Ale Together Now: Holiday Ales, Winter Warmers, And Wassail

Press release from the Cromaine District Library:

December 23, 2021

This month, we’re celebrating the nostalgic flavors of holiday joy, including cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, apple, vanilla, and more -- and if you’re a beer lover, it’s a wonderful time of year to enjoy these warming flavors in a roasty, toasty brew. December’s installment of Ale Together Now focused on holiday-inspired beers, including Christmas ales, winter warmers, and wassails. Grab your ugliest holiday sweater, get cozy, and pour yourself a pint as we explore the long and interesting history of holiday ales and the other unique brews that branch from it.

The Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) classifies Christmas ales in two ways: As a spiced herb/vegetable beer, or as a Christmas/winter specialty spiced beer. Brewers have the freedom to play with the style and use whatever adjuncts appeal to them, but generally the goal is to touch on the nostalgic flavors of the winter holidays. This is why Christmas ales may vary quite a bit, but generally will have some sweet and spicy flavors reminiscent of holiday cookies, roasted malt, and fresh herbs and spices.

The malt base and adjuncts used in a Christmas ale are important to the typical flavor we experience with this beer style. There is usually a roasted or caramel malt, lending sweet and toasted flavors to the brew. Adjuncts are intended to complement or contrast with the malt base, and include spices (cinnamon, clove, allspice, nutmeg, ginger, star anise, juniper, and vanilla) and fruit (fig, date, orange, plum, cherry, and cranberry). With such a variety of adjuncts and endless ways to combine them, it’s no wonder we see such a variety of Christmas ale adaptations!

Christmas ales stem from a much older beer style called Jul beer, brewed for the “Jul” (Yule) time by 9th-10th century Scandinavian groups. It’s a darkly malted, sweet, high alcohol celebratory beer associated with the winter solstice. Jul beer was taken pretty seriously: King Haaron the Good (934-961) issued fines to those who did not have beer at Jul celebrations. Although these practices were slowly replaced with Christianity by the 12th century, some traditions remained and are still referenced to this day, like Jul beer during the holidays, decorating an evergreen tree, hanging mistletoe, and more.

Moving into the 20th century, we have our own celebratory brews for the winter holidays. Stella Artois, originally brewed in 1926 as a light Belgian for the Christmas season, has a bright color and profile reminiscent of stars in the winter sky. In the United States, the owner of Anchor Brewing in California encouraged craft brews and Christmas ales, which gained popularity by the 1990’s as more big breweries took part. Here in Michigan, there are dozens of local adaptations of Christmas Ales, including:

• Bells - Christmas Ale
• Bells - Bright White Ale
• Rochester Mills - 12 Days of Milkshake Stouts
• Frankenmuth - Christmas Town Ale
• Dark Horse - 4 Elf, Winter Warmer
• Griffin Claw - Three Scrooges
• Jolly Pumpkin - Noel
• North Peak - Blitzen
• River’s Edge - But Wait, There’s Myrrh!
• Brewery Becker - Biere de Noel
• Brewery Becker - Cranrazz
• Eastern Market/Ferndale Project - Spruce Tips
• Grizzly Peak - Canneberge Noel

Michelle shared a few beer samples with us, the first being a pretty traditional take on Christmas ale. In Cleveland Ohio, Great Lakes Brewing Company offers a Christmas Ale that won the World Beer Cup. It features an amber base brewed with ginger, cinnamon, and honey – truly Christmas in a can! It’s a dark, creamy, roasty ale with flavors of Christmas cookie, honey sweetness, and a hint of ginger.

A completely different take on the Christmas ale is a kettle sour from Mikkeller Brewing Co. in San Diego, CA called Henry’s Holiday Cheer. It’s brewed with cherries, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg– but the spices are added in the brewing whirlpool, providing a more subtle flavor. Michelle describes kettle sours like this one as a “Sour Patch Kids” beer because of the drinking experience they provide: First they’re sour, then sweet, and then they’re gone with a dry, almost bready finish. It’s a fun take on the holiday ale, though not traditional by any means.

Next, Michelle took us to the world of Winter Warmers, with a sample called Our Special Ale from Anchor Brewing Company. It’s a dark, strong, high-ABV brew reminiscent of deeply roasted chocolate and raspberry flavors. Typically, winter warmers are ales with subtle “warming” flavors of colder seasons, like mulling/baking spices and dark roasted/caramel malts. They are similar to strong ales and Scotch ales in flavor.

Lastly, we explored wonderful Wassails. The name of this drink comes from the Anglo-Saxon “Waes hael”, which means “be well”. It is associated with the activity of wassailing, which traditionally was singing and dancing to ward off evil spirits after the harvest– and it is a way of well-wishing with neighbors in the community.

Wassail is a mulled/spiced alcoholic beverage flavored with cinnamon, cloves, allspice, nutmeg, and less often coriander, star anise, peppercorn, and/or cardamom. It can be made with one or more alcoholic beverages as a base, such as apple cider, beer, and wine; and it is typically served hot. Michelle brought us a wassail made with Founders Dirty Bastard Scotch Ale, Pinot Noir, apple juice, and lots of holiday spices. The cheery, warm beverage was a hit! We may just have to start our own Wassailing tradition around the Hartland village…

From dark roasty brews to bright pilsners and kettle sours, the tradition of Jul beer has inspired an entire world of fascinating and delicious beverages. As we move through the winter months, be sure to try a few local beers that compliment the season…and maybe even a homemade wassail!

This press release was produced by the Cromaine District Library. The views expressed are the author's own.