Anchor Releases 2019 Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

We brought you an early peek, and now this from Anchor:

We’re so excited to finally announce the release of our 2019 Christmas Ale, a highly anticipated, limited-edition delight.  Now in its 45^th annual rendition, the 2019 Anchor Christmas Ale presents a smooth and velvety spiced flavor profile this holiday season.  Brewed using a new, secret recipe each year, Anchor Christmas Ale has become the quintessential winter warmer all season long.

Forty-five years ago, Anchor Brewing Company released the first holiday beer in America since Prohibition and has continued this annual tradition ever since.  Year after year, Christmas Ale is crafted with a heavily guarded recipe and designed with a unique hand-drawn label, but the inspiration behind each brew remains the same: joy for the changing seasons and celebration of the newness of life.  Sold only from early November to mid-January, Anchor Christmas Ale is rich with robust malt flavor, yet balanced and drinkable, making it the perfect drink for holiday gatherings near and far.

“We are committed to preserving Anchor Christmas Ale’s signature style while adding new ingredients to enhance this annual delicacy.  Slightly darker than last year’s Christmas Ale, the 2019 edition is layered with toasted caramel and coffee flavors with subtle hints of Mexican chocolate, rounded out with herbaceous spices.  Crack open a bottle for a spiced whiff of western evergreens, roasted malts, and coastal flowers,” says Anchor Brewmaster, Scott Ungermann.  “It’s a rich, round and full bodied-treat with a silky, smooth finish.  Christmas Ale is best served in a big open glass at a table full of family and friends.”

As each Christmas Ale recipe evolves, so does its hand-drawn packaging, created by long-time Anchor Illustrator Jim Stitt, who has created Anchor’s Christmas Ale labels every year since 1975.  Since ancient times, trees have symbolized the winter solstice when the earth, with its seasons, appears born anew.  This year, Stitt illustrated the Western Arborvitae – the “tree of life” – across the label.  It is an evergreen conifer native to Northern California, the same region that Anchor has called home for over 123 years.  Before modern medicine, properties of Western Arborvitae leaves were believed to have healing properties – hence, the moniker “tree of life.”  2019 Anchor Christmas Ale proudly wears this tree and symbolizes the start of a strong, healthy beginning.

Anchor’s 2019 Christmas Ale is available 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 and the Anchor Brewing Taproom in San Francisco.

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.