An Evolution
As for the beer, well it, too, evolved.
In much of Scandinavia, they warm up with steaming mugs of gløgg– a drink made with raisins, almonds, spices and a shot of aquavit. In Germany, the Christkindlmarkt vendors sell bottles of bock-like Weihnachtsbier. In Lithuania, they market Christmas eve with kvass, made from black bread. In Denmark, they begin their celebration on J-Dag, the first Friday of November, when their beloved julebryg is released. In Sweden, the kids drink julmust, a stout-like non-alcoholic Christmas drink that’s made with sugar, hops, malt extract and spices.
And in America? Christmas beer has evolved here as well.
Before Prohibition, Christmas beer was little more than a standard brand that happened to be advertised in newspapers by, ho-ho-ho, Santa Claus himself.
After Prohibition and into the 1950s, Christmas beer was not much more than a slightly malty, slightly darker lager, like a Marzen. Stacks of red-and-green cases would attract lines of customers. The Potosi Brewing Co. symbolically changed its name each year to “Holiday Brewing Company,” to produce its Wisconsin Holiday Beer.
It gradually disappeared till—surprise, surprise—Fritz Maytag revived the tradition at San Francisco’s Anchor Brewing. Maytag, of course, was the guy who was responsible for re-introducing steam beer, IPA, barleywine and other varieties as he led the entire microbrewing revolution into the 21st century.
Years ago when I asked him about the origins of Anchor Our Special Ale, he told me, “I was aware of the traditions in medieval villages where they would make special beers for various festival days. You’d have beers brewed for weddings, festivals, and other celebrations. And certainly you’d brew them for Christmas.” It made sense that a small brewery that had been revived thanks to old-world beer-making techniques would rediscover the tradition of holiday beer. There was only one problem: Maytag said he didn’t have a clue what it should taste like.
Eventually, he went with a dry-hopped English ale – a recipe that later morphed into Anchor Liberty Ale. The first bottles were hand-labeled in 1975 and immediately sold out.
In 1987, to celebrate his wedding, Maytag crafted a bridal ale filled with herbs and spices. That winter, Anchor adapted the recipe for its Christmas beer, and it’s done so ever since. Though the brewery never reveals the ale’s true content, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, spruce nibs and cocoa have been detected over the years.
Many beer drinkers now think of Anchor as the prototype for all Christmas beer, which is deserving—but also means many likewise regard spice as essential to the style.
