Our annual Christmas Ale is a subtly spiced and sumptuously smooth winter warmer. This year’s brew marks the 46th annual release of this Anchor holiday tradition.

Back in 1975, Anchor released the first holiday beer in America since Prohibition. Year after year, Anchor creates a new, secret recipe with a unique hand drawn label for their Christmas Ale, but the intent with each brew remains the same: joy for the changing seasons and celebration of the newness of life. With a heavily guarded, confidential recipe, Christmas Ale is sold only from early November to mid-January. The 2020 Anchor Christmas Ale is a one-of-a-kind, featuring the highest ABV at 7% and darkest appearance of any vintage. Yet, this year’s release is easy-drinking and approachable for everyone at a holiday gathering or virtual event.

Anchor’s 2020 Christmas Ale is silky-smooth and layered with classic holiday flavors of chocolate, toasted marshmallows and graham crackers - perfect for enjoying at the end of the meal, or around a fire with close friends. This winter warmer teems with aromas of fresh coffee and dark chocolate, and pours with a tight, creamy cappuccino-colored head.

Each year a new symbolic hand-drawn tree is chosen for the Christmas Ale label. This year’s label features The Three Graces; three iconic towering sequoias from the Mariposa Grove in California’s Yosemite National Park. This is only the second time in its 46-year history that multiple trees are shown together on the label, a fitting statement to symbolize togetherness and hope in a year when so much time has been spent apart. The Three Graces represent radiance, joy, and flowering – characteristics that we can all hold near during this unprecedented time.

Christmas Ale | Best Christmas Beer from Anchor Brewing