The Very Best Christmas Beers

Updated January 15, 2024 32.4K views 40 items

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The best Christmas beer includes a wide range of domestic and imported beers. Many breweries are making special seasonal beers to appeal to holiday drinkers. Some of these brews combine various Christmastime flavors like vanilla, ginger and cinnamon to give the beer a nice, high-quality flavor. Others are just dark and stout, offering up a classic winter beer to please even the pickiest beer connoisseur. This list includes some of the best beers offered during the holiday season, so be sure to vote for the ones you've tried and loved (and vote down the beers you don't think even Drunk Santa would imbibe).

Some of the most popular, perennial favorite Christmas beers include Tröegs Mad Elf (a wonderful mix of sweet and sour), Goose Island Christmas Ale (a spicy, aromatic brown ale), St. Bernardus Christmas Ale (a creamy, fruity holiday beer) and Anchor Brewing Company's "Our Special Ale," which is slightly different each year. Anchor's been making their Christmas beer since the mid-1970s, by the way. Whether your taste runs more to a lighter, Belgian blend or a dark, hearty stout, there really is a Christmas beer for everyone.

One thing to note about many of these Christmas beers: The alcohol content may be slightly higher than a traditional, domestic beer. Keep that in mind, because once you find the perfect Christmas brew, it's quite easy to overdo things. Nothing squelches a great holiday gathering among friends and family like a killer Christmas hangover. Ho ho ho!

Most divisive: Samuel Adams Holiday Porter

Over 600 Ranker voters have come together to rank this list of Christmas Beers to Get You Jolly