Thanksgiving signals the start of the winter holidays and Black Friday is a celebration of stouts. And American craft brewers are addressing both with a variety of new offerings that should pair smartly with just about everything festive.

Lakefront Brewery’s 2020 Black Friday Release (Milwaukee, WI) – Although the tradition of special Black Friday Beer releases has been rightly credited to Goose Island’s annual Bourbon County releases, there’s another brewery just north of Chicago that has also become known for a defining stout and Barleywine series that they’ll debut on November 27^th.

Lakefront Brewery’s Black Friday beer release has grown its own rabid following over the years, that now attracts beer pilgrims from all around the world and we can’t recommend what they do enough.

And here’s what fans  can look forward to this year…

• 2025 Black Friday™ Imperial Stout – Aged in Great Lakes Distillery’s Still & Oak Black Friday Straight Whiskey Barrels.
• 2025 Black Friday™ Triple Black IPA – Dry-Hopped with Cascade, Citra, Centennial, and Chinook Hops.
• 2025 Black Friday™ Wheatwine Ale – Aged in Brandy Barrels.
• 2025 Black Friday™ Imperial Coffee & Cacao Nib Stout – Aged in Great Lakes Distillery’s Still & Oak Black Friday Straight Whiskey Barrels.

‘Tis the Season (Boston, MA) – The winter holidays officially ON and Samuel Adams is celebrating Thanksgiving with a brand new cold-weather offering that’s the brewery’s first new winter offering in 30 years. Bold, complex and immensely aromatic, Samuel Adams Winter White Ale is a pale gold 5.7% ABV unfiltered Witbier that’s delicately spiced for the colder months.

(Courtesy Boston Beer)

“The holidays are all about celebrating special moments with family and friends,” said Tory Bratt, senior brand manager of Samuel Adams. “We brewed Winter White Ale to truly embrace the warmth of those moments through spices like cinnamon and nutmeg, and bring together a festive, easy – drinking beer that’s perfect for every seasonal moment.”

Step Into The Abyss This Thanksgiving (Bend, OR) – Family and employee owned since 1988, Deschutes Brewery is returning one of its most widely recognized, award-wining beers which they release every November. The Abyss is a massive 11.7% ABV Imperial Stout with a deep, dark malt character and layers of licorice, cherry bark, and molasses flavors, which was aged this year in a blend of new Oak, bourbon and wine barrels.

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