Five Favorite Holiday Beers

Ah, it’s Friday. And Friday means beer! Conveniently, the Friday Five topic with Cynthia, Mar, and Courtney is favorite fall drinks. You know I’m going to take the opportunity to share my beer love with you. And I know my holiday beers. Every year, I scour the area and buy 10 15 as many holiday beers as I can find. My excuse is that I’m buying them for our beer tasting that we hold every winter after the holidays are over, but I’ll be honest, I’m really just a beer hoarder. One year I bought so many that we were still drinking them in October.  (Right now I have a double stacked row of beers in my basement. I told Beer Geek I was done buying unless something special comes along. My definition of special is pretty liberal LOL)

While it is really hard to limit myself to just five, here are five holiday beers that I look for each year…

1. Harpoon Winter Warmer – I LOVE this beer. It is the only holiday beer that I usually buy two six packs of and I don’t really share it.  Yes, I love it that much. (I may even hide them from Beer Geek. Ahem.) It always tastes like pie. And I love pie.
2. Hardwood Gingerbread Stout – This beer came on the scene last year and I fell in love. This year I bought as many bottles as the local beer store would sell me. I love stouts (I’m really a fan of dark beers in general) and this one marries a stout with a gingerbread cookie. Dessert in a beer bottle? Yes, please.
3. Anchor Christmas – This is another standard (this year is the 41st year!). Each year they change the recipe and change the tree on the label. Like many holiday beers, it usually contains spices reminiscent of holiday treats like cinnamon and nutmeg. I have yet to taste this year’s version but I’m sure I will enjoy it. It has never disappointed me. (We usually start drinking holiday beers at Thanksgiving. What? Other people put up the Christmas tree, I pop a holiday beer. Tradition.)
4. Delirium Noel – This Belgian beer just says Christmas to me. It’s a strong dark Belgian ale that is slightly sweet with winter spices. Clocking in at 10% ABV (and usually coming in a big bottle), this one needs to be shared with friends. I’m actually really excited that this year I found a four pack of smaller bottles.
5. All the local brewpub and brewery holiday beers – I know I’m kind of cheating here but there are just so many good beers around here at this time of year. Mad Fox Festivus, Port City Tidings, Blue Mountain Blitzen, DuClaw For Pete’s Sake, Lost Rhino Woody Stout…  If you aren’t local to DC, check out your own craft beer scene. You might be surprised at what awesomeness you find.

Have you had a holiday beer before? If so, what’s your favorite?