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THE SUPERMARKET GUIDE TO BEER:  WINTER BEERS

Winter is upon us.  Traditionally this means the rush for presents, the lighting of candles, the anticipation of some days off work at the end of the year.  Its also this time of year that some new labels and cases pop up in our supermarket beer aisle.  This didn’t always happen, but its been a growing trend.  The winter beers are here, and are they worth a try?  Most definitely so.

So what is a Winter Beer?  There are both historical and contemporary answers.  Historically, brewers would produce a slightly stronger and heavier version of their regular beer to offer as gifts to their favorite customers at the end of the year.  These would be special, one- or two- time brews, made especially to be limited.  These would generally be beers suited for fireplaces, cold weather, big meals and warm clothes:  old and strong ales, porters, higher alcohol, more malts and hops, barley wines and strong lagers.  Many winter beers follow this recipe tradition.  They are heavier, bigger beers aimed at providing some reprieve to the winter months.  They want to provide some real oomph to their drinkers.  During the cold weather, peoples are often eating heartier meals with stronger flavors, so breweries want to provide stronger beers to stand up to these meals.

The contemporary answer has put a twist to this definition.  In a nod to the discerning and varying palate US beer drinkers, breweries recognized that not all beer drinkers necessarily like the heavier darker brews.  Many have introduced alternative recipes.  They will still brew beers that are generally slightly darker than their related year-round ales or lagers, but they will also add hints of winter flavors:  nutmeg, cinnamon, even warmer fruit like raspberry or other berries (contrast this to the sharp fresh citris taste which dominates summer brews). 

So today’s definition of a winter beer is far more generically generic and encompassing now than it was:  a winter beer is simply a brewery’s winter release.  The many interpretations of how to reflect the change in our winter moods and behaviors though beer just means that we get more choices!

You’ll probably also notice different and colorful packaging for the winter beers in your supermarket.  Breweries are still walking a fine line – they don’t want to cannibalize their year-round brands, but they still want to convince people to try something new.  Some winter beers come in wine-bottle sizes and may use corks instead of bottle tops.  Others integrate images of the season into their labels and cases:  snow scenes, Christmas trees, a seasonal tap-handle.

Although the traditions may go back centuries, most seasonal beers disappeared after the propitiation era.  The marketing minds of the breweries through it better to latch the US consumer onto single brand of beer and to drive loyalty through this model.  Why risk loosing a customer by giving them a choice and encouraging them to try something new?  It wasn’t until the modern micro-brewery era what seasonal beers, and winter beers more specifically, came to be.  These smaller local breweries loved the values and history of the older European traditions and wanted to popularize them in the US.  They took the winter beer and started to popularize it in the 1970s.  Since then it has continued to gain momentum and has migrated into brewpubs and restaurants. 

Another reason why the winter beer trend has gained recent popularity is its price point.  These beers will often have another mark-up above and beyond that of the already marked-up premium beers.   

You see the proof that the trend has hit when you walk down the supermarket aisle.  Of course, in most local supermarkets, the national breweries control the shelves.  The fact that we see the winter beers here is sufficient proof that they’re taking it seriously to have some ‘skin in the game’.  That said, they are still very careful to protect their brand.  You will see very few examples, if any, of Anheuser-Busch, Coors and Miller marketing a seasonal or winter beer directly in their name.  They have released some to be sure, but they are not that widely available or marketed.  They leave the winter beers to their owned micro-brewery subsidiaries or to the large regional or national microbreweries. Some of the names you could find in your local include:

Sierra Nevada Celebration:  a zesty and hopped ale, its an almost double-strength, double-hopped version of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.  This is one of the countries most popular winter ales.  It is also one of the few which is distributed nationwide. 

Sam Adams Winter Lager:  a lighter winter beer, lightly spiced.  Samual Adams, one of the countries largest microbreweries, also comes out with a ‘Winter Sampler’ 12-pack which includes a the Winter lager with many of their other beers which are only available this time of year: their Cranberry Lambic, Cream Stout and Old Fezziwig.

Alaskan Winter Ale, from Alaskan Brewing in Juneau is a winter beer for the non-dark fans.  Its much lighter than most winter beers and has an almost sweet, flowery aroma and flavor.

Full Moon Winter Ale:  Owned by Coors, Full Moon produces a variety of seasonal beers.  This winter ale is describes as amber and nutty with an essence of brown sugar.