5 Festive New England Beers To Bring Out Your Holiday Spirit

 

The holidays are a time for celebration, complete with food, fun and flowing beverages. If you are a beer connoisseur, scanning the coolers for the perfect holiday lager can be quite overwhelming.

With so many colorful, distracting labels and festive flavor combinations to choose from, it can seem nearly impossible to choose the perfect holiday brew. The following five ales, IPAs, saisons and sour beers are created by New England brewers and perfectly balanced to suit any palate this season.

1. Untold Brewing Company, Retail Therapy

Scituate, Massachusetts’ first and only brewery offers several East-meets-West beers from its hometown and Seattle-born creators. Their Retail Therapy IPA was first tapped on Black Friday to give holiday shoppers some “liquid respite” from the madding crowds. The deep brown color is concocted from Cascade, Columbus, Simcoe, and Citra for a “roasty, hoppy holiday IPA”.

Tryptophan's worn off and you've realized it's Black Friday? Avoid the stores and come to the taproom instead – we're here 11am-10pm with everything you need! Special black IPA release – Retail Therapy – in honor of the day, @sarcastic_swine_bbq pop-up 2-8pm, and special holiday gift set we put together along with @birchbarndesigns. See you here!

A post shared by Untold Brewing (@untoldbrewing) on Nov 24, 2017 at 7:21am PST

 

2. Samuel Adams, White Christmas

Sam Adams offers a wide variety of festive ales and stouts to enjoy during the holiday season including Amber Bock, Oatmeal Stout, Old Fezzywig and Chocolate Bock. Their unfiltered White Christmas Ale has a crisp wheat character infused with cinnamon, nutmeg, and orange peel for a warm, holiday flavor that manages to remain light and refreshing. Available from late October to mid-December.

In the spirit of Christmas right around the corner.. this is my new favorite seasonal beer by @samueladamsnyc after their Oktoberfest. Get this, enjoy it by the tree and be merry. #samueladams #whitechristmasbeer #whitechristmas #christmastree #festive #feelingfestive #holidayspirit #holidays #seasonalbeer #limitedrelease #beer #brewchewtraveler

A post shared by Brew Chew Traveler (@brew_chew_traveler) on Dec 17, 2017 at 1:56pm PST

 

3. Springdale Beer, Fresh Boysen

Springdale Beer is an offshoot of Jack’s Abby Brewing in Framingham, MA. Their Fresh Boysen is a fruity, tart, but not-too-sweet golden foeder sour aged on boysenberries in red wine barrels for an entire year. Each bottle has the equivalent of 1/4 pound of boysenberries. The website calls it “a perfect entry sour beer for those who have never tried one.”

NEW BEER ALERT -Fresh Boysen- Golden foeder sour aged with Boysenberries in red wine barrels for a year. The equivalent of 1/4 pound of boysenberries in each bottle! Fruity, tart, and a perfect entry #Sourbeer for those who have never tried one! 6%ABV #itsallgoodinthewood #sourbeer #craftbeer

A post shared by Springdale Barrel Room (@springdalebeer) on Nov 3, 2017 at 6:13am PDT

 

4. Mystic Brewery, Table Beer

The label may be decidedly un-festive, in keeping with the minimalistic Mystic branding, but the flavors are perfect for holiday pairings. The Chelsea-based brewery got its start in 2009 and has become a major player in the industry. Table Beer is a lower alcohol saison option with notes of grass and orange peel to please all palates and make family dinner a bit less awkward.

No matter how fancy (or not so fancy) your Thanksgiving table is, our Table Beer will be right at home. Thanks to @bostonmagazine for naming us as one of the craft beers that should be next to your turkey and cranberry sauce this year.

A post shared by Mystic (@mysticbrewery) on Nov 19, 2017 at 5:26pm PST

 

5. Harpoon Brewing Company, Winter Warmer Specialty Holiday Ale

This dark ale is spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg for a distinctly Christmas-y aroma and flavor. Brewed since 1988, the medium-bodied beer is a New England seasonal favorite with a hearty malt backbone. Available on tap at the Harpoon Brewery in Boston and all across New England in 6 and 12-packs of bottles or cases of cans.

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