The holiday season is often associated with indulging in festive foods and drinks, and beer is no exception. In both the United States and Belgium, breweries release special holiday or Christmas beers that are often only available for a limited time. While both American holiday beers and Belgian Christmas beers aim to capture the spirit of the season, there are some notable differences between the two.

American holiday beers tend to be more focused on spice and sweetness, with flavors like cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger commonly featured. One example is the Samuel Adams Winter Lager, which is brewed with cinnamon and ginger for a warm, festive flavor. Another example is the Great Lakes Christmas Ale, which features honey, cinnamon, and ginger, and is often described as a “liquid Christmas cookie.”

Belgian Christmas beers, on the other hand, tend to be more complex and nuanced, with a focus on dark, rich flavors like caramel, toffee, and dark fruit. Belgian Christmas beers often have a higher alcohol content, adding to their rich, warming qualities. One example is the St. Bernardus Christmas Ale, which has a complex flavor profile of figs, raisins, and caramel, with a warming finish. Another example is the Delirium Noël, which has notes of dark fruit, caramel, and spices, and a smooth, creamy texture.

One of the reasons for the differences in American and Belgian holiday beers can be attributed to their brewing traditions. American breweries tend to use ales as their base beer for holiday or Christmas beers, while Belgian breweries often use strong dark ales or quadrupels. Belgian brewers also tend to use a wide range of ingredients, including spices, fruits, and herbs, to add complexity to their beers.

Another notable difference is the packaging of American holiday beers versus Belgian Christmas beers. American holiday beers are often sold in six-packs or larger bottles, while Belgian Christmas beers are typically sold in large-format bottles, often with cork and cage closures. The larger format allows for aging and further development of flavors, adding to the complexity of the beer.

In terms of food pairings, American holiday beers often pair well with rich, hearty foods like roasted meats and stews, while Belgian Christmas beers are often paired with sweeter, dessert-like foods like chocolate or fruitcake.

American holiday beers often feature prominent flavors of cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger, making them spicy and sweet. One such example is the Anchor Christmas Ale, a perennial favorite that has been brewed since 1975. Each year’s edition features a unique recipe and label, but the beer is always a dark, spicy ale with flavors of chocolate, cinnamon, and cloves. The 2021 edition of the Anchor Christmas Ale features a warming, nutty flavor with notes of brown sugar and vanilla.

Another popular American holiday beer is the Great Lakes Christmas Ale, which is brewed with honey, cinnamon, and ginger. The beer is often described as a “liquid Christmas cookie,” with a sweet, spicy flavor and a smooth finish. The 2021 edition of the Great Lakes Christmas Ale features a balanced blend of cinnamon, ginger, and honey, with a hint of nutmeg on the finish.

In contrast, Belgian Christmas beers tend to be more complex and nuanced, with a focus on dark, rich flavors like caramel, toffee, and dark fruit. One such example is the St. Bernardus Christmas Ale, a Belgian quad that has been brewed since 1946. The beer has a complex flavor profile of figs, raisins, and caramel, with a warming finish. The 2021 edition of the St. Bernardus Christmas Ale has notes of dark fruit and molasses, with a smooth, creamy mouthfeel.

Another Belgian Christmas beer that is widely celebrated is the Delirium Noël, which has notes of dark fruit, caramel, and spices. The beer has a smooth, creamy texture and a warming finish, making it perfect for sipping on a cold winter’s night. The 2021 edition of the Delirium Noël features a rich, sweet flavor with notes of toffee and cinnamon.

When it comes to food pairings, American holiday beers often pair well with rich, hearty foods like roasted meats and stews, while Belgian Christmas beers are often paired with sweeter, dessert-like foods like chocolate or fruitcake. The spicy, sweet flavors of American holiday beers complement savory dishes, while the complex, nuanced flavors of Belgian Christmas beers pair well with sweet desserts.

In terms of ageability, Belgian beers especially those with alcohol levels over 10% have long windows for ageing some up to 10 years others even 12 years, such as the Gouden Carolus Noel.

In conclusion, both American holiday beers and Belgian Christmas beers offer unique experiences for beer lovers during the holiday season. American holiday beers tend to be spicy and sweet, while Belgian Christmas beers are more complex and nuanced with a focus on dark, rich flavors. No matter which style you prefer, there’s no denying that a festive beer is the perfect way to celebrate the season. -Peter Ronen

Once you start to understand the aging ability of certain beers, you might say does it not get better and better with age? Yes and no. There are many reasons a beer (or a wine) could be ageable:

Wood/tannin exposure before bottling or during bottling, solids or sediment,  acidity, sugar content, density of the liquid, calcium or mineral content. Wood exposure on a beer could come from the classic large oak ageing containers (several hundred gallons in size) used  to mellow Belgian beers before bottling; while for wine it would typically be the 55-70 gallon containers (standard wine barrel sizes). Other tannins would come from the ingredients used in beer, hops, barley, malt, etc.; or for wine, from the grape skins, grape seeds, or even the grape stems. Many beers now are secondarily aged in a whisky barrel or other previously used barrel. That can add additional flavors and complexity with as little as three weeks of barrel exposure, with great results at about six months of exposure. When there is a barrel exposed beer with 8-10% alcohol, such as most Belgian doubles, and tripels, those can typically last 5-8 years (under good temperature 55F-65F and low light conditions/darkness).  After about eight years a typical Belgian 8-10% alcohol starts to go downhill. Christmas Belgians and Belgian Quads with alcohols from 10%-13% have longer lifespans of 8-13 years. Barley wines, the most ageable of beers, might be considered close to new after 10 years, while some age barley wines for as long as 25 years or possibly longer.

Before keeping your treasured beers in a long aging process, make sure you understand what the expected lifespan of those beers could/would be. That way you do not let those prized beers go past their prime.

I have wondered that for years. My personal research has confirmed….yes. And why you may ask? Well over the past 6 years I have aged a number of beers. The Gouden Carolus Noel, for 6 years, in a 750ml version exhibited aging characteristics similar to old Port. The “fruit” element of the beer has fallen off dramatically, and the sugar/sweet element even more so, however, the hops, and some of the added flavoring elements (which are normally added to Belgian Beer…especially the Noels-or Christmas Beers) do remain in various amounts. And the polish….is amazing….so smooth….so lean–due to the lack of sugars–so different from the original, yet compelling. You may ask, what happened to the sugars? Typical of many Belgian Beers, when bottling, they add some live yeast. This yeast, feeds on the sugars, and keeps the beer fresh even after years of aging. After time, the yeast eats up most, if not nearly all of the sugars.

Most of the time I say a beer needs to be 8% or higher ABV for aging. Now I change my opinion, I opened up a 6.7% ABV Grotten Brown Ale (Belgian) that was 4 yrs old. Normally, I would say its over the hill. Nope….there were sufficient sugars originally for the yeast to feed on (creating more ABV) allowing it to stay fresh and remain alive. If the beer doesn’t have active yeasts and have sufficient sugars for the yeast to feed on…then yes a 10%+ ABV would be better for aging over 2 years, however if it does have yeasts and sugars, I would venture to say 6%+ ABV would work also.