For this third day of December, the Advent beer selection is a New England classic and another long-running craft tradition: Winter Warmer from Boston, Massachusetts’ Harpoon Brewery. For over three decades this ale has heralded the holiday season with its signature spice profile—cinnamon and nutmeg.

Harpoon was founded in 1986, the first craft brewery in the state, and Winter Warmer was first brewed two years later—New England’s first craft seasonal, according to the brewery. Like all long-running beers (especially holiday ones), the recipe has shifted a bit over the years, but for 2020 the beer is 5.9% ABV and 23 IBUs.

The brewery provided a short writeup about Winter Warmer from Al Marzi, Chief Brewing Officer at Mass. Bay Brewing (Harpoon’s parent company):

First brewed in the Winter of 1988, this spiced Holiday Ale is one of the longest continuously brewed seasonal beers in America (to our knowledge, it’s 3rd behind Anchor Christmas Ale and Sierra Nevada Celebration). Some dark caramel and chocolate malts give it a bready, toffee-like malt profile, while ground cinnamon and nutmeg give it some cozy, seasonal aromatics. Dark copper in color with a medium body, it’s rich but refreshing and wonderfully warming—like the holidays in a glass. The original recipe also included some cacao nibs and orange peel, but they were subbed out in the early 90’s in favor of a simpler flavor profile.

And for more about Marzi’s, here is his bio:

Al joined Harpoon in 1991 and over the past 29 years has gained experience in virtually every position that exists within operations. Al currently is responsible for overseeing production in both of Harpoon’s breweries (Boston MA, Windsor, VT). He is a graduate of Boston University and the Siebel Institute of Brewing. He is also a former President of the New England chapter of the Master Brewers Association of the Americas. In addition, he has presented on technical troubleshooting panels at the Craft Brewers Conference. Al lives in Wilmington with his wife and 2 daughters.

The malt and spice profile sound to me to be a bit gingerbread cookie-like, which sounds lovely this time of year.

Find Harpoon Brewery Winter Warmer on:

• Harpoon’s Beer Finder
• Untappd
• BeerAdvocate
• RateBeer
• Facebook

Image credits: Top image, Harpoon’s Facebook; other, website