Tis the Season for Weihnachtsbier

While winter has not started yet here in Wisconsin, the temperatures have fallen and highs are generally in the 30s. The ground is bereft of snow so I am hoping for a few inches to cover up all of the leaves I didn't bother to rake up last month. As the weather gets colder, beers usually get stronger.

I believe that Weihnachtsbiers - Christmas beers - are a Bavarian thing. My understanding is that they're dark amber bock biers with an A.B.V. in the 6-8% range and that they become available by 4 December so that one can have a few and terrorize the neighborhood kids on the eve of St. Nicholas Day in your Krampus costume. Or for mellower folks to have a little warmth while strolling around a Christkindlmarkt.

The Germans are an orderly people and surely have well-defined parameters for what constitutes a bock and a doppelbock. (Or maybe they're all simply Starkbiers.) Now, whether the Weihnachtsbier is similarly defined or not, I don't know. It could be that merely slapping "Weihnachtsbier" on your label makes it so. Does it count as a doppelbock if it's not "Weihnachtsbierator"?

For all of the German heritage here in Wisconsin, I don't know of any breweries that proffer a Weihnachtsbier. Lakefront brewed one several years ago in their limited My Turn series because an employee named David chose the style.

Despite the absence of Weihnachtsbiers, there are plenty of bocks to be had. Zum beispiel, Next Door has Integrator, a doppelbock, albeit one with a Lenten bier name. And Capital has doppelbocks aplenty as it has for years. Varieties available now are apple, pumpkin spice, and this classic:

It's a weird world where a brewery with Kirby Nelson at the brew kettle doesn't have a doppelbock ready for patrons seeking a respite from the chilly weather. Perhaps he brews one now and again but the Wisconsin Brewing Company webpage is bereft of them. It's a shame that he has seemingly abandoned the style. Recall that Kirby's Manoomator, a wild rice doppelbock, was wonderful. Personally, I think a wild rice bock would be a great late fall brew. You can get your fill of Oktoberfests from July into Oktober but, when Halloween is around the corner and Thanksgiving on the horizon, a wild rice bock would really hit the spot after raking leaves. (If you do such a thing.) Plus wild rice is largely an upper Midwestern crop so it would be a regionally specialty that could sit nicely next to a cranberry lambic or a venison hazy IPA.

So what to drink when winter settles upon the Land of Cheese?

The old standbys for me are:

The funny bit is that, although Sprecher and Capital declare these to be their winter seasonal brews, they're not particularly heady beers. Winter Lager is a Bavarian Dunkel while Winter Skål is a Vienna lager. Each brewery has an annual, Black Bavarian and Wisconsin Amber, respectively, that I feel are more appropriate for this season. To my taste, Black Bavarian has a bigger body than Winter Lager while Wisconsin Amber is sweeter than Winter Skål, though slightly less potent. I would lobby for Winter Lager and Winter Skål to be available year-round after being christened with less frosty names.

Another bier that I look forward to every year when the leaves have fallen and snow is immanent is Tippy Toboggan from Vintage Brewing. It's a bock strength Roggenbier - think a weissbier with rye brewed to bock potency.

It's got that taste of banana and clove flavors that is familiar to weissbier drinkers the world over but it also has some spicy, earthy rye flavor. And I love rye. Just a great beer.

These are my holy trinity of winter brews. New Glarus' Back 40 Bock is a runner-up as it's not brewed with regularity. This time of year also brings a slew of beers flavored with various spices and sometimes fruits. I find these beers to be fine, if drunk in moderation. Great Lakes' Christmas Ale seems to be held in high regard but I am unsure if it's ever been in my mouth. I do like Sam Adams' Winter Lager, though.

While the Wisconsin Brewing Company neglects the bock at wintertide, they did brew a Pfeffernüsse spiced ale a few years back. Did anyone try this?

Can you recommend a good winter brew?