The coldest months are peak season for winter beers, a slightly amorphous category defined by production date, alcohol content and spice flavors that can resemble a mincemeat pie. Enjoyed hundreds of years ago in societies such as English and Norse, these tipples fell into a lag only to see a resurgence in the 1970s as winter warmers or Christmas beers. They became a hit in the U.S. after San Francisco's Anchor Brewing released its Christmas ale in 1975, and today include the likes of Sierra Nevada's Celebration IPA, Allagash Brewing's Ski House and Deschutes Brewery's Jubelale.
A limited-edition beer made with snow from Highmark Stadium, Blizzard Brew celebrates the great lengths Bills fans will go for one of the NFL's greatest traditions, the company says. This season is the last for the Bills at the original Highmark Stadium[JJ1.1], and NFL fans around the world have become very familiar with one of the venue's most iconic traditions: Bills Mafia shoveling it out following an overload of snow before an upcoming home game, it adds.
From its humble beginnings in a strip mall to boasting one of the largest brewery tasting rooms in the country at 25,000 square feet, AleSmith has continually been a local favorite for over 30 years. It's been consistently ranked in the top 10 list of the best brewers on RateBeer, a beer rating website with millions of beer-loving members from around the world. And to this day, craft beer experts rank an AleSmith beer as one of the best of the year.
Over the years, Molson Coors has sold everything from CBD products to vegan milk. Today, we're shining the spotlight on one glowing member of the brand's light beer category: Hamm's Special Light. What's wrong with a pale lager with a pleasant mouthfeel, refreshing crispness, and flavorful malty grain? Nothing. Regardless, Hamm's Special Light hasn't been seen on store shelves since 2021.
In the northern town of Windsor is the most famous: Russian River Brewing. It's been voted one of the top breweries in the country and is best known for its Pliny the Elder. But there's also the Belgian-influenced Cuver Brewing and Barrel Brothers. Santa Rosa, meanwhile, has the most breweries, including Cooperage and its new downtown location, plus Fogbelt, HenHouse, Iron Ox, Moonlight, Old Possum, Russian River's original brewpub and Shady Oak Barrel House.
There are conflicting stories about beer cheese's golden-orange origins. It appears to have first been served in the 1940s at a restaurant in Clark County, Ky., called Johnny Allman's (since renamed Howard's Creek). In 2006, when Kathy Gorman Archer, president of Howard's Creek Authentic Beer Cheese, decided to revive the spreadable cheese brand-to widespread acclaim-she said it initially was a sustainable effort: leftover sharp cheddar cheese was a key ingredient, as well as leftover beer.
Back in the 1970s, sure, there were many brands we'd all recognize today, like Michelob, Miller, and Budweiser, but there were also bottles of Olympia, Stroh's, and Billy Beer. These beers are long gone or far less common today, but back then, they were all the rage (although sometimes, that was more to do with image than taste - looking at you, Billy Beer).
Beneath Ghost Town's morbid exterior, behind the ubiquitous skeleton and demon imagery and beers named "Speed of Death," "Detestable," "Sour Violence," and "Torture Garden," is a crowd-pleasing brewery that has crafted a beer garden the East Bay flocks to for award-winning brews, a creative, options-for-everyone menu, and "impeccable vibes," as one Nosh Awards voter put it. Ghost Town Brewing has established a sizable trophy case since its founding in 2012.
Real Ale Brewing Co. is partnering with Feeding Texas, the statewide network of food banks, to support Texans experiencing food insecurity this holiday season. Real Ale has designed a limited-release version of its popular Axis IPA with a camo design in honor of the collaboration. A portion of the proceeds from each purchase of the special edition Real Ale Axis IPA six-pack will benefit Feeding Texas' Hunters for the Hungry program. The Axis camo can collaboration beer is available in stores, including H-E-B, Total Wine and more across Texas. Real Ale Axis IPA also can be ordered on draught throughout Texas. And is available at the Real Ale Taproom and Beer Garden in Blanco, along with their lineup of other delicious brews.
Always love waking up the next day in the hotel and writing out about the previous day's trip. ( The Trip - Day 1 recap) ( Big Three Day Weekend Trip) I kind of decided on the whim of doing the trip and just pretty much set the compass for West Virginia and then let myself be taken by the whims to get there.
When we humans moved into northern Europe 40,000 years ago, it's likely that to cope with the depths of the cold winter we got together to cheer ourselves up, and also to mark the turning of the year back towards summer. It's no coincidence that Christmas Day falls very close to the winter solstice, when the sun begins its journey back to warmer and longer days.
Tröegs Independent Brewing announced the release of The Most Wonderful Beer of the Year, a festive variety pack perfect for celebrating the holiday season. The focal point of this 12-pack is Tröegs' iconic holiday ale, Mad Elf. Brewed with five varieties of cherries and Pennsylvania wildflower honey, this beer helped put the Hershey, Pa.-based brewery on the craft beer map, the company says.
