The Brew Site
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, … Continue reading
For 34 years, Louisiana’s Abita Brewing Company has been crafting a wide range of beers that focuses on easy drinking and embraces the brewery’s southern, New Orleans-adjacent roots. One of the oldest and largest craft breweries in America, Abita offers up a seasonal Christmas Ale which was first brewed not … Continue reading
What a year 2020 has been! I don’t know about you, but I’ve been looking forward to this year’s Beer Advent Calendar as a bright spot to help count down and celebrate this holiday season. This year, the COVID-19 pandemic has influenced how I’ve picked beers to feature each day; … Continue reading
California’s Stone Brewing is getting into the “Twelve Days” holiday mix pack game with the release of its first-ever mix pack, Twelve Days of IPAs. Among the twelve different IPAs are four highlights, including a low-carb, lifestyle-conscious beer—but don’t worry, there are plenty of suitably strong options as well. Here … Continue reading
Starting in 2008, The Bruery began releasing annual Christmas beers inspired by the Christmas carol “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” featuring a variety of strong styles and ingredients. I’ve always admired the ambition behind it, though you’d have had to really plan ahead to save a bottle each year for … Continue reading
Massachusetts’ Clown Shoes Beer is getting into the holiday spirit—and the pandemic-friendly take-home space—with the release of its first-ever mix pack, The 12 Beers of Christmas. Available now, the specialty pack features 12 different beers, nine of which are only available in this package. I’m always a fan of fun … Continue reading
We’ve made it! The final day of the Advent beer calendar, with our final beer pick for Christmas Eve! For this Christmas 2019 I’ve selected a Belgian classic from Brewery Huyghe: Delirium Noël. This Belgian Christmas ale is 10% alcohol by volume a perfect treat for the day. The description … Continue reading
Today is my birthday, conveniently situated right before Christmas, and as is my tradition on the Advent beer calendar each year, on this day I select a “birthday” beer for myself rather than a traditional Christmastime one. Or in today’s case, a cider—specifically, a barrel aged apple wine from 2 … Continue reading
Happy Hanukkah! Hanukkah begins today at sunset, and each year I like to feature a Hanukkah themed beer on the Advent calendar if possible to commemorate the start of the holiday. Unfortunately there are not many Hanukkah beers available but one brewery in Portland, Oregon, Leikam Brewing, does in fact … Continue reading
Today is the winter solstice, the shortest day and longest night of the year! To celebrate I’ve picked an appropriate beer from the North Cotswold Brewery in English, its seasonal Winter Solstice. As befitting an English ale, Winter Solstice is 4.5% alcohol by volume, and the brewery describes it as, … Continue reading