New Beer Alert: Festive Winter Warmers And Anniversary Beers

(Courtesy Guinness)

November is ON and American brewers are addressing things with an intriguing roster of beers that you’ll want to have on hand with the winter holidays nearing.

A Winter Wonder (Relay, MD) -In August 2018, Guinness opened Guinness Open Gate Brewery & Barrel House, its first brewery to operate in the United States since leaving New York in 1954. Based just south of Baltimore on 62-acre brewing campus once home to the Calvert Distillery, a legendary post-Prohibition operator that that for decades produced the mid-Atlantic’s popular Lord Calvert Whisky, the brewery’s opening was widely celebrated.

Unfortunately in the wake of the Covid lockdowns, Diageo, the London-based drinks major that now owns Guinness, decided to shut down its major production facility in June, 2023. But they did keep their small batch brewery operating and that experimental brewery just released something special for the holidays.

Available on draught in the Guinness Baltimore taproom, as well as in 4-pack cans to-go, exclusively from the taproom store through December, Guinness Winter Warmer is a 7% ABV limited release that was crafted with hand-scraped vanilla beans, whole nutmeg and cinnamon sticks to keep things festive.

(Courtesy Stone Brewing)

Hoppy Anniversary (Escondido, CA) – Founded in 1996, Stone Brewing is celebrating its 28^th anniversary with something special. Brewed with straightforward menu of carefully curated Mosaic and Nelson Sauvin hops, Stone 28 is an 8.5% ABV Hazy Double IPA with fresh mango, sweet aromatic orange cream, marmalade & lime and a surprisingly off-dry finish that’s both intensely fruity and triumphantly tropical.

“We are fortunate to be able to purchase the best ingredients in the world,” Jeremy Moynier, Sr. Manager of Brewing & Supply Chain said. “When you open a box of Nelson Sauvin hops, you can smell its distinctive fruity aroma from across the brewery. Mosaic provides some structure, citrus, and dankness to the brew. This one was hands-down deserving of the coveted anniversary beer label.”

1980s-Inspired (Seattle, WA) – In 1981, Redhook Brewery was born in a converted transmission shop in Ballard, Washington, kickstarting the Seattle craft brewing movement. And Redhook is still kicking it with one of the most dependable IPAs in the nation.

, New Beer Alert: Festive Winter Warmers And Anniversary Beers Crafted with a smart mix Sabro, El Dorado, Bru-1, Cascade hops, Big Ballard Hazy Imperial IPA is a BIG 8.7% ABV India Pale Ale with bright citrus and tropical notes and a soft, approachable body. Crafted in the PNW for the PNW, this 80s-inspired hazy is big, bold, juicy and unapologetic.