As the weather gets colder, pumpkin brews on store shelves make way for beers brewed specifically for winter holiday celebrations.
California craft breweries have a long history of annual seasonal beer releases to celebrate Christmas, starting with Anchor Christmas Ale (RIP) in 1975, which in turn inspired Sierra Nevada’s Celebration Ale starting in 1981. Anchor Christmas was traditionally a relatively low-alcohol-by-volume spiced ale, and Celebration is a classic IPA brewed with Cascade, Centennial and Chinook hops. Contrary to popular belief, Celebration’s recipe has remained unchanged through its history, and annual flavor variations are due to characteristics of a given year’s hop harvest.
In more recent years, many Christmas beers tend to be higher-alcohol style like barleywines, Belgian quads or imperial stouts, which provide a wonderful warming sensation on a cold winter’s night. Another advantage of such high-alcohol beers is that they can continue to develop with age, unlike IPAs, lagers and other beer styles meant to be consumed fresh. At press time, 2023 Christmas beers were not yet available in stores, but your intrepid beer columnist was able to track down a couple of vintage 2022 bottles.
Santa’s Little Helper
San Diego’s Port Brewing Co. began annual bottled releases of Santa’s Little Helper imperial stout in 2006, and the recipe has changed multiple times over the years. Since 2020, Santa’s Little Helper has included additions of coffee and hazelnuts, amping up both the bitter, roasty character and the sweet notes of an already-luscious stout.
The beer pours a deep black color with garnet highlights and a relatively short-lived tan head. Elements of dark dried fruits, baking spices and semisweet cocoa dominate the aroma, and the coffee and hazelnut are both quite subdued. Pleasant coffee bitterness on the palate complements the moderately sweet dark fruit character to provide a balanced flavor. Hops do not stand out in the flavor or aroma. Hazelnuts are lost in the mix, perhaps due to aging, as I remember them being more prominent when I’ve had this beer fresh. The beer is full-bodied and velvety smooth in texture, with moderately low carbonation, and the finish is surprisingly delicate and smooth for a beer as strong as 9.9% ABV.
Santa’s Brass
Drake’s Brewing Co. in San Leandro has been brewing Santa’s Brass, its bourbon barrel-aged holiday barleywine since 2014. Despite the name, barleywines are not wines, nor do they include fermented grapes – they are strong ales made from malted barley like most other beers, and the name comes from the strength and complexity they offer.
The 2022 vintage of Santa’s Brass was a blend of barleywines aged in both whiskey barrels from St. George Spirits in Alameda and port barrels, and it weighs in at a generous 13.7% ABV. The full body of the viscous beer is apparent as it pours into a glass, and not much head forms atop the deep reddish-brown liquid with copper highlights. The aroma is boozy and malty, with notes of dark bread crust and toffee, but not overly sweet. Overall, aroma characteristics are subtle due to the minimal carbonation of the beer. On the palate, the beer is sweet but not cloying, with elements of burnt caramel, fruity port-like notes and distinct alcohol heat, which carries through into the long, smooth finish.
Wishing you and yours the warmth, coziness and comfort of rich, decadent holiday brews this winter. Cheers!
Derek Wolfgram is a Certified Beer Judge through the Beer Judge Certification Program and an officer of the Silicon Valley Sudzers homebrew club. For more information, visit sudzers.org.
