Photo courtesy of North High Brewing
As craft beer enthusiasts well know, Christmas ale isn’t just the beer Santa Claus leaves under the tree.
These cold-weather favorites – sometimes called winter warmers, depending on the brewer’s preferences – are heavy on spice and sweetness, and ideal for a chilly day. Around these parts, Great Lakes Brewing Co.’s Christmas Ale is probably the best-known, but there are plenty of central Ohio-based brewers with their own unique variations.
Short North-area North High Brewing aims to follow up this year on its 2015-16 hit Winter’s Nip. The goal: add a little more “oomph” to the seasonal ale, says Jason McKibben, brewmaster. The plan for the 2016-17 offering is not yet set in stone, McKibben says, but imbibers can expect a change from this past year’s imperial red with cranberry, orange peel and ginger: “a fresh, bright, citrusy-type flavor,” in his words.
“(Seasonal brews) have to be stronger, and have warming effects,” McKibben says. “Spicy (elements) are what drive the flavor.”
Though “Christmas ale” and “winter warmer” are largely interchangeable as a descriptor of style, McKibben – along with others – prefers the latter name, which customers are less likely to abandon after Dec. 25.
Jay Kessler, owner of Knotty Pine Brewing in Grandview Heights, points to cloves and nutmeg spices as key components, along with “anything that brings about warmth.” Knotty Pine’s seasonal specialty is a white IPA dubbed Snowscape, which releases in late November.
Elements of Snowscape include orange peel, coriander, cloves, nutmeg and cinnamon; Kessler describes it as “spicy warm with citrus.” Creating Snowscape – which, due to its being an IPA, is hoppier than your average Christmas ale – begins with dehydrating orange peels and steeping that in with the spices.
“It’s like steeping tea,” Kessler says.
Paige Brown is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at gbishop@cityscenemediagroup.com.
Other Local Christmas Ales
Actual Brewing Co.
Orthodox White IPA
Buckeye Lake Brewery
Winter Shanty Christmas Ale
Strong Scotch Ale
Columbus Brewing Co.
Winter Seasonal to be determined
Commonhouse Ales
Winter Sesh Session IPA
Imagine Winter Ale
Elevator Brewing
Winter Warmer
Four String Brewing Company
Vanilla Porter
Gordon Biersch Brewing
Winterbock
Hofbräuhaus
Weihnachtsbier
Homestead Beer Co.
Tannenbaum Christmas Ale
Land-Grant Brewing
Misconduct Imperial IPA
Beard Crumbs Oatmeal Raisin Stout
Phoenix Brewing
Surly Gnome Winter Warmer
Seventh Son Brewing
Sonder Belgian Winter Ale
Winterborn Golden Brett
Staas Brewing
Cinnamon Basil Saison
Temperance Row Brewing Co.
Climate Change Winter Warmer
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