HAMPTON ROADS, Va. – The holidays are the perfect time for beer lovers to switch it up and try special seasonal brews!
If you’re feeling merry, Virginia is for Lovers has found holiday inspired beers from local breweries:
- Nut Quacker — Bay Back Brewing Company in Virginia Beach — Back Bay Brewing seasonally releases Nut Quacker, a brown ale with forward malt flavors of the plum, caramel, and citrus hops.
- Holiday Helper — Smartmouth Brewing Company in Norfolk — Holiday Helper is a dry-hopped red ale that boasts a sweet yet spicy aroma. Chocolate and caramel malts balance the rye flavors, creating a clean and smooth brew.
- Winter Scotch — St. George Brewing Company in Hampton — St. George Brewing Company created a full-bodied ale with strong malt flavors and delicate notes of hops. The Winter Scotch ale has a dark copper color and a lingering taste of peat smoke.
If you’re willing to make the trek up to Richmond, you might be interested in these:
- Gingerbread Stout — Hardywood Park Craft Brewery — Gingerbread Stout is an imperial milk stout brewed with locally sourced ginger and honey. The resulting beer has a velvety texture and flavors of chocolate, bourbon vanilla, honeycomb, and cinnamon, with a snap of ginger at the end.
- Christmas Morning — Hardywood Park Craft Brewery — Christmas Morning is an imperial milk stout made with spices and coffee. Using locally roasted coffee beans, the brew contains hints of sweet honey and oven-baked gingerbread with tones of freshly brewed morning coffee.
- Kentucky Christmas Morning — Hardywood Park Craft Brewery — Hardywood’s Kentucky Christmas Morning transforms into a rich brew over months of aging in Kentucky bourbon barrels. The resulting flavor carries forward notes of vanilla, coconut, and toasted oak. Just before the bottling process, the beer is cold filtered over locally roasted coffee beans.
- Xocoveza — Stone Brewing Company — A winter spice mocha stout that echoes a cup of delicious Mexican hot chocolate. You’ll recognize flavors of vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, cocoa, coffee, and milk, with a hint of chili peppers.
