The following ten beers are recommended based on style, activities and meals typically enjoyed in the winter and national distribution availability. Drinking a beer for winter 2023 is a great way to warm up or take it easy.
It seems easy to look forward to a new start and new year beginning in 2023, due to how challenging 2022 has been. I prefer to take a peek back at 12/31/21 and little did I know that the Los Angeles Rams were trending up, the Houston Astros would roll to a World Series championship, and the 2022 Winter Olympics would go by in the blink of an eye. Golden State Warriors won the NBA Finals and the Colorado Avalanche raised the Stanley Cup for the first time since 2001. College football had a memorable season in 2022 with an exciting CFP that started on 12/31/22. 2023 has to be one step closer to a new normal if at all possible.
Impact of COVID-19
2022 was a little easier to find and purchase good craft beer when compared to 2021. It was still a strange market to try to navigate as a consumer. All beer geeks could do was try to find new beers as long as it was safe and healthy to do so, and the price was affordable. I’ve adapted to the new beer market over the past thirty-two months. I have a completely different perspective on how to kickoff 2023 with a beer in hand and being thankful for a new year that has to be improved when compared to 2022.
Beer for Winter 2023 Listing
#1 Stone Brewing (Escondido, CA) Imperial Stout
Winter season is always a good time to try as many stouts as possible. This top ten list reflects that sentiment, due to including three stouts. Stone Brewing opened in 1996 in San Marcos, California and arguably started the west coast IPA trend. More hops and more bitterness the better, has been Stone’s driving moto for twenty-six years. As part of their special releases in October 2022, Imperial Stout was brewed in 12 ounce cans and 22 ounce bomber bottles. Weighs in at 10.5% ABV and has big tasting notes of chocolate and molasses. One serving will cause you to forget any and all mistakes you made in 2022. Any beer that enables the drinker to have a memory wipe, is worth trying and stockpiling for cellaring.
#2 Founders Brewing Company (Grand Rapids, MI) Centennial IPA
Hazy IPA craze is still alive and well in 2023. West coast IPAs made a big and trendy comeback in 2022. Sometimes a beer geek has to look backwards before moving forward. That’s the reason for Centennial IPA being on this list. Founders Brewing “original” IPA recipe was slightly tweaked in 2001 to highlight the Centennial hop. Bursting with citrus flavors (orange, lemon) and then finishing with strong piney notes and a hint of floral. A sweet malt backbone ties the entire taste profile together. Due to changing the recipe twenty-one years ago, Founders has grown into a national distributor of their entire beer lineup. All due to going back to the drawing board on their flagship recipe.
#3 Anchor Brewing Company (San Francisco, CA) Anchor Steam Beer
Whatever happened to red ales? New Belgium released Fat Tire in 1993 and the craft beer industry rode a tidal wave of support from the west coast to the east coast. Hoppy IPAs started in 1996 and remained strong until the hazy IPA craze began in 2015. Red ales continue to slide further down tap lists and farther across the taps at bars for some reason. Beer drinkers aren’t looking for a malty beer anymore, because they want hops, acidity, fruit, barrel aging, etc. Anything but a red ale seems to be the motto of the beer market these days.
Anchor Brewing is the last large USA production brewery to use open fermentation for all of their beers. One bottle of Anchor Steam Beer reminds the drinker, that pairing a bucket of steamed clams, a plate of raw oysters or an old fashioned greasy hamburger with this beer, makes it an American staple. Red beer isn’t dead yet and neither is open fermentation due to this brewery’s heritage.
#4 Paulaner Brauerei (Munich, Bayern Germany) Hefe-Weizen
Speaking of disappearing beer styles, where have hefeweizens gone? In the late 2000s, most beer geeks were raving about lite wheat beers that had a cloudy appearance and sediment in the bottle. Even though that sounds like a farmhouse ale, it was a word for word description of most hefeweizens. Some breweries continue to release this missing beer or they have relabeled it as a kellerbier. This blogger has many fond memories of drinking pitchers of Apricot Ale from Pyramid Brewing in Seattle, prior to Mariners baseball games. The baseball team was bad from 2009-2013, but the beer was good.
German breweries still make tasty hefeweizens and this blogger had to take a trip down memory lane. Can’t remember how many six packs of this Paulaner I had in the mid-to-late 1990s, but there were a lot. After pouring this “cloudy” beer, my palette was immediately transported back to being a college graduate. Banana aroma, subtle pineapple and mango tasting notes, and a lite chewy finish makes me wonder if this beer style has more to offer in a busy world these days. Oh to be young again and not have a jaded view about being a working adult.
#5 Monkish Brewing Company (Torrance, CA) Citra Freshie
The mecca of west coast hazy IPAs resides at a two taprooms in Torrance, CA and Anaheim, CA. Monkish Brewing Company has two locations and they continue to make top notch hazy IPAs. Besides having cool and hip can designs, Monkish uses a unique beer naming system to designate a regular DIPA, from a double dry hopped (DDH) DIPA, from a triple dry hopped (TDH) DIPA. Best example of this naming system is Foggy Window to Foggier Window to Foggiest Window. Foggiest Window (TDH with Citra, Nelson Sauvin, and Galaxy hops), was by far the best beer this blogger tried in 2022.
Citra Freshie is an old fashioned west coast IPA with a twist. Full flavored citrus flavors highlighted by peach, apricot and a ton of lemon causes the drinker’s head to snap back at full hop attention. As the beer heads down the drinker’s throat, brace for a harsh and bitter finish that will make your tongue feel like a brillo pad. Something then happens that is almost indescribable, the finish is soft, fruity and with just a hint of bitterness. A lingering piney note keeps you coming back for more swigs. This beer clearly shows a refined brewing skill set to make a west coast IPA almost taste like a hazy IPA. Monkish Brewing is a must visit brewery for all haze and hop heads.
