Christmas is a braw time for beer, with many of our craft breweries offering up a festive special or three. Most have brewed their take on the traditional Christmas pint, usually with earthy British hops and spices such as nutmeg, cinnamon and ginger added to the boil. Other breweries look to the States for their inspiration, using the big resin-heavy hops to bring out flavours of spruce and pine. Meanwhile, a few have found the influence of Belgian and German styles unresistable. Nor are these beers all dark and brooding. Wrapped up among the spiced ales you’ll find white stouts and hoppy pales, meaning that regardless of whether it’s in the bar, by the fire or at the dinner table there’s a brilliant selection of great festive beers for you to enjoy available from Scotland’s breweries.
24 Great Christmas beers
FestiveNESS (4%) by Loch Ness Brewery
Mahogany in colour, this red spiced ale has aromas of caramel and chocolate, as well as warming ginger and toffee. This cracker of a Christmas beer also gives off flavours of red fruits and a hint of nuts before leading to a satisfyingly bitter and spiced finish.
Santa’s Sledgehammer (5.6%) by Cairngorm Brewery
Available on draught and bottles, this ruby bronze beer has soft caramel malt tones beneath layers of red fruits, orange peel and cinnamon and nutmeg. A sweet, spiced beer in the Scotch ale style that finishes with a pleasing bitter aftertaste.
Saison Cider (7.4%) by Tempest Brewing and Thistly Cross
A cracking collaboration between Thistly Cross Cider and Tempest. Brewed with a saison yeast, this cider was fermented with blackcurrants making for an earthy and fruity craft version of the student favourite Snakebite.
Nollaig (7%) and Yule Smile (4.2%) by Williams Brothers
Nollaig’s not your typical dark spiced beer. It’s a bruiser of a pale ale, with heaps of hops and a big pine forest finish. Available in highly giftable 1 litre growlers from selected shops. Yule Smith, a cinnamon and vanilla spiced ale, reeks of Christmas past.
Weiss Christmas Blanc (4.7%) and Weiss Christmas Noire (5.2%) by Stewart Brewing
A pair of complementing wheat beers brewed using mulled wine spices. The former offers up orange peel, clove and cinnamon flavours, while the Noire brings out the chocolate and roasted flavours from the dark malts. Stewarts are also releasing a limited edition cranberry saison available in a few pubs in Edinburgh.
Clootie Dumpling (4.3%) by Orkney Brewery
An orange brown and soft rounded beer, with flavours of dried fruits, citrus and seasonal spices. Made with traditional British hops – Bramling Gold, First Gold and Fuggles – giving earthy and spiced flavours. Meanwhile, Orkney’s Blizzard, which is only available on cask, is a pale ale with helpings of spices and citrus zest.
Snowy (7%) by 6 Degrees North
Tweaked from previous years’ recipes, the Belgian-loving brewery’s winter offering is a fruity amber/brown beer, with chocolate malt aromas as well as flavours of stewed plums and sweet Christmas spices. Takes its name from Tin Tin’s dog.
Christmas Vintage (10%) by Pilot Brewery.
A big boozy treat, Pilot’s festive special is made with mulberrys, raisins, oranges and cocoa quads, and is full of sweet, dark fruit flavours. If you can, buy a few and stash one away for next Christmas.
Winter 2015 (7.2%) by Top Out
Instead of a traditional British Christmas beer, Top Out have gone continental and brought out a dark wheat bock made with orange peel and cassia bark. Softly smokey and with hints of spices and chocolate malt, this is a strong, rich and complex beer.
Santa Paws (4.5%) and Hoppy Christmas (7.2%) by BrewDog
A decadent Scotch ale brewed with eight different malts, giving it a solid backbone. Flavours of bitter coffee and dark chocolate, with sweeter caramel and stonefruits emerging from the fireside. Hoppy Christmas is, unsurprisingly, the fruity and resinous hop forward alternative.
Santa’s Swallie (4.3%) Inveralmond Brewery
Like carol singers and chocolate coins, Santa’s Swallie is a festive perennial. Dark copper in colour, it’s a traditional British Christmas spiced ale, made with Fuggles hops and flavours of nutmeg and cinnamon.
Holly Daze (5%) and Christmas on the Beach (5.2%) by Fyne Ales
The name might be Christmassy but Holly Daze lacks the festive spices of other traditional beers. An amber beer the caramel malt and fruit flavours, solid bitterness and enjoyably dry finish. The lager, meanwhile, gets its hops from the South Pacific so expect heaps of tropical fruits in this vibrant golden beer.
Winterbräu (4.3%) by Caledonian Brewery
Another European-style ale, rich in sweet malts and chocolate aromas, this has a smooth velvet finish with the ginger, cinnamon and orange peel giving you flavours of citrus and Christmas spices.
Christmas is Cancelled (4.5%) by Tempest Brewing
A festive special from the Borders brewery, and sadly only available on cask, it’s a cheery blonde beer with heaps of American hops, including Simcoe giving it an aroma of Christmas trees.
White Stout (6%) by Loch Lomond Brewery
Fresh from winning the Cask Champion of Scotland for their Silkie Stout, the Alexandria-based brewery is offering up its festive special, a 6% White Stout brewed with orange and ginger and only available on draught.
Kildalton (5.1%) by Islay Ales
An annual outing for this rich and spcey dark Christmas beer. Their Kildalton (5.1%) is made with crystal, cara and chcololate malts, as well as pale, with ginger and cinnamon and Fuggles and Bramley Cross, sweet initially, the cinnamon and ginger spices creep in towards the close.
Kracker (6%) and Ca’Canny (5.2%) by Kelburn Brewery
A couple of winter warmers from the Glasgow brewery. The former’s a big bodied auburn-coloured German ‘marzen’ ale (like an amber lager) with a punchy ABV and a cuddly fruity finish. Ca’Canny, which is available in bottles all year round, is a darkbeer with coffee and chocolate malt flavours with fruity notes coming in too.
Bar Humbug (5.5%) by Mor
Terry’s fans will be delighted with Mor’s festive offering – a chocolate orange stout that’s been released alongside the brewery’s new Big Head Beer range.
Mulled Cider (4.4%) by Thistly Cross Cider
A deep red heart-warming cider with a nose of boozy plums and Christmas pudding. The traditional festive spices ease out in the tasting while subtle hints of winter berries emerge in the long finish.
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