by Peter Bailey
It’s the most wonderful time of the year…for beer.
In the olden days, beer followed the seasons, from springtime saisons to summer’s lawnmower lagers to fall pumpkin ales and finally to the winter warmers of year’s end. And now, heaven knows, anything goes. But the holiday season is an exception, still special for brewers and drinkers alike. Edmonton’s Analog Brewing works with Alley Kat Brewing for a fun take on the beer Advent calendar, the 12 Beers of Christmas box. Analog co-owner Bryan Launier describes the box as twelve unique new beers brewed specially for the calendar. Given that I still have oddball beers (pineapple coconut sour anyone?) in my cellar from beer Advent calendars from years ago, twelve beers sounds reasonable.
Other brewers pull out the stops and brew big, bold beers for the holidays. My daughter and I have a tradition of sharing a big bottle of Belgian Christmas ale like Delirium Noël or De Ranke Père Noël. These Belgian dark strong ales are higher-alcohol sippers, rich and spiced like Christmas fruitcake. Surprisingly, these beers are not an old Belgian tradition. Rather, they date back just to World War Two, when Belgian brewers were inspired by the big Scottish beers brought across the English Channel by British soldiers. Even the iconic Chimay Blue was first brewed in 1948 as a Christmas ale before becoming a year-round beer in 1954.
Heading up the North Sea coast from Belgium to Denmark we find the Christmas beer tradition of J-Dag (J-Day), when Christmas beer (Juleøl or Julebryg in Danish) is released. Brewing Christmas beer dates back to Viking times, but J-Dag is a modern innovation, started officially in 1990 by Danish brewer Tuborg. Inspired by the tradition of celebrating the Beaujolais Nouveau wine release in November, Tuborg embargoes the release of Julebryg until 9pm of the first Friday in November. Tuborg Julebryg is so popular that it is one of Tuborg’s bestselling beers, even though it is only available for ten weeks of the year. The Julebryg tradition has spread widely in Denmark, with 220 Danish breweries brewing hundreds of varieties of Christmas beer in 2025.
J-Dag has crossed the Atlantic to Canada, right here to Edmonton. Longroof Brewing has brewed its version of Julebryg annually since its founding on Happy Beer Street in 2019. Longroof co-owner Troy Wassill told me the beer was Longroof co-founder Bent Laugesen’s idea, as Bent is of Danish heritage. But as head brewer, it was down to Troy to brew a respectable Julebryg—this without actually being able to try the Tuborg Julebryg (it’s not exported to Canada). We can all see how Troy did by trying the 2026 Longroof J-Dag Julebryg, both at Longroof and across the river at Three Vikings, the Scandinavian-themed British pub on 124th Street. Three Vikings is co-owned by husband and wife team, Stephanie Moore and Finn Mollegaard-Laugesen. Finn of Three Vikings and Bent of Longroof are brothers, so working together to create a true J-Dag celebration was a natural. Three Vikings offers special J-Dag versions of their Danish-style smørrebrød (open-faced sandwiches).
Adding to this community collaborative coziness, Longroof is also working with Trial & Ale Brewing, who are creating a barrel-aged sour version of the Julebryg. Trial & Ale co-owner Kaare Boraas is of Norwegian heritage, and is the president of the Torskeklubben of Edmonton, the local Scandinavian club. And, yes, of course, Torskeklubben often holds their events at Three Vikings. Because in Edmonton there are only two degrees of separation, Kaare is my neighbour and a founder of Westmount Community League’s Beer Club.
We meet monthly at the community hall to talk about and drink great beers and, more importantly, connect and build community. And isn’t community—family, friends and neighbours—what Christmas and the holidays are all about? Yes, and beer too.
Merry Christmas to all and to all a good beer.
Christmas Six-Pack
Make the most of the holidays with seasonal beers that dispel the wintry gloom. Some of these beers are only available for a short time, so don’t wait until Christmas Eve to stock up.
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Longroof J-Dag Dark Lager, Edmonton
Tuborg Julebryg is reported to be an amped-up version of Tuborg’s pilsner, with a licorice-forward flavour, and that’s how Troy Wassill brews Longroof’s version. For 2026 Troy added in cinnamon, sweet orange peel and star anise (for the licorice flavour) to create Christmas in a bottle. Available from November 7, J-Dag.
Samuel Smith Winter Welcome Ale, Tadcaster, UK
Years ago, before the craft beer revolution, there were still British beer imports to be had at Christmas, including the traditional ales made by one of Britain’s oldest breweries, still independent and family-owned, Samuel Smith in Tadcaster, Yorkshire. A classic, un-spiced, malty English brown ale, hopped with Fuggle and Golding hops.
Analog West Coast Pine IPA, Edmonton
Think a west coast IPA can’t be a Christmas beer? Think again! Part of The 12 Beers of Christmas box, this is a classic clear IPA with a strong aromatic character of pine from classic Pacific Northwest hops. It will bring to mind memories of Christmas trees past and present, whether pine, spruce or fir.
Alley Kat Black Forest Stout, Edmonton
Part of the 12 Beers of Christmas box, this is a dry stout enhanced with actual cherry pie filling. A dark, malty, full-bodied stout paired with a sweet cherry finish makes this beer a fabulous holiday dessert option. Pair it with that Black Forest cake you bought at a local bakery.
Blindman Perepllut Barley Wine, Lacombe
Barley wine is not really wine; there are no grapes in it. Rather, it is a strong, malt-forward ale, clocking in at 10.9 per cent ABV, with rich notes of caramel, toffee, molasses, fig and raisin. Named after Perepllut, an ancient Slavic god associated with drinking as well as water, soil and the earth’s fertility. Best in Show silver medal at the 2026 Alberta Beer Awards.
Blind Enthusiasm Spontaneous Manifesto, Edmonton
Blind Enthusiasm’s flagship spontaneously fermentated wild ale, a lambic beer that is a blend of one-, two- and three-year-old brews. Stone fruit, apple and juicy citrus with red wine fruitiness and subtle tannin, high carbonation and a dry, lingering finish. Award winning too: Best in Show bronze at the 2026 Alberta Beer Awards and World’s Best Gueuze at the 2026 World Beer Awards.
Peter Bailey patiently awaits the return of Alley Kat’s Chocolate Orange Porter. He’s on Bluesky and Instagram as @Libarbarian.
