Why should cocktail fans have all the fun during the holidays? Brewers of seasonal beers turn to the same baking spices and fruits found in back bar libations, for ales, lagers and stouts that speak to the ingredients used in fall and winter. Brian Confair, beverage manager of the Hotel Hershey, sees holiday and seasonal beers being requested earlier—and selling out quickly—and the options are more plentiful than ever. The bars at the Hotel Hershey offer seasonal selections from Tröegs, Stoudt’s and Sam Adams for $5 a pint, and $3 during daily Happy Hour from 4-6 PM.
At the 60-seat Spiced Pear restaurant at The Chanier at Cliff Walk in Newport, Rhode Island, staff offers Samuel Smith Winter Welcome from England for $7, Anchor Christmas Ale from San Francisco for $6 and Sierra Nevada Celebration IPA for $8. The venue also supports local brewery Newport Storm by serving its Winter Ale porter for $8.
Central Michel Richard at the Revel Resort sees a progression of seasonal beers throughout the fall and winter, with Oktoberfest brews popular in September and October, pumpkin beers close to Halloween, and then winter lagers and ales, and Christmas/holiday themed beers making an appearance in November. Central carries the Sam Adams seasonal line for $7 a bottle.
The Hyatt Chesapeake, a 400-room golf resort and spa in Cambridge, Maryland, offers local beer dinners throughout the fall and winter that feature breweries’ Oktoberfest, pumpkin and winter ales. And Grant Grill in San Diego lists Ballast Point Brewery’s “Victory at Sea,” a coffee vanilla imperial porter, for $12 for a 22-ounce bottle.
