Ebenezer Ale

Ebenezer Ale

BridgePort Brewing Co.

Portland, OR

Ebenezer is a holiday ale brewed with caramel and chocolate malts and hopped with U.K. Goldings and Chinook hops.

ABV: 6.4

ABW: 5

COLOR: 25

BITTERNESS: 35

ORIGINAL GRAVITY: 1065

AVAILABLE: AK, AZ, CA, CO, GA, ID, IL, KS, MO, MT, NC, NM, OK, OR, TN, TX, WA, WI, WY

A simple beer can change everything. The hustle and bustle of Christmas is a time of great fun, but also of stress for many. Travel. Traffic. Budgets. Family. Timing. It’s tough to put a finger on Ebenezer, because it’s completely malt-forward where no real dominant flavor takes over. A bit of stone fruit, maybe, some caramel and toffee on the finish. This is an escape. A snifter full of this after a long day, basked in the twinkle of tree lights and the quiet of a winter night outside, can help to make the season bright.
- John Holl

One of the older and best-named of the American Christmas beers, and one I have not sampled for many a holiday season. A lovely burgundy-amber in color, this ale is so nuanced and well-integrated that it seems almost subtle in today’s big beer market, with a gentle and fruity spiciness on the aroma and a robust but not overpowering body offering notes of date and fig, clove and allspice, baked pear and red candied apple, all backed by a soft but growing bitterness. Proof that winter ales don’t need massive hops or malt or booze to be great.
- Stephen Beaumont

John Holl
John is the editor of All About Beer Magazine, the host of The Beer Briefing on iHeart Radio, and the author of three books, including The American Craft Beer Cookbook. Find him on Twitter @John_Holl.

Stephen Beaumont
Co-author of both The World Atlas of Beer and The Pocket Beer Guide (with Tim Webb), Stephen travels the world sampling beer, hosting dinners and tastings, and eating too much airport food.