ONE A DAY
Julian Zelazny '96
With the semester winding to a close and the holidays looming
on the horizon, now is an appropriate time for a discussion of
special holiday beers. Holiday beers are those brews made
specially by a brewery to celebrate some aspect of the holiday
season. Some are called Christmas beers, others are called
winter beers, and still others bear no seasonal reference in
their name but are only available at holiday time.
The flavor characteristics that distinguish a holiday beer
are as varied as their names. Generally speaking, holidays
brews are strong beers, they may be ales or lagers, and by
their nature they are small production runs with limited
availability. Holiday beers came about in much the same manner
as many other brewing traditions -the brewers were responding
to seasonal festivities. The winter solstice, normally around
December 21, marked the ritual end of the growing season in
northern Europe. This period was known as Yule and was a time
of celebration. To this originally Pagan celebratory time was
added the Christian celebration of the birth of Christ, and
today we see a blending of the two. The beers of the middle
ages were strong beers, no doubt in order to fend off the cold,
and highly hopped to take full advantage of the recent harvest.
Bittering agents other than hops were also used, like herbs,
berries or aromatic tree bark. Today the holiday beers
from Europe are strong, but they lack the hop bitterness or
spices of their ancestors. They are typically malty, dark
lagers, though some ales are also brewed specially for the
holidays. The altbier breweries of Dusseldorf are known for a
special ale called "sticke" ("secret") that is made 2 to 4
times each year and served to their regular clientele as a
thank-you for their patronage. The holiday season is a favorite
time to reveal the sticke. The French ale known as Biere de
Garde (beer to keep - a reference to the desirability of cellar
ageing it) is brewed by many small breweries in the north of
France, each of which makes a special strong ale at Christmas.
Many of the Scandinavian breweries make a special lager in
the Oktoberfest style for enjoyment at Christmas time.
Curiously, the Commemorativa and Nochebuena beers, both of
Mexico, are also Oktoberfest style Christmas beers. Among the
most famous of the European Christmas beers is brewed by
Hurlimann's of Zurich, Switzerland. Samichlaus (Santa Claus) is
a strong sweet lager brewed annually on Saint Nicholas' Day
(December 6) and lagered and bottled in time for the next years
holiday season. Samichlaus is available in the US, but it is
not easy to find, and, not surprisingly, is quite pricey.
One need not shell out the big bucks on European beers in order
to enjoy quality Holiday brews. It comes as a surprise to no
one that there are many very good strong Holiday beers from
local breweries. Vermont's Catamount has a Christmas ale that
comes in bottles with vintage dated labels. It is a strong,
malty ale balanced by a pronounced hop bitterness. This
delightful specialty ale is brewed in November and December
only and is best consumed out of Catamount's commemorative
Christmas Ale pint glass.
Portland Maine is the home of the D.L. Geary brewing
company, producer of the seasonal Hampshire Ale. This strong
ale exceeds the New Hampshire beer alcohol limit of 6% so it
can be found in the State of New Hampshire Liquor Stores
(technically sold as a wine). It is also very malty, but unlike
the Catamount's Christmas ale, the hop character is less
pronounced, allowing the malt to predominate. The enigmatic
David Geary reveals a bit of his character through the use of
his memorable promotional slogan, "Available only when the
weather sucks." Other New England breweries that have
special beers for the Holidays include Otter Creek of Vermont,
with their rich and comforting Stovepipe Porter, and the Boston
Beer Company, which brews its malty Sam Adams Winter Lager for
those who have had enough of the local ales. But America
is the land of innovation, and the craft beer revival is also
playing a part in bringing some truly unique beers to the
American market. The New England Brewing Company of Norwalk, CT
has an unusual, orangey, spiced ale. The Anchor Brewing Company
of San Francisco has been brewing specialty Holiday beers since
1975 when they released a strong pale ale with an incredible
amount of American hop aroma. This beer was brewed each year
until 1983 when they decided that the demand was great enough
to make it a regular beer. Now called Liberty Ale, it is
available from Anchor year round. From 1983-1986 Anchor
presented brown ales as their seasonal specialty. Starting in
1987 and continuing to the present Anchor's "Our Special Ale"
has been a spiced ale, emphasizing different spices each year.
The 1995 version boasts coconut flavor among the spices. A
Massachusetts beer judge that has tried this concoction assures
us that it "isn't as bad as it sounds" since the spices
predominate. A trip to the Norwich Inn this holiday season
may be rewarded with a glass or two of their delightful
Raspberry Wassail. This beauty is a dark malty ale with a
strong dose of whole raspberries. The dark malts impart a
chocolatey sweetness to the beer that is balanced artfully by
the tartness of the fermented raspberries. It is well worth the
trip, but you may want to call ahead, it doesn't stay on tap
long.
1. Ben Jankowski, The Beers of Christmas, 3 Brewing Techniques
64 (1995).
2. Michael Jackson, Michael Jackson's Beer
Companion, Running Press 1993
If you have any comments, questions or advice concerning this
article or anything else that may be on your mind, please feel
free to email me.
(back)