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(Courtesy Firestone Walker)
The winter holidays are approaching and craft breweries are celebrating things with new beers for the season that are guaranteed to keep things festive.
Firestone Mocha Dolce Nitro Stout
Firestone Walker Brewing never brews the obvious and the Paso Robles, California-based brewery’s seasonal take on the traditional nitro stout is a perfect example.
Crafted Madagascar vanilla beans, whole-roasted coffee beans and cocoa nibs, all locally sourced, Firestone Mocha Dolce Nitro Stout is a 6% ABV fall/winter limited release with a rich, chocolaty character and mellow sweetness.
“We enhanced our classic nitro stout and took it to the next level,” said Brewmaster Matt Brynildson. “These are all amazing ingredients that work really well together. The result is a smooth, creamy beer that reminds you of your favorite latte.”
(Courtesy Tröegs Independent Brewing)
Tröegs Mad Elf Grand Cru
Tröegs Mad Elf Ale is a holiday tradition on the East Coast but the Hershey, PA-based brewery also released an uber-limited variation that takes the beloved cherry-fueled Belgian-Style Dark Ale in a tarter direction.
Adding Balaton cherries and the tartness that comes with them to a mix that already includes Bing, Lambert, Van and Royal varieties, Tröegs Mad Elf Grand Cru is a deep burgundy 11% ABV winter limited release that begs to be shared.
“Putting this beer in cork and cage bottles helps give it that extra special touch,” says Tröegs co-founding brother Chris Trogner. “It also means they’re great at keeping oxygen out. Since Grand Cru is a beer many people like to age, that’s a big plus.”
(Courtesy Danny Green)
Anchor Christmas Ale
Anchor Brewing has returned an iconic winter holiday offering that was first released in 1975 and helped solidify the brewery’s foundational role in the craft beer movement. Each year Anchor’s brewmasters craft a new secret recipe and bottle the limited-edition ale with a different festive hand-drawn tree label.
Anchor’s 48th Christmas Ale is a 7.2% ABV rye-forward brew with surprising notes of orange, honeysuckle, toasted malts, and eucalyptus. This year’s hand-drawn label features a Blue Gum Eucalyptus tree, a nod to Mary Ellen Pleasant – a 19th-century San Francisco entrepreneur, financier, abolitionist, and civil rights activist. Like last year, a portion of all sales benefit One Tree Planted, a non-profit dedicated to global reforestation planting millions of trees across 43 countries.
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