Meanwhile Brewing | Winter Beer Menu

As stout season hits its stride, Meanwhile Brewing in Austin, Texas, has taken a broader approach to seasonal offerings and launched a full gamut of winter beers for differing palates and the vagaries of Texas winter weather.

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New Belgium Brewing | Holiday Ale

I don’t know when exactly it started, but at some point in my voracious drinking career, I realized that I mentally connect certain breweries with certain seasons. During June and July, I almost exclusively drink from Outer Range Brewing—whatever they’re making automatically becomes my summer go-to. Then when the leaves change and the nights get cooler, all I want is Odell Brewing: their amber ale, their tropical sour; I don’t care about the style, I just want whatever they’re brewing. And, for as long as I can remember, my winter palate has belonged to New Belgium Brewing.

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Shmaltz & Moustache Light Up the Holidays with ‘Golden Jelly Doughnut Pastry Ale’ & ‘She’brew #RBG IPA’

Shmaltz Brewing Company’s favorite beer-drinking season of the year is here: Hanukkah! Shmaltz Brewing officially turns 24 this Hanukkah and celebrates with the national release of a brand new Golden Jelly Doughnut Pastry Ale brewed with 600 pounds per batch of real purees of raspberry and cherry with a generous slathering of pure vanilla. This Hanukkah Beer, a glorious homage to the beloved Sufganiyot dessert, is all new for 2020 and is now available in 12-ounce can 4-Packs, limited draft through their East Coast wholesalers, and through Brew Pipeline nationally.

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Ultimate 6er | I’m Being Told It’s December, So Here’s Some Christmas Shit

Hard to believe it’s already the holiday season. Whatever fucked up wormhole we got sucked into at the beginning of 2020 has wiped the concept of night and day from the malfunctioning hard drive that is our collective minds. But who doesn’t love the holidays?

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PorchDrinking’s 2020 Holiday Gift Guide for Craft Beer Fans

Giving the right gift is often as rewarding as receiving one. While beer drinkers can’t share pours at their local taproom at the moment, there’s still an opportunity to celebrate the craft beer passion of a partner, loved one or friend with a variety of beer-inspired gifts for Christmas.

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Halloween Beer Treat | Spiteful Brewing Mrs. O’Leary’s Chocolate Stout

The famous Chicago Fire began on October 8, 1871, in a barn owned by Catherine and Patrick O’Leary. The city went ablaze for 36 hours, destroying 18,000 buildings and leaving 100,000 Chicagoans homeless. A frightful October story, to say the least! But, Spiteful Brewing has taken that story, mixed it with some cow-blaming folklore and turned into a sweet Halloween treat: Mrs. O’Leary’s Chocolate Stout.

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Christmas Classics | Spoetzl Brewery Shiner Holiday Cheer

Dear Santa,

I’ve done my best this year. Sure, I may have had a few bumps in the road on my way to the Nice List, but what can I say? I’m only human. Besides, a few parking tickets never hurt anyone! Look Santa, I want to reason with you. I don’t need anything too fancy, so you can save the diamond earrings and shiny new cars for the real heroes out there. There is really only one thing I want to find in my stocking this year, and it’s a shiny new bottle of Shiner Holiday Cheer from Spoetzl Brewery. Now, they probably don’t sell this one where you’re from up North, so I’ll give you a few pointers to make sure you know what you’re looking for. 

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Christmas Classics | New Belgium Brewing Foeder Frambozen

When it comes to holiday beers, New Belgium Brewing had the market cornered for years with Frambozen: a medium-bodied brown ale awash with fresh raspberries and a delightfully festive pinkish head. The seasonal release was eagerly anticipated every year, and when they discontinued this brew back in 2015, I mourned the loss deeply.

Luckily, though, fans of the tartly fruited brown ale have been treated to new iterations of the classic over the past few years. An imperial version with cocoa was delightfully similar to the original, with subtle hints of chocolate that deepened the overall flavor without adding too much sweetness. I suspect it was the success of that iteration that brings us to the current limited release: New Belgium Brewing Foeder Frambozen.

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3 Freaks Brewery | Lloyd Christmas Porter

Like an adult candy cane, Lloyd Christmas Peppermint Chocolate Porter from 3 Freaks Brewery in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, offers a minty, tasty holiday treat that captures the spirit of the season. Each year the brewery tweaks the recipe to explore new flavor profiles; the 2019 version seems more mint-centric and somewhat lighter on the chocolate than previous incarnations.

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Christmas Classics | Sierra Nevada Brewing Celebration Fresh Hop IPA

As I was using a plastic snow shovel to chip away at the glacier-sized chunks of hardened ice in my driveway the other day, I was reminded of just how much I loooove the holiday season. And what’s not to love? Dry, cracked hands that look like a relief map of the Mojave Desert? Check. General sense of terror every time I walk in public because no one got the memo about covering their coughs and sneezes? Double check. But at least there’s good beer.

