A Brief History of Holiday Ales

When you pour a spiced holiday ale, you're participating in a tradition that stretches back centuries. Long before craft breweries released their annual winter warmers, people were brewing special beers for the darkest days of the year.

Before Hops: A World of Spiced Beer

Modern beer is defined by hops, but that wasn't always the case. For most of brewing history, hops were either unknown or just one of many flavoring options.

Before hops became standard (roughly the 15th-16th centuries in most of Europe), brewers used "gruit" — a mixture of herbs and spices that varied by region. Common gruit ingredients included bog myrtle, yarrow, wild rosemary, and yes, many of the same spices we associate with holiday baking: cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg.

These weren't novelty additions. Spices served practical purposes: they helped preserve the beer, masked off-flavors from primitive brewing techniques, and made the drink more palatable. A heavily spiced ale was often a sign of quality and expense, since many spices had to be imported at great cost.

Wassail: The Original Holiday Drink

The word "wassail" comes from the Old English "wes hál," meaning "be well" or "be healthy." It was both a toast and a drink — typically a warm, spiced ale served from a large bowl during midwinter celebrations.

Traditional wassail varied by region and household, but common elements included:

• A strong ale as the base
• Warming spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves)
• Sweeteners (honey or sugar)
• Roasted apples or apple cider
• Sometimes eggs, creating a creamy texture

The bowl itself was often ceremonial, passed around the room as guests toasted each other's health. This practice, called "wassailing," was a major part of English Christmas traditions from at least the 13th century onward.

A related tradition involved carrying wassail to apple orchards on Twelfth Night, pouring it on tree roots and singing to ensure a good harvest. This "orchard wassailing" survives in parts of England to this day.

The Georgian Era: Strong Ales for Winter

By the 18th century, British brewers had developed distinct seasonal traditions. Winter was the time for stronger, darker ales — partly for practical reasons (cooler temperatures meant better fermentation control) and partly for cultural ones (richer beers suited cold-weather celebrations).

"October ales" were brewed in fall and aged through winter, reaching peak condition around Christmas. These were often family recipes, passed down through generations, each household proud of their particular approach.

Spicing became associated specifically with holiday versions. A regular strong ale might be perfectly good, but the Christmas version warranted special treatment — spices that evoked festivity and made the drink feel appropriately celebratory.

Victorian Christmas Beer

The Victorian era romanticized Christmas into something close to its modern form. Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" (1843) cemented images of warm hearths, family gatherings, and abundant food and drink.

Victorian Christmas celebrations almost always included special beers. Wealthy households served strong, well-aged ales. Working-class families might save for months to afford something better than their usual tipple. Commercial breweries began marketing specific "Christmas ales" as gift items.

These Victorian holiday beers weren't always spiced — some were simply stronger or longer-aged versions of standard recipes. But the tradition of adding "Christmas spices" remained common, especially in home brewing.

The Quiet Years

The 20th century wasn't kind to holiday ales. World War I, Prohibition (in the US), World War II, and the general consolidation of the brewing industry pushed craft and specialty beers to the margins.

By mid-century, most beer drinkers in the US and UK had limited options. Large industrial breweries dominated, producing lighter, less distinctive lagers. The idea of a special seasonal beer — let alone one with spices — seemed quaint and outdated.

Holiday ales didn't disappear entirely. Some traditional British breweries maintained their winter special recipes. Belgian abbey breweries continued their centuries-old traditions. But for most beer drinkers, seasonal variety meant seeing holiday packaging on the same beer they drank year-round.

The Craft Beer Revival

Everything changed in the 1980s and 1990s with the American craft beer revolution. Small breweries, inspired by European traditions and eager to differentiate themselves, embraced seasonal releases with enthusiasm.

Anchor Brewing's "Our Special Ale" (first brewed in 1975) is often credited as the first American craft holiday beer. Each year features a different recipe — and a different tree on the label — but spices and higher strength are constants. It showed that there was a market for special occasion beers.

Other craft breweries followed. Sierra Nevada's Celebration Ale, Great Lakes Christmas Ale, Samuel Smith's Winter Welcome — by the 1990s, releasing a winter seasonal had become standard practice for craft breweries.

Modern Holiday Ales

Today's holiday ale landscape is incredibly diverse. The BJCP (Beer Judge Certification Program) recognizes several related styles:

• Winter Warmer: British-style strong ales with rich malt character, usually 6-8% ABV, sometimes spiced
• Christmas/Holiday Ale: A broader category allowing more creativity with spices and specialty ingredients
• Belgian Dark Strong: Often released as Christmas beers with traditional Belgian spice notes from yeast
• Old Ale: Strong, aged British ales traditionally released in winter

Commercial examples range from subtle to extreme. Some barely hint at spice; others are essentially liquid gingerbread. Some add unusual ingredients: figs, chestnuts, cocoa, coffee, vanilla, maple syrup, or aged spirits.

The Homebrewing Connection

In some ways, homebrewing brings us full circle. When you make a spiced ale in your kitchen, you're doing what people have done for centuries — crafting something special for the season using the ingredients and traditions you value.

The difference is that modern homebrewers have access to better ingredients, more knowledge, and tools like temperature-controlled fermentation that medieval brewers could only dream of. We can combine old-world traditions with modern technique.

That's why we make tinctures instead of just throwing spices in the pot. We've learned what works. But the spirit — brewing something warming and festive to share during the darkest days of the year — that's exactly what people have been doing for a thousand years or more.

Your Place in the Tradition

When you brew a holiday ale this year, you're joining a long line of brewers who understood that the season deserves something special. The spices you choose, the people you share it with, the occasions you celebrate — these connect you to a tradition that spans cultures and centuries.

Maybe your great-great-grandmother made wassail. Maybe your recipe will become something your grandchildren remember. Either way, you're part of the story now.