#Harpoon winter warmer series

Sometimes they’re called Christmas or Winter Ales, sometimes they’re barrel-aged, and many times they feature added sugars such as maple syrup, molasses, plums, raisins, and more. It’s a bit pointless to try to find an origination story for these brews because they’re as old as Moses. Even with these supposedly defining characteristics, brewers are gonna do what they do best and keep us guessing. The Wassail features classic, old school flavoring via nutmeg, allspice, cloves, and other cooking spices the Strong Ale focuses on a more modern spicing agent–hops.

Historically, there are really two foundations brewers will start with that both fall under this variety: either the spiced Wassail or the Strong English Ale.Īs far as we can tell, the central difference between the two is the choice of spicing. We prefer lighter fare that cools us down in the summertime, so it’s conversely clear that these brews have been created to keep us warm during those cold days when we’re kept inside. No one’s ever accused us of being brilliant and we’re not gonna try to break that streak today, but to put it quite simply, the term Winter Warmer is a generic label used to describe many winter seasonals.

#Harpoon winter warmer series

So welcome to the latest in our ongoing series (drum roll please…) “What the Hell is a Winter Warmer?” It’s our goal to protect you from the embarrassment of not knowing exactly what it is you’ve decided to put in your mouth or even worse, what you stick in someone else’s… It’s this thirst for knowledge that drives us to dig deeper into the stories behind the beer we drink.

You might get the impression that we, the beer gurus of ACB, understand all there is to know about beer, yet we’re still learning just like you.