With shorter days and cooler temperatures, autumn is officially here. And with Thanksgiving less than 24 hours away, so, too, are the holidays. In most parts of the country, this spells a shift for brewers and beer-drinkers alike from lighter, sun-suited lagers and otherwise straw-to-golden-hued beers to maltier, heartier, spiced quaffs themed for fall and yuletide imbibing. That’s not so much the case in San Diego where storms are sporadic and short-lived, the mercury seldom drops below 60 degrees and, like mandatory-invite family members, the sun shows up for Turkey Day, Christmas and New Year’s even if it sort of wrecks the holiday vibes.
Though consumers can count on a small assortment of locally produced seasonals and “Christmas beers” such as AleSmith Brewing’s winter edition of YuleSmith, Kilowatt Brewing’s Cleveland-style Christmas Ale and Santa’s on the Juice from Wild Barrel Brewing, by and large, it’s business as usual for San Diego breweries this time of year…except at one operation where seasonals have been a big part of the business from day one.
San Marcos-based brewing company The Lost Abbey produces a half-dozen Christmas-themed beers every year. Varied in style and composition, they are released across three of the company’s brand families, including The Hop Concept and Port Brewing. The latter’s imperial stout, Santa’s Little Helper, has been a portfolio staple since the company’s 2006 debut. In recent years, adjunct-laced one-offs of that classic have been developed, leading to a variety-pack containing the base beer plus two coffee-infused iterations flavored with hazelnut (the current-day flagship), and cacao and vanilla, respectively.
While less traditional, a pair of India pale ales have risen to become some of the brewery’s most popular winter creations. The first to debut was Merry Taj (a reference to a Christmas greeting and India’s Taj Mahal), The Lost Abbey’s first and only IPA, which debuted in 2013 but was part of the original business plan. Envisioned as a West Coast double IPA given warmth and color care of specialty malts, it comes on strong with piney, citrus and red-berry flavors from Simcoe and Amarillo hops. In 2019, Merry Taj was gifted with a Centennial- and Mosaic-hopped seasonal companion in the form of The Hop Concept’s Jolly and Joyful IPA. Tropical with classic C-hop pine notes, it’s packaged in red, reindeer-adorned cans meant to emulate Starbucks Coffee’s famous holiday-themed cups.
The most inventive of The Lost Abbey’s holiday beers goes by the name Gnoel de Abbey. Described as a “winter warmer” or “holiday brown ale” it’s a blending of a light-bodied blonde ale and an imperial stout that’s been aged for nine months in bourbon barrels. The result of that 80/20 mix (with the stout coming in on the low side) is a rich yet smooth-drinking beer that tastes as though it’s been spiced even though it hasn’t. Any warm, woody, baking-spice nuances are 100% the result of oak and spirit character picked up during barrel-aging.
When asked why he and his team go to such lengths to produce so many different holiday offerings, especially when so few local breweries produce any, The Lost Abbey’s Managing Partner Tomme Arthur says it goes back to the traditions of the monastic brewers the business is built upon. Belgian Christmas ales are culturally significant and the holidays would not be complete without them. On top of that, The Lost Abbey’s Christmas beers have been its best-selling seasonals, with Santa’s Little Helper at the top of that list, followed closely by Jolly and Joyful.
But Arthur and company don’t limit seasonal production to winter. Each spring brings with it a new vintage of an award-winning Brettanomyces-spiked saison called Carnevale, and last month The Lost Abbey canned and distributed a non-denominational fourth-quarter seasonal called Avant Gourde. A Belgian-style biere de garde brewed with pumpkin, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, clove, and both bitter and sweet dried orange peel, it was first developed in collaboration with the nation’s most influential pumpkin-beer producer, Seattle’s Elysian Brewing, in 2012. The original recipe called for the beer to be finished with Brett, but wild yeast was omitted from the current version in favor of shelf-stability.
Among the local beers best suited for Thanksgiving fare, Avant Gourde is currently available along with its Christmas-themed counterparts at The Lost Abbey’s tasting room. That space is currently in the midst of an overhaul that will see it transformed into what Arthur refers to as “Santa’s Village”. In addition to wintry décor, there will be shelves stocked with rare, vintage beers, the likes of which are seldom available to the public even at the company’s homebase.
Beers for sale as part of the above promotion will include early vintages of coveted barrel-aged sour Cable Car, Cuvee de Tomme and The Angel’s Share barleywine, plus bottles of a near legendary 2006 lambic-style ale brewed by Arthur and the founders of Allagash Brewing, Avery Brewing, Dogfish Head Craft Ales, and Russian River Brewing, called Isabelle Proximus. There will also be a handful of Lost Abbey Box Sets, 13 rare barrel-aged beers packaged in roadie-style travel cases with accompanying album art and beer-info liner notes. Those sets were originally released a decade ago.
Santa’s Village will open at noon on Saturday, November 26. Beers that are still available after the weekend will then be made available online beginning Monday, November 28 at 8 a.m.
The Lost Abbey is located at 155 Mata Way in San Marcos