The 2020 release of Anchor Brewing’s Christmas Ale will be the darkest and strongest version yet as the San Francisco, California pioneers of the category try major new changes on the classic winter warmer. Anchor Christmas Ale was the first craft brewed winter seasonal when it was first released 45 years ago as a Pale Ale. It quickly slipped into establishing a mold of winter ales by becoming a spiced brown ale and it’s remained that way ever since, each year with a secret spice blend but the same base beer. This year Christmas Ale has been elevated to 7% abv and takes inspiration from s’ mores fireside treats in a darker creamier more Stout-like base beer.

For the 46th year in a row, Anchor Christmas Ale has returned but this time with holiday flavors of chocolate, toasted marshmallows and graham crackers. Swirl it in your glass and a cappucino-colored head will appear with the aromatics of fresh coffee and dark chocolate. Though the exact special ingredients are still secret to this day, you can probably guess a few of them from the description.

One other major change has happened in 2020 for Anchor Brewing Company, they have a new brewmaster named Tom Riley. Though he is not new to the company, perhaps his recent promotion to the top job in the brewery influenced the changes in this years beer.

“I’ve been involved in brewing Christmas Ale since 1991 when I became a brewer. But, I have been lucky enough to witness Christmas Ale come to life inside the brewery even as a part-time line worker 36 years ago. This year is my first Christmas Ale as Brewmaster and it is a great honor,” Riley told the New School.

Since it’s first release in 1896, the Christmas Ale recipe and secret spicing has never been revealed and it often leaves beer fans discussing what the spicing profile is from year to year. One year you might find the unmistakable scent of spruce and orange and the next year of hazelnuts and honey. While we knew we would never get the secrets of Christmas Ale out of brewmaster Tom Riley, we wanted to see if he could shine a light onto the choices made this year.

“We pulled back some of the exotic spices used in recent years to arrive at a more approachable, traditional flavor profile,” says Riley. “We gathered some of our favorite classic holiday spices for this year’s recipe, arriving at flavors of toasted marshmallow, graham cracker and dark chocolate – perfect for cracking open next to a campfire or enjoying at the holiday dinner table. But as always, the exact malts and hops are a top-secret recipe that very few people at the brewery know of!”

Depending on your taste preference and opinions, some years of Anchor Christmas Ale are over spiced or under spiced. It’s famously difficult to achieve the perfect levels of spicing in a beer that won’t overwhelm the flavor but also not be lost in it. To dial in those spices the brewers first to trials by steeping them in different amounts while heating the wort.

In America we are obsessed with hops, you may have noticed that many (if not most) winter ales are now different forms of India Pale Ales or atleast much hoppier than the traditional English-style Ales of the season. Considering that Anchor Christmas Ale was first created as a Pale Ale, I wondered if it may ever follow that hoppy trend again. Riley was fairly tight lipped on this question, but offered no definitive answer:

“Even though Christmas Ale has carried the same symbolic meaning and holiday spirit for 45 years, we always want to deliver a limited-edition product that connects with the current times each year. 2020 Christmas Ale has arrived at a holiday flavor profile that consumers know and love, but since our recipe changes each year, it’s possible we can have a very different kind of beer in the next few years,” said Riley.

Though the recipe for Christmas Ale will likely continue to change every year, one thing that doesn’t is the traditional label art. Well actually it does change, each year a new symbolic hand-drawn tree is chosen for the illustration. This year’s label features The Three Graces; three iconic towering sequoias from the Mariposa Grove in California’s Yosemite National Park.  This is only the second time in its 46-year history that multiple trees are shown together on the label, a fitting statement to symbolize togetherness and hope in a year when so much time has been spent apart.  The Three Graces represent radiance, joy, and flowering – characteristics that we can all hold near during this unprecedented time.

Anchor’s 2020 Christmas Ale is available starting in early November through January 2021, while supplies lasts.  It is offered in 6-packs and gold-foiled 50.7 oz. magnum bottles, as well as on draught in select stores, bars and restaurants including Anchor Public Taps.  Order yours for pick-up at Anchor Public Taps by going to www.AnchorBeerToGo.com.  Orders can be picked up Thursday-Sunday each week. 

For more information on the history of Anchor Christmas Ale, please watch the following video: Anchor Christmas Ale Video.  You can find a brew near you by using the Anchor Beer Finder and the Anchor Beer-to-Go website.  

Celebrate this unique holiday season with Anchor Brewing Company’s 46th annual Christmas Ale.  Learn more about Anchor Brewing Company at www.anchorbrewing.com and follow @anchorbrewing on social media. 

About Anchor Brewing Company

Anchor Brewing Company opened in 1896, making it one of America’s oldest breweries.  Even as times changed, earthquakes shook the city, and Prohibition bled it dry, the brewery persevered. In 1965, Anchor got its second wind, as new owner Fritz Maytag charted a course toward what is now known as “craft beer”. During this time, Anchor reinvented our now classic Steam Beer, introduced the first American pale ale and pioneered new brewing practices—such as dry-hopping—that are still used industry wide today. As a proudly unionized brewery, Anchor now has a growing portfolio of beers including complex ales, refreshing IPAs, and fruit-forward seasonal creations. As always, Anchor Brewing remains committed to charting their own course and crafting iconic beers that stand the test of time. To learn more, visit www.anchorbrewing.com.