The holidays are upon us. Maybe you live somewhere blanketed by snow, and the wintry sheen makes the holiday lights look even brighter. Or perhaps you have a decorated palm tree in your yard, and there isn’t a hint of snow in the forecast. Either way, you’re probably in a holiday mood, which means Christmas beers are definitely on the menu.
Even if you don’t celebrate Christmas, you can’t argue with the appeal of these rich, tasty beers on a chilly winter night. For the uninitiated, a Christmas beer is a seasonal beer created to be enjoyed during the holidays. While there’s no set definition (and brewers have their own unique takes), they’re usually malty, dark, and loaded with flavors that normally belong in a fruit cake: candied orange peel, cloves, cinnamon, and other wintry spices.
To help you spend the next few weeks imbibing the best seasonal brews, we’ve rounded up our favorite Christmas beers of the year. ‘Tis the season to crack one open.
1. Anchor Christmas Ale
There are few American-made Christmas beers more beloved than Anchor Christmas Ale. 2021 is the 47th year the iconic San Francisco-based brewery has released its Christmas Ale. This seven percent ABV seasonal brew is a thing of beauty with its notes of cinnamon, dark chocolate, caramel; a slight alcoholic fruitiness that ties everything together nicely.
One of the best Christmas beers ever made comes from Belgian brewery St. Bernardus. This 10 percent ABV quadruple is loaded with hints of toffee, toasted almonds, dried cherries, gentle yeast, and wintry spices.
With a name like Fistmas, you’d expect a gut-punch of a beer—and you wouldn’t be wrong. This 6.5 percent ABV holiday red ale from Chicago’s Revolution Brewing gets its added flavor from the addition of orange peel and ginger. On top of that, the beer serves up flavors of chocolate fudge, dried fruits, and slight seasonal spices.
Rogue Ales fans eagerly await the brewery’s Santa’s Private Reserve offerings every holiday season. This year’s Kringle Krusher is brewed with Weyerman Pilsner, Caramunich, and Carafa Special III malts as well as Biscuit rye. It gets its seasonal flavor from the addition of vanilla and aging on rum-soaked oak chips.
Yet another eagerly awaited beer, Avery Old Jubilation is an 8.3 percent ABV strong ale brewed with Black, Chocolate, Bonlander Munich, and 2-Row malts as well as London ale yeast and Bullion hops. The result is a different type of Christmas beer: It’s not spiced like many other beers, but it offers notes of caramel and chocolate along with a nutty sweetness.
There might not be a more aptly named Christmas beer than Tröegs Mad Elf. This 11 percent ABV ale is brewed with Chocolate, Munich, and Pilsner malts as well as spicy Belgian yeast. It gets its flavor from the addition of honey and several varieties of cherries.
Great Lakes is one of those breweries that seems to brew a banger for every season. Its Christmas Ale is no exception. This 7.5 percent ABV Christmas ale gets its seasonal flavor from the addition of honey and spices. The result is a sweet, malty, rich beer with notes of cinnamon, honey, caramel, and ginger.
It’s quite clear that in addition to making some of the best beer in the world in any season, Belgian brewers know how to craft delicious, memorable Christmas beers. This 10 percent ABV ale is loaded with sweet yeasty flavors of caramel candy, dried fruits, and holiday spices, and it’s rounded out with a warming, subtly bitter finish.
Deschutes’ foray into the world of winter warmers is its Jubelale. It has a great mix of hops and malts: Pale, Crystal, Carapils, and Extra Special malts as well as roasted barley pair with Bravo, Cascade, Delta, Us Tettnang, and East Kent Goldings hops. This results in a malty, sweet, caramel-filled beer with a nice hoppy backbone.
Southern Tier is well-known for its holiday-centric beers. One of its newest and best is its 2XMAS. This eight percent ABV spiced double ale gets its seasonal flavor from being brewed with orange peels, figs, cinnamon, cardamom, clove, and ginger root. The result is a spicy, robust, sweet beer that’s ideal for cold weather drinking.
It makes sense that a brewery located in a city known for its prodigious snow would make a solid winter warmer. This malt-forward ale has notes of chocolate, caramel, cinnamon, and just a whiff of orange. A total crowd-pleaser, Breckenridge Christmas Ale is something you can share with friends and family this holiday season (but we’ll doubt you’ll want to).
Generally speaking, Scotch ales are big, bold, overwhelmingly malty, and a bit heavy (hence their alternative name, “Wee Heavy”). That’s not the case with this unique offering from Bell’s. Simple, well-balanced, and supremely drinkable (impressive considering it has a 7.5 percent ABV), it’s a beer you can sip all evening without falling over.
Christmas ales are usually characterized by the addition of warming spices (think cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, and star anise), but Shiner is based in the heart of Texas, and the brewery does things a little differently. Brewed with local pecans and peaches (the dominant flavor in this brew), Shiner Holiday Cheer is perfect for those who live in a warm-weather destination (or maybe those dreaming of one).
Bronx Brewery is known for making some playful and inventive suds, and this spiced beer is a great example. The brewers soaked chunks of Brazilian Oak in rum and steeped them in the beer during the conditioning process, which gives the resulting brew flavors of vanilla and cinnamon. Overall, Jingle Jangle tastes a bit like a liquified snickerdoodle cookie, which makes it a perfect dessert beer.
