New Year’s Eve is often associated with champagne. The ceremonial opening of the bottle, the giggles when it pops, the bubbles, the sweet taste … the headache the next day! If champagne is not your cup of tea or if you’d rather chill with friends, welcoming the New Year with a cold, strong, well-crafted beer may be for you.
A Brief History of Holiday Beer
Americans love a good brew on the holidays—Fourth of July fireworks and beer, Labor Day barbecue and beer, Thanksgiving Day football and beer. But the tradition of beer as a popular holiday goes back a long time.
Some claim the Celtic Druids invented holiday beer, while others believe the custom dates back to the Vikings in Scandinavia, who drank to their gods during their Yule festivities in December. Beer drinking for this pagan celebration was so important in this culture that Norway’s King Haakon the Good made it a law to celebrate Christmas with beer in an effort to promote Christianity in the 10th century.
In any case, the winter solstice—which marked the end of fall harvest and the beginning of grueling winter months—was a perfect time to get on the good side of gods on whom farmers depended for sun, rain, shelter, a good harvest, every aspect of their lives. It was an occasion worth celebrating with food and beer, preferably beer strong enough to blur the boundaries between earth and the heavens, men and gods, with a nice buzz.
It was this pagan buzz Pope Julius I tried to kill in the 4th century by declaring December 25 as the holy date when Jesus was born. The pope’s move might have taken paganism out of the winter solstice holiday, but it did not take beer out of the celebrations. For centuries after that, medieval monasteries in Europe celebrated Christmas with their prima melior—their best brew, usually reserved for honored guests.
In a nutshell: holiday beer is not a trend; it’s a tradition.
Holiday Beer Guidelines
In the U.S., a good holiday beer is one that is dark, malty and spiced. The Beer Judge Certification Program style guidelines state that a good holiday beer should smell a bit like Christmas cookies, look amber to dark brown, taste rich and malty and be spiced. Yet, many holiday beers don’t meet these criteria.
For many, a holiday beer is one that is given as a gift. After all, gift-giving is at the core of the Christmas holiday. By the same token, a New Year’s beer is one used to toast the New Year. Most beer lovers would agree, however, that a beer used to welcome the New Year shouldn’t be an everyday beer you can get at the corner gas station. It should have superior craftsmanship, flavor and potency.
10 Festive Beers to Toast the New Year
New Year’s Eve deserves something special. There are many flavorful and powerful craft beers to choose from for that highly anticipated midnight toast. Here are a few New Year’s Eve-worthy beers:
1. DeuS Brut des Flandres
DeuS is one of the few beers made using the champenoise method, a secondary fermentation method used to make champagne. This Belgian strong ale has characteristics of both sparkling wine and beer and features a fragrant, herbal and spicy character with hints of anise, mint, malt and lavender.
2. Stone Brewing Xocoveza
Stone Brewing’s take on Mexican hot chocolate is brewed with cocoa, coffee, pasilla peppers, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg. Its amazing flavor profile makes it a spectacular choice for New Year’s Eve gatherings.
3. St. Bernardus Abt 12
St. Bernardus Abt 12 is widely regarded as one of the best beers in the world. Made in the classic quadrupel style, this is a well-balanced, full-bodied, unfiltered, creamy Belgian ale that has a deep reddish black color, fruity aroma and complex flavors with a bittersweet finish and a hoppy bite.
4. The Lost Abbey Judgment Day
Judgment Day is the result of lots of fermentables from malt, raisins and dextrose, producing a great malt sweetness with lots of caramel, dark fruit tones, a hint of burnt caramel and a slight alcohol note that complements the fruit.
5. Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale
Celebration is an American-style IPA (India Pale Ale) fresh hop beer especially brewed in California for the holiday season. It uses Cascade, Centennial and Chinook hops to provide a brew with a full, rich and hearty character.
6. Highland Brewing Cold Mountain Winter Ale
North Carolina’s Cold Mountain is a spiced, lightly hopped brown ale rounded with vanilla, hazelnut and other spices that vary from year to year.
7. Anderson Valley Winter Solstice Ale
This California beer boasts a deep amber hue, spicy aromas, caramel notes and hints of toffee, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla.
8. Fremont B-Bomb Abominable Winter Ale
Brewed in Washington, B-Bomb is aged in 12- and 15-year-old American whiskey barrels to deliver a warming spicy aroma and rich notes of bourbon, wood, chocolate and vanilla added to dark malt flavors and subtle hopping.
9. Blue Point Imperial Stout
This barrel-aged Russian Imperial Stout brewed in New York has a molasses quality and vanilla sweetness that’s offset by sour cherry. Roasted black and chocolate malts deliver multi-layered coffee and slightly sweet notes in a smooth finish.
10. Great Lakes Christmas Ale
Sold only for eight weeks each year, this Ohio full-bodied, spirited ale is copper-colored and flavorful, brewed with honey and spiced with fresh ginger and cinnamon.
From fancy champagne beers to winter ales, there are plenty of exciting choices for shedding the old year and greet the new one with a positive outlook.
Puerto Rico Brews
Medalla is available in Puerto Rico, the Caribbean and several U.S. cities. India, retired about 20 years ago, came back in 2019 with a limited edition.