Christmas Beer Highlights 2025
As the skies above darken, so our tastes shift from the light, fresh, vibrant flavours of summer into the rich, unctuous, warming flavours of the festive season. Every year there is a seemingly ever-growing list of sours, stouts and lagers with festive ingredients or simply to be enjoyed in the festive period, so here are a few of our favourites to make sure you check out over the festive season.
Schloss Eggenberg Samichlaus Classic 33cl ABV 14%
Brewed annually on the 6th December for the feast of Saint Nicholas, this doppelbock undergoes 10 months aging prior to release for the antecedent festive period. Enjoyed young, the beer delivers rich warming flavour of prune, fig, vanilla & milk chocolate, and can be enjoyed as a digestif, or to complement chocolatey desserts. However, as with many stronger beers, this beer will continue to improve up to and beyond it’s 5 years listed shelf life, developing a sherry or madeira-like oxidative complexity.
Flotzinger Weihnachts-Bier 50cl ABV 5.4%
For something a little more sessionable, this South German ‘Christmas-beer’ is possibly the most subtle and light of this selection. A slightly mysterious ‘Festive Malt Blend’, translates to a malt blend with gives slightly more emphasis to rich grain and caramel flavours, and is classic of the Vollbier style. The richness of the malt is well balanced by some grassy and piney (xmas tree?) flavours of the hops, to round out this easy-drinking lager with a festive nod.
Wiper and True Plum Pudding Porter 44cl ABV 6.7%
A local classic! Dark, malty and fruity porter brewed with plums, cinnamon and vanilla. Layered and complex, this once a year release is perfect fireside drinking.
Pohjala Jouluporter 33cl ABV 10%
The Tallin-based Estonian brewery are well known for their top-notch imperial stouts and porters, and their chocolate porter is no exception. A complex malt profile including chocolate rye, red rye crystal, and some pilsner malt, gives notes of creamy milk chocolate with hints of cinnamon, balanced by roast malt bitterness and espresso hints.
Verdant It’s Cliched to be Cynical at Christmas IPA 44cl ABV 6.5%
Festive IPA from one of the countries best breweries of IPAs and pales, hopped with galaxy, strata and mosaic. Textured, with hints of lime zest, mandarin orange, juicy nectarine from the hops, balanced by subtle piney notes. Easy drinking, fruity and refreshing for the festive season.
