We recently fired up our house’s heater for the first time this season, which means we’re well into winter seasonals over here in Sonoma County. Sierra Nevada Celebration hit the shelves a couple weeks before I’m writing this, and that initial 12-pack of hoppy-amber goodness did not last long in our fridge whatsoever. My wife was pumped to see Anchor Christmas Ale hit shelves shortly therafter; that’s her go-to winter pickup, and a pretty consistently tasty spiced beer despite the annual recipe tweaks. For how regularly we’ve been pouring IPAs, pale ales, or hoppy lagers from our household’s kegerator—this time of year marks a welcome shift.
What have you been picking up as the weather gets cooler? Back when we lived on the east coast and had more immediate access to Belgian offerings, we’d often pick up St. Bernardus Christmas Ale, Corsendonk Christmas Ale, and—likely the one we’d both pick if we could only choose one—Brasserie Dupont’s incredible Avec les Bons Voeux. Do you have local winter seasonals that you look forward to every year? Old-school winter classics you can’t wait to see on shelves? Or are you just hanging tight somewhere tropical, sipping hazy IPA, blissfully unaware of the seasons? Let us know what’s good on Twitter @RareBeerClub.