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Christmas Classics | St. Bernardus Christmas Ale

It’s great that St. Nick takes care of the kids. But, for grown-ups, it’s all about St. Bernardus. He doesn’t need to send his elf for your shelf because his smiling face and festive hat adorn every bottle of St. Bernardus Christmas Ale. One sip of the exquisite Belgian beer will surely bring an abundance of holiday joy to any beer fan.

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Maxline Brewing | Spiced Plum Ale

Ah, the holiday season. A time for cheesy movies, eating too many tree-shaped cookies, and imbibing in specialty beers that just fit perfectly with the time of year. Seasonal brews are a staple in nearly any taproom; since the colder months give brewers the inspiration to create warming and holiday dinner inspired drinks.

Maxline Brewing is now one of Fort Collins’ must-drink breweries. They have several awesome seasonal beers on tap, including their fiery Mean Heat Wheat and the childhood-cereal reminiscent Arrez Con Leche. This year, however, Maxline and head brewer Shaun Woodbury added Maxline’s Spiced Plum Ale to the rotation.

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Ultimate 6er | Bah, Humbuzz

Cheer and happiness and all that festive crap is important, I suppose. But once in a while, the get-off-my-lawn crowd needs a shoutout. If you love the holidays and feel all warm and tingly at the sight of fresh December snow, this ain’t the article for you, Cindy Lou Who. This one’s for the grinches, the scrooges, the grown Charlie Browns; the curmudgeonly and cantankerous cranks of the world.

My promise to you right off the bat, is that there will be no cute rhymes here. If there’s anything I hate more than holiday music, it’s the nauseating rhymes companies try to incorporate into everything. Between the stress of shopping, the weather, traffic and that unbearable Mariah Carey song, we need an Ultimate 6er – and not just any 6er – to get us through to New Year’s Day. There are 12 shopping days left until Christmas, and today is 12/12. So here’s a 6er of beers that are all at least 12% ABV to pair with the season’s most pervasive annoyances.

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Saint Arnold Brewing Co. | Christmas Ale

The holidays are behind us and it’s time to put away the tree and restore the yard to it’s former non-whimsical state. While most folks are scouring stores for deeply discounted wares or decorations for next year, I’ll be driving around town looking for the last of the Saint Arnold’s Christmas Ale. Even though Christmas has officially past, this rich, malty old ale pairs perfectly with cold weather and hearty meals and is only available from October through December each year.

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Around the Bend Beer Company | Pretty Lights

Just when you think you know what to expect from a Christmas Ale, Around the Bend Beer Company comes along and provides a unique holiday surprise — the Pretty Lights Belgian Tripel with Cranberry and Almond. Although this beer is exceedingly capable of standing on its own, it would be tough to find a beer more suited for pairing with a holiday feast.
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Holiday Beer Cocktails

It’s about that time everyone. You know what I’m talking about. It’s about that time where you’re going to be snuggled up close and personal with your family for an extended amount of time. And whether you love em’ or could live without em’, a tall, stiff drink does a body (and peace of mind) good! When a cold glass of beer won’t scratch that ugly sweater party itch, enter the beer cocktail as a very important part of your Holiday survival guide!

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12 Beers of Christmas | Fremont Brewing Coffee Cinnamon B-Bomb

ABV: 14.0% | IBU: 65

Fremont Brewing delivers another liquid giant to liven up another holiday season. Coffee Cinnamon B-Bomb is the awesomely adjunct-ed, cooler and even more popular older cousin of Bourbon Barrel Aged Winter Ale, Fremont’s flagship bourbon barrel aged beer. It can be found lounging around the MoonTower, slicking back it’s long golden waxy locks, and murmuring phrases like: “Alright, alright, alright.”
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12 Days of Christmas | Anchor Brewing | Christmas Ale

ABV 6.5%

Welcome to the time of year when families gather to spend quality time in the same room staring at their phones. With all kidding aside, sometimes it is nice to take a step back to reflect on the good old holiday traditions of the past, with a good old Christmas Ale.

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BrewLights 2016 | 12 Samples of Christmas Beer

What better way to get acquainted with Holiday beer than a December beer festival offering local, national and imported selections? For instance, BrewLights 2016 — a craft beer festival held amidst Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo’s animal family, adorned by a plethora of holiday lights and accompanied by plenty of holiday tunes. The scene at BrewLights made it tough not to get into the holiday spirit. Throw in a little nip in the air and the smell of Christmas beer, and it’s as if Santa himself has arranged the party. As you shop this year, it may be difficult to know what holiday-seasonal beers to purchase, so let’s go through the 12 beer samples of Christmas provided at BrewLights 2016.

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Moody Tongue Brewing Shaved Black Truffle Pilsner Returns December 2

Moody Tongue Brewing in Chicago, the brainchild of Jared Rouben, a graduate of both the Culinary Institute of America and Seibel, recently opened its new, cozy taproom on the city’s west side. With that opening, Moody can now provide its coveted Shaved Black Truffle Pilsner on draft – a sinful holiday beer treat for either the naughty or nice this year.
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