Holiday beer styles can confuse people. One brewery’s “winter warmer” is spiced like a gingerbread cookie, another’s has no spice at all, and the shelf next to them has a Christmas ale with honey and ginger. These holiday beer styles belong to the same seasonal family, but they are not the same thing. This guide covers the winter warmer, the Christmas ale and spiced or gingerbread ales, and uses the BJCP 2021 Style Guidelines to sort them out.
The umbrella for holiday beer styles: Winter Seasonal Beer
The BJCP has no separate categories for “winter warmer” or “Christmas ale.” Most spiced holiday beer styles fall under style 30C, Winter Seasonal Beer. It covers “beers that suggest cold weather and the Christmas holiday season,” which “may include holiday spices, specialty sugars, and other products that are reminiscent of the festive season.” The overall impression is “a stronger, darker, spiced beer that often has a rich body and warming finish.”
Spices are what separate 30C from the unspiced holiday beer styles. They are required. The guidelines name allspice, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves and ginger as typical, and say fruit peel, dried fruit and sugars such as molasses, honey, brown sugar or maple syrup are common. The ABV is “generally above 6%,” and most examples are fairly dark. The guidelines also say the sensory goal is to evoke things like “Christmas cookies, gingerbread, English-type Christmas pudding, rum cakes, eggnog, evergreen trees, potpourri, or mulling spices.”
The history section explains why holiday beer styles get confused. The BJCP says spiced versions are “an American or Belgian tradition, since English or German breweries traditionally do not use spices in their beer.” It adds that many American craft examples were inspired by Anchor Our Special Ale, first brewed in 1975.
Winter warmer: strong, malty and often unspiced
The winter warmer is the British member of these holiday beer styles. It comes from Britain, and in its original form it isn’t spiced. The BJCP files “English winter warmers” under 17A, British Strong Ale. That is an entry category for malty, fairly strong British ales that sit between everyday bitters and barley wine. The style is described as having “varying degrees of malty richness, late hops and bitterness, fruity esters, and alcohol warmth.” Samuel Smith’s Winter Welcome is one of the commercial examples it lists.
American breweries took the name and often added spices. Harpoon Winter Warmer is one of the examples the BJCP lists under 30C Winter Seasonal Beer, not 17A. So read the label. An English-style winter warmer gets its warmth from malt and alcohol, while an American one often gets it from cinnamon and nutmeg too.
Christmas ale: the spiced holiday classic
In the U.S., “Christmas ale” usually means a spiced ale that fits the BJCP’s 30C profile. Great Lakes Brewing Company’s Christmas Ale is a well-known example and one of the beers the BJCP names. The Cleveland brewery lists it at 7.5% ABV and 30 IBU, brewed with honey, ginger and cinnamon, Mt. Hood and Cascade hops, and a malt bill that includes wheat, Crystal 45, Special Roast and roasted barley. The brewery’s page lists it as a seasonal released in October and suggests pairing it with roast duck, spiced desserts and sugar cookies.
Other Christmas and holiday beers the BJCP lists under 30C include Anchor Christmas Ale, Rogue Santa’s Private Reserve, Schlafly Christmas Ale and Tröegs The Mad Elf. If you brew at home, try our Fat Santa Christmas Ale recipe.
Spiced and gingerbread ales
Of all the holiday beer styles, gingerbread beers take the spice idea furthest. If a gingerbread beer is pitched as a holiday beer, it usually fits 30C, since the BJCP names gingerbread as one of the flavors the style can evoke. If it is just a base style with spice added and no holiday theme, it belongs in 30A, Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer. The BJCP describes 30A as “an appealing fusion of spices, herbs, or vegetables (SHVs) and beer, but still recognizable as beer.”
The base beer can be anything from brown ale to imperial stout. This season we have covered Horse & Dragon’s Winter Lights Gingerbread Stout and Hardywood’s GBS 2026 releases from its gingerbread stout series.
Holiday beer styles compared
| Winter warmer (English) | Christmas ale (American) | Spiced/gingerbread ale | |
|---|---|---|---|
| BJCP home | 17A British Strong Ale | 30C Winter Seasonal Beer | 30C if holiday-themed, otherwise 30A |
| Spices | Traditionally none | Required | Required |
| Strength | 5.5–8% ABV | Generally above 6% ABV | Depends on base beer |
| Key flavors | Malt richness, fruity esters, alcohol warmth | Malt, spice, dried fruit, sugars | Ginger, cinnamon, clove, molasses |
Holiday beer styles FAQ
Whatever is in your glass this season, check the label for the spices and the strength. Some holiday beer styles taste like a cookie in a glass, and others are more like a malty fire to sit by. Knowing the difference helps you pick the right holiday bottle for the table, the cellar or a long night in.
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