#6 Prairie Artisan Ales (Krebs, OK) – Rainbow Sherbet
It has been a fortnight, since this blogger attended a formal dinner party that used sorbet as a palette cleanser. For some reason I still think that sorbet and sherbet are interchangeable words, but I’m incorrect. Takes a big man to admit when he’s wrong and I’m not a big man. Prairie Artisian Ales gets rave reviews and accolades for their top tier stouts and deservedly so. Just try any version of Bomb and most likely the hype meets reality.
Prairie’s sour lineup has been consistent over the past three years. Rainbow Sherbet is one of their flagships beers and available year round. Plenty of sweet and sour flavors due to using raspberry, pineapple and orange in the brewing recipe. This beer doesn’t dry out your lips or make you pucker. It simply cleans your palette, opens up your digestive system and allows for more beer drinking. Not to mention this is a perfect beer for playing golf, due to only being 5.2% ABV. Hit them long and hit them straight.
#7 American Solera (Tulsa, OK) – DDH Terpy Nelson
American Solera opened a second taproom in Edmond, Oklahoma in November 2022, to compliment their home base in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Both locations are kid and dog friendly, have tasty food options nearby, and their diverse beer lineup continues to impress on a weekly basis. Nelson Sauvin hops were introduced from New Zealand in 2000, with a flavor profile of citrus fruits and crushed grapes. Some batches have had a distinct white grape skin flavor that can be considered more wine than beer. I’ve been reluctant to explore Nelson Sauvin hop beers since I don’t drink or like wine. This hazy has the perfect combination of soft grapefruit flavors and an almost perfect creaminess to wash away all bad flavors experienced in 2022. Nelson Sauvin hops play well in the sandbox with Strata, Necturon and Mosaic. Enjoy all fruit seasons in 2023!
#8 Boulevard Brewing Company (Kansas City, MO) – Tank 7
Saisons were a trendy beer style in the early 2010s, due to the mass market appeal of Saison Dupont (Brasserie Dupont) and Sofie (Goose Island Beer Company). Unfortunately with most trends, too many USA breweries tried to jump onto the bandwagon with their own recipes and most backfired badly. Thankfully underrated Boulevard Brewing Company had been tweaking the recipe for Tank 7 since the late 1990s, and it was perfected just prior to year round bottle release in 2009.
As many competitors failed in respecting the Belgian saison brewing process, Boulevard honed the Tank 7 recipe to include fruity aromatics, subtle grapefruit tasting notes, and their signature peppery spice finish. Most saisons are considered table beers with low ABV% (3.5%-5.5%). Tank 7 weighs in at a whopping 8.5% ABV, but you can’t tell as your taste buds finally understand the meaning of funky, hoppy, tart and fresh all in one swig. Take your time when drinking a bottle of Tank 7. Its worth savoring during a sunset or sitting in front of a fire.
#9 Goose Island Beer Company (Chicago, IL) – Bourbon County Brand Coffee Stout 2022 (13.2%)
Majority of beer geeks start to count down the hours until holiday shopping season starts the day after Thanksgiving. They aren’t looking for a video gaming system or the biggest television set, they are primed for Bourbon Black Friday. Goose Island’s annual release of their Bourbon County barrel aged stouts causes long lines at most bottle shops. This blogger truly believes the odd numbered years (2013, 2017, 2019, 2021) are significantly better tasting than the even numbered years (2016, 2018, 2020). The 2022 lineup was impressive on paper with the original recipe being aged in Heaven Hill, Four Roses, Wild Turkey and Buffalo Trace barrels, and then blended together. The result is an uneven stout that tastes old and unbalanced. Hopefully cellaring 2-5 years will help the flavor profile.
Adjunct recipes included fig newtons, biscotti and the coffee stout. Intelligentsia was the cold coffee supplier chosen from Chicago and their Turihamwe blend was used. Aroma is somewhat understated and the first few swigs make the drinker wonder if this stout is hiding something. Give the snifter glass time to warm up for 30-45 minutes and then you have a gem in your hands. Cold brew coffee with some alcohol warmth will allow you to enjoy a late morning breakfast. Cellaring for 1-5 years should help this flavor significantly and the 2023 release is only ten months away.
#10 Samuel Smith (Tadcaster, North Yorkshire England) – Organic Chocolate Stout
To try and uphold the most common New Years resolution of losing weight in 2023, this stout is 100% organic and weighs in at a lite 5.0% ABV. Very tasty by itself as a sipper or as a chugger. Tried it over vanilla ice cream during the first week of January 2023 and it held up well as a chocolate float. Samuel Smith’s use the same open fermentation method that Anchor Brewing does, and that clearly shows how the craft brewing industry is not only circular but also complimentary across the entire world. Yet another reason why drinking beer is a great hobby.
No matter what New Years activities you did on 1/1/23, please be safe, be healthy, take care of your families and be ready for a brand new beer for winter 2023 adventure! All of the lessons learned and applied in 2022 could make buying beer easier (no long special beer release lines), more interesting (talking to the curbside pickup reps is how you get the water cooler talk at most breweries), and most importantly the use of social media and beer geek conversations to find that special beer you want to get to make 2023 more memorable than 2022!
Check out our recommendations and usage for Growlers if any beer for winter 2023 happens to be available on tap!
Cheers and keep it classy everyday!
Excellent beer choices, I have tried many of them. Now I am looking forward to these beers in 2023. I would like to add one more, Juicy Bits from Weldwerks Brewery.
Top notch recommendation with Juicy Bits. The Weldwerks crew can definitely brew. Cheers!