This boozy (10.6 percent ABV) offering from Hardywood will definitely help you get through a gathering with the in-laws. To make Kentucky Christmas Morning, the brewery takes its Gingerbread Stout and ages it in Kentucky bourbon barrels, a process which adds notes of vanilla, coconut, and rich toasted oak. It’s also cold-filtered through coffee beans before bottling.
If you’re more of a hop head than a malt worshiper, this treat from Hood River, Oregon is for you. It’s not quite an IPA, but at 7.5 percent ABV and 85 IBUs, this is about as close to the style as you can get in a holiday-inspired beer. Centennial hops lend notes of evergreen and citrus for a bright, easy-drinking brew.
[Price varies; available in stores]
17. Prairie Artisan Ales Seasick Crocodile
While Prairie Artisan Ales out of Oklahoma City makes a collection of dynamic holiday beers, we’re partial to the Seasick Crocodile for its novelty. The sour ale (a rarity in the Christmas realm) is brewed with cranberries, ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg; it’s lip-smackingly tart yet very crushable.
There’s no doubt when the weather turns colder as we settle into winter, stouts take center stage. And while we enjoy all its iterations: standard stout, imperial stout, and robust barrel-aged stouts, we think this malty, chocolate-filled beer’s close cousin deserves a little respect as well. Of course, we’re talking about the oft-overlooked porter. And the best porters, oh buddy, they’ll have you rethinking your seasonal bevvie of choice.
For those uninitiated, the porter style had its genesis in England like many other iconic beer styles. It first appeared in the 1700s and is (you guessed it) named after porters—individuals tasked with transporting luggage.
A confusing origin story
“Stout is the direct descendant of porter. In the 1700s, it was common to use the word ‘stout’ to refer to a bolder, higher-alcohol version of any beer style, much in the same way we use the word ‘imperial’ today,” says Zach Fowle, advanced cicerone and head of marketing for Arizona Wilderness Brewing Co. in Phoenix, AZ. “Porter was the most popular beer of the day, and over time, “stout porter” became a popular variant. But by the late 1800s, demand for regular porters evaporated, and stout porter shortened simply to stout.”
But more has changed between the 1800s and today than just our penchant for wearing top hats. “Today, most brewers seem to market beers as either stout or porter based on vibes, rather than on any notable stylistic differences,” he says.
Specifically, porters are known for their dark, almost pitch-black color and rich, sweet flavor profile. If you were to drink a porter and a stout side by side, you might even have difficulty discerning the differences between the two.
Stout versus porter is an enduring topic of discussion in the brewing industry. “While there’s no debating the porter came first—and stout used to be called stout porter, so it was a stronger version of a porter—the lines have become very blurred over the years,” says Rob Lightner, co-founder of East Brother Brewing in Richmond, CA.
“I would venture that even among professionals, a blind taste test would often yield inconclusive results,” says Lightner.
The difference between porters and stouts
Porters tend to be on the milder, more chocolatey end of the spectrum, Lightner says, whereas stouts are typically a little stronger and more roasty. Of course, this isn’t a hard and fast rule
Fowle agrees, “Porters tend to be fruitier, sweeter, and less bitter than stouts, with cocoa and caramel flavors in balance with dark malt bitterness. And stouts are usually hoppier, drier, maltier, and more coffee-forward—and may even have a touch of acidity.”
Whether or not they fit neatly into boxes, one thing’s for sure: both make for incredible cold-weather brews.
“As the nights grow longer, drinking a light, summery beer just doesn’t seem right,” says Fowle. “Porter is the perfect style for the transition to winter: warming and toasty yet not too heavy, with flavors of coffee, chocolate, and pie crust that correspond with autumn weather and holidays.”
It’s the perfect time to broaden your repretoire. Sweet, robust, warming, and well-suited to the season, here are the best porters to drink now.
Courtesy image
1. Deschutes Black Butte Porter
There are few porters more well-respected than Deschutes’ iconic Black Butte Porter. It’s brewed with Cascade and Tettnang hops as well as 2-row, Chocolate, Crystal, and Carapils malts as well as wheat. This 5.5% ABV year-round offering is great for cold-weather drinking because of its mix of roasted malts, coffee, and chocolate. It’s a robust, subtly sweet beer perfect for imbibing on a crisp fall night.
The key to 360-degree muscle: 90-degree eccentric isometrics. It might seem like we’re throwing a lot of geometry at you, but the concept behind time under tension (TUT) is simple, says Joel Seedman, PhD, owner of Advanced Human Performance: “Perform the lowering phase of a movement in a slow, controlled fashion, usually 3 to 5 seconds; pause in the stretched position, typically around 90 degrees; then perform the lifting phase in a powerful yet controlled fashion.” Believe us, a time-under-tension workout can humble even seasoned lifters…Eccentric isometrics are like the pressure cooker of training.
“Rather than mindlessly performing slow-tempo reps, you’re using the increased time under tension as a means to fine-tune your body mechanics and alignment, which requires more mental engagement and focus,” Seedman adds.
