Arbor Ales. Recreating the flavour of the Italian sweet bread is achieved with raisins and the zest of lemons and clementines.It’s zingy and bitter but vanilla brings cakey sweetness to balance things out. And the best thing? It comes in Abor’s tall boy pint cans.
£28.30 at shop.harveys.org.ukHarvey’s has won no less than 25 awards for this true classic of a Christmas ale in a barleywine style. And for 2022, it’s now in larger 500ml bottles to get you feeling merry.It’s a deep mahogany and smells a little like red wine. If you’re looking for something rich, this is like Christmas pudding in a glass - spices, biscuit, dried fruits and booze. What more could you want?
- Why not treat a friend to one of the best beer subscription boxes this Christmas?
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