The 15 Beers Of Christmas Or Are They Beers Of Winter

• Julia Thiel
• Christmas beers (plus Lagunitas Brown Shugga) and winter beers

[Update: eight more local Christmas beers]

So while there’s no official definition of a Christmas or winter beer, the OCB’s opinion is that they usually use dark malts and often include spices. Which doesn’t explain the existence of light, unspiced wheat beers and IPAs that fall under the winter/Christmas/holiday/celebration beer umbrella. Speaking of that umbrella, even determining what beers fall into the category is dicey. Is it anything with an image of snow on the label, or only beers that include the word “winter,” “Christmas,” etc. in the name?

Breckenridge Brewery Christmas Ale: A medium-bodied winter warmer with well-balanced malt and hops. There are no spices that I can taste, but the finish is slightly spicy. It doesn’t distinguish itself in any way, which can be good or bad depending what you’re looking for.

• Julia Thiel

Winter beer

Bell’s Winter White Ale: A Belgian-style witbier, light and lemony with a slightly spicy, peppery finish and not much carbonation. Like the New Belgium, it’s pleasant but not particularly remarkable.

Julia Thiel writes about booze on Thursdays.