10 Beers You Need To Drink Before Winter’s Over

A light and refreshing beer is not what we’re looking for when we’re going through firewood at an incredible rate. We want something a bit heartier with enough alcohol to warm us from the inside out. This doesn’t mean taste has to go by to the wayside. Here are 10 Beers You Need to Drink This Winter that will go great with some heavy stew on a cold night.

10. Samuel Smith Winter Welcome 

 Brewery: 

 City: Tadcaster, North Yorkshire, England

ABV: 6%

Style: English Strong Ale

The verdict: This is what an English Old Stock should taste like. A few bottles of this traditional wassail will make any family feast a bit jollier—even if it includes black pudding.

  

9. Bell’s Winter White 

 Brewery: Bell’s Brewery

City: Kalamazoo, Mich.

ABV: 5%

Style: Witbier (Belgian White)

The verdict: This wheat ale is brewed with Belgian-style and Hefe yeasts, giving it an Old World flavor. Plentiful esters give this strong banana notes alongside subtle spices. Bell’s-gium. See what I did there?

8. Lagunitas Brown Shugga 

 Brewery:   Lagunitas Brewing Company

City: Petaluma, Calif.

ABV: 9.84%

Style: Barley Wine

The verdict: A happy accident if ever there was one, this beer began with a failed batch of Old Gnarlywine in 1997. The yeast ate up the brown sugar for an extra dose of boozy goodness without overpowering the plentiful hops.

7. Deschutes Jubelale

 Brewery:   Deschutes Brewery

City: Bend, Ore.

ABV: 6.7%

Style: English Strong Ale

The verdict: Deschutes has produced a wonderful winter warmer—sweet, spicy and rich, the kind of beer to keep you warm on the darkest of nights.

6. Kasteel Winter 

 Brewery: Brouwerij Vn Honsebrouck

City: Ingelmunster, Belgium

ABV: 11%

Style: Belgian Strong Ale

The verdict: This creamy, vanilla Belgian Strong comes from a brewing tradition that is now five generations long. This is how I’ll be spending my winter.

5. SweetWater Whiplash White IPA

 Brewery: Sweetwater Brewing Company

City: Atlanta

ABV: 6.2%

Style: IPA

The verdict: It may not snow much down in Atlanta, but that hasn’t kept SweetWater from offering their own take on the season with a White IPA—good for drinking even on those warm winter days. The wheat and the hops feel perfectly balanced with a little Belgian-style yeast thrown in for an easy-drinking mash-up.

4. Southern Tier Old Man Winter 

 Brewery: Southern Tier Brewing Company

City: Lakewood, N.Y.

ABV: 7.2%

Style: Old Ale

The verdict: This old-style ale has a subtle hop bite and will keep you plenty warm at 7.2%. It’s rich flavor matches it’s thick, dark pour.

3. Odell Isolation Ale 

 Brewery: Odell Brewing Company

City: Fort Collins, Colo.

ABV: 6.1%

Style: English Strong Ale

The verdict: This malt-foward winter warmer with caramel notes has just enough balancing hops to keep it interesting.

2. New Belgium Accumulation 

 Brewery:   New Belgium Brewing Company

City: Fort Collins, Colo.

ABV: 6.2%

Style: IPA

The verdict: White implies winter, and a growing trend among breweries is to offer a white IPA (a very recent invention involving the base of a Belgian-style witbier with aggressive American-IPA hops) during the colder months. New Belgium uses Mosaic and Amarillo varietals for an easy-drinking twist on winter.

1. Weyerbacher Winter Ale 

 Brewery: Weyerbaching Brewing Co.

City: Easton, Penn.

ABV: 5.6%

Style: Brown Ale

The verdict: Heartier than your typical brown ale, Weyerbacher uses roasted chocolate malts for a flavorful beer with a complex but not very spicy finish.