‘I’m a beer professional who’s run my very own competition for 14 years – I’d purchase these for Christmas’
Choosing the Christmas beer is a big job, here’s our experts guide to some of the best independently brewed beers
I read so much from beauty experts, tech experts, or fashion experts, and I often think, ‘what am I an expert in?’ So here’s the thing, I’m a beer expert.
Not only do I enjoy drinking everything from high-percentage barrel-aged imperial Stouts to proper fruit juice sours, but I also work as a freelance writer in the industry and have run my own beer Festival for the last 14 years.
These then are my top picks for tremendous Christmas beers to share with anyone over the age of 18, and drink responsibly.
Thornbridge arguably started the whole craft beer movement in the UK, and, the beer that started it all for them was Jaipur, a 5.9% IPA.
It’s a gateway beer, but not like the drudgery you’ll see on a typical bar in your local town centre. I really love Jaipur on cask when I see it, it has a little bit more to it than the canned version, but that’s not to put it down in any way – that’s pretty common in the industry in my opinion.
At 5.9% it’s not exactly ‘sessionable’, but at £23.75 for 12 cans direct from the brewery, you can thank me later. If you want to try a few different styles, the 24 can ‘Fridge Filler’ includes Jaipiur, Green Mountain Hazy IPA and Lukas – a 4.2% Gluten Free Helles Lager for £40.
The brewery also has a couple of Christmas mix cases, with the best value and variety being the 12 beers of Christmas mixed case at £24.95. You can get 10% off your first Thornbridge order by joining the brewery’s mailing list, which will pop up on the site.
Cold Town Beer is a small batch brewer in Edinburgh who are committed to making the brewing process as sustainable as possible. The brewery sells most of its beer in packs of 12, making them great value for Christmas, with some packs coming in at under £2.50 a can.
I’m all about darker beers, so I’d be straight in for the Topic Thunder Nutty Chocolate Stout, but at such good value I’d also look at the Baltic IPA and the fundraising ‘ Doddie Beir’ 4.3% lager in aid of the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation’.
Alcohol Free beer, of course, is an option, and Brewdog’s AF Punk and Hazy Jane options are really good substitutes for the ‘real thing’. Both are available as part of the Scottish breweries Mixed AF pack. The brand has strong reviews on Trustpilot too for the ‘taste and flavour’. However, some shoppers did mention that delivery was ‘appalling’ despite raving about the taste of the beer.
Finally, and I confess a personal interest here as a shareholder, but Siren Craft Brew’s annual Christmas release ‘ Caribbean Chocolate Cake ’ is like no other beer I have described here.
The 2025 includes four versions: Dark Chocolate, Darth By CCC, Milk Chocolate and Deconstructed Barrel CCC. They are available in gift packs, individually or as part of ‘Ultimate Chocoholic’ mix case for £150.