Last call has come for a beloved, nearly four-decade-old Oregon brewery founded in part by three former Nike executives. Oregon Brewing Company, the parent company of Rogue Ales & Spirits, filed for Chapter 7 liquidation proceedings in the state's federal bankruptcy court this week. The Monday bankruptcy filing follows the craft beer and spirits maker's abrupt shutdown of all its brewing and restaurant locations across Oregon, according to local news reports.
Tucked away in south-central Washington, about 145 miles southeast of Seattle, the Yakima Valley stretches across fertile farmland framed by rolling hills, basalt ridges, and the winding Yakima River. Anchored by the city of Yakima and encompassing towns like Sunnyside, Zillah, and Selah, the region is best known as the nation's hop capital, producing more than 70 percent of U.S. hops.
"Unfortunately, despite great work from the team, in the face of a challenging craft beer category and other economic pressures impacting our customers and consumers, it has not been possible to grow the brands to the level needed to sustain the brewery as part of our UK and Ireland production network," they said. "This decision has not been taken lightly, and we are providing our 15 impacted employees with every support," Molson Coors said.
We always want our variety packs to play into the season and offer something that appeals to different craft beer drinkers, so you'll see a mix of approachable styles like our award-winning Kölsch as well as something that might be new to the craft beer novice like Dunkel,
After four years of being one of the top, and greatest premier craft bottle and beer shops in the Central PA area, West Connection Beer Vault is closing its doors. Located up on the Hershey Hill overlooking Hummelstown, between Weiss and what used to be K-Mart and is now a host of other businesses (including a gym and a Tractor Supply), at 1164 Mae St, Hummelstown, PA 17036. They just posted on their social media accounts moments ago about the upcoming closure.
Available while supplies last across Texas retailers and at Karbach's Houston brewery through the end of December, this malt-forward seasonal brew arrives just as temperatures finally begin to drop across the Lone Star State, the company notes. Crafted as a nod to classic English brewing traditions, Yuletide Confessions showcases Karbach's brewing expertise with a complex blend of rich English malts, including oats, barley and rye, it says.
A couple of years ago, a beer writer friend of mine discovered the New York State Brewers Association (NYSBA) app, which has a sort of passport feature: You could pull up a big map of every brewery in New York, and check off each one you've visited. You could only "stamp" a brewery if the app detected you were there, so there was no cheating.
A new investigation from Matt Brown at Extra Points explored the beer sales this season at 21 different college football stadiums. What Brown and his colleagues discovered, via a series of Freedom of Information Act requests, was where beer sales were at their highest for the current season - and where they were down. At the top of the list was Nebraska, which has sold over $2 million worth of beer for games in August and September of 2025.
It's time to reveal the finalists for the Brewbound Live Pitch Slam, our business pitch competition for beer and beverage-alcohol brands. They will compete during Brewbound Live 2025, taking place on December 10 + 11 in L.A. The lines between beverage-alcohol and adult beverages continue to blur and this year's Brewbound Live Pitch Slam finalists are at the forefront of that evolution.
At its most popular in the '70s, this was like a beer-and-wine hybrid, combining beer with red grape juice. It offered the crisp, effervescence of beer, softened and sweetened with lightly tart fruit juice. And, perhaps more importantly for the Gen X crowd that would have been its target demographic, the drink was also a bargain. On a Gen X Facebook group post, a commenter says Malt Duck was the go-to for Friday-night celebrations when they only had five bucks.
While placements in off-premise chains such as Walmart, Kroger, HEB, 7-Eleven and others are analogous to home runs, getting a tap handle is a solid base hit on the way to scoring, and brewers shouldn't lose sight of those singles. Jones also discusses why he believes craft beer's funk is potentially ending, why the ethanol pie was cut too many ways, how beer is competing for dayparts and why beer needs to bring fun and socializing back.
There are plenty of conceptions around what athletes do and don't consume as part of their routine when their sport is in session. There's a reason why Lionel Messi has lent his name to an energy drink - and why one of the all-time great SNL sketches features John Belushi as an Olympic athlete fueled by doughnuts. It's surprising, then, to read about a record-breaking athlete who's very open about his fondness for a less heralded athletic beverage: beer.
Sam Adams just made a beer so strong, you may not even be able to legally drink it in some states. The rollout of this year's Utopias, a barrel-aged "extreme" beer from the Boston-based beer company, has a whopping 30% ABV (alcohol by volume). "Defying convention with a 30% ABV, Utopias 2025 is one of the strongest beers ever brewed," Boston Beer Company, which owns Sam Adams, said in a press release. Jim Koch, founder and brewer of Samuel Adams, called the 14th edition of Utopias a "milestone." Utopias in the past have landed at 24% to 28% ABV, still a far cry from a typical Sam Adams beer with an ABV of around 5%.
In the 1940s, gluten was identified as the trigger for celiac disease, and in the decades since, more and more people have realized that even if they didn't have celiac, they might be slightly or significantly gluten intolerant. Cue the rise of gluten-free diets and products in the 1990s and early aughts, with many a terrible gluten-free muffin, cupcake and bowl of pasta consumed along the way.