If you want to forge functional muscle mass and strength while simultaneously bulletproofing the joints and connective tissue, give this 10-move, full-body eccentric isometrics workout a go.
Directions
Perform the following moves as 90-degree eccentric isometrics following the above protocol. Use heavy weight, but not at the detriment of proper form. Rest 60 to 90 seconds between sets and 2 minutes between circuits. Perform once every 2 to 4 days for optimal results.
Best Time-Under-Tension Workout for Total-Body Strength
Circuit 1
Marius Bugge
A. Barbell Back Squat
Set a squat rack up with heavy weight, then grasp bar and step under it. Squeeze shoulder blades together, then stand to unrack bar and step back with feet shoulder-width apart. Inhale, hinge at hips and slowly bend knees to 90 degrees. Pause, keeping natural arch in low back, then extend through hips to powerfully stand. 3 x 4-6 reps
Marius Bugge
B. Renegade Row
Start in the top position of a pushup with hands shoulder-width apart on moderate-to-heavy dumbbells (shown). Explosively drive right elbow back to row dumbbell toward ribs while balancing on opposite hand and feet. Pause, then slowly lower weight, stopping a few inches above floor. Switch sides after all reps are done. 3 x 5 reps each side
Circuit 2
Marius Bugge
A. Dumbbell Bentover Row
Stand with feet hip-width apart, holding two moderate-to-heavy dumbbells in front of thighs, palms facing you. Push hips back and hinge torso forward so it’s nearly parallel to floor, soft bend in knees. Dumbbells should be near shins. Drive elbows back to row weights toward ribs. Pause, then slowly lower down for 3 to 5 seconds. 3 x 4-5 reps
Marius Bugge
B. Incline Dumbbell Chest Press with Legs Raised
Set an adjustable bench to a 30- to 45-degree angle and lie back with dumbbells in either hand. Engage core and lift legs off floor, flexing feet. Press weights overhead, palms in. Slowly lower to 90 degrees, staying tight and compact. Pause, then drive weights up directly over chest. 3 x 4-5 reps
Circuit 3
Marius Bugge
A. Dumbbell Bulgarian Squat
Stand lunge-length in front of a flat bench, holding heavy dumbbells in each hand by your sides, palms facing in. Rest the ball on top (shoe’s laces) of your right foot behind you on the bench. Slowly lower your body until your front thigh is parallel to the floor. Pause, then drive through your heel to stand. Switch sides after all reps are complete. 2 x 3-4 reps each side
Marius Bugge
B. Single-leg Romanian Deadlift
Stand with feet hip-width apart holding dumbbells or kettlebells. Drive right leg up, foot flexed, knee aligned with hip, making a 90-degree angle. Hinge at hips as you slowly lever your torso toward floor, lowering weights and driving right leg back for counterbalance. Hold, then squeeze glutes to reverse. 2 x 3-4 reps each side
Circuit 4
Marius Bugge
A. Pullup
Hang from a pullup bar using an overhand grip with legs extended and feet flexed. Engage lats and draw shoulders down your back, then pull yourself up until chin is higher than hands. Pause at the top, then slowly lower. Pause at bottom, then reset before your next rep. 2-3 x 4-5 reps
Marius Bugge
B. Kneeling Overhead Barbell Press
Hold a bar with moderate-to-heavy load at shoulder level with forearms perpendicular to floor. Kneel at end of bench with feet flexed to grip edge for support. Inhale, engage your core and glutes, then press the bar overhead, pushing your head forward so it passes your face, exhaling at the top. Slowly lower until elbows are at 90 degrees, then hold to maintain tension. Begin your next rep from here. 2-3 x 4-5 reps
Circuit 5
A. Dumbbell Pushup
Place hands on dumbbells (this provides greater range of motion) at shoulder width and feet wider than shoulder width with just toes touching the ground. Keep head neutral and hips high to increase tension on core, chest and tris and reduce stress on spine. Slowly lower to the floor. Stop once elbows hit 90 degrees, pause, then push up to start. 1-2 x 6-8 reps
B. Biceps Curl
Stand with feet hip-width apart with moderate-to-heavy dumbbells in each hand hanging by sides. Engage biceps to curl the weights up, keeping upper arms still. Pause at the top, then lower slowly. Don’t let arms drop all the way down to keep greater time under tension on biceps. 1-2 x 6-8 reps
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If you haven’t picked up a jump rope since elementary school, you’re missing out on a fantastic cardio workout. Not only will you burn a ton of calories in a short amount of time—200 to 300 calories in 15 minutes—but jump ropes can also improve your coordination and agility. Better yet, jumping rope doesn’t require much space, so it’s easy to do at home, and it’s often more mentally stimulating than jogging or swimming.
Choosing a Jump Rope
When deciding which jump rope is best for you, it’s important to determine what your goals are. While lightweight speed ropes are popular for cardio-focused training, weighted or drag ropes will be best for those focused on strength training.
No matter what your training goals are, we’ve got you covered with this roundup of 10 jump ropes from top brands including Crossrope, TRX, Rogue, and more.
The Best Jump Ropes of 2022
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