We all know the best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear. But the second-best way to spread Christmas cheer (arguably) is stocking up with Great Lakes beer. And after that? Gifting lots of Great Lakes gear! 
 
Find something for everyone on your list with our 2024 holiday gift guide, and join us in making spirits bright. 
 
Christmas Ale Hive, Lights Up! 
Have you seen this year’s Holiday Collection? The Christmas Ale superfan in your life probably has! Spoil them with everything from Christmas Ale Joggers to a Christmas Ale Ugly Christmas Sweater and this year’s Homage® Apparel Collaboration. Trim their tree with a collectible Christmas Ale ornament, hang their Christmas Ale stocking by the chimney with care and a Christmas Ale candle, wrap them up in a cozy Christmas Ale flannel fleece blanket, and make sure they’re mistletoe-ready with our Christmas Ale lip balm. Make your gift even sweeter and throw in a Holiday Pack, including Christmas Ale and a brand-new flavor of Cookie Exchange Milk Stout, for extra Nice List points. 

  
 
For the Great (Lakes) Outdoorsman 
For those who insist on chopping down their own tree and taking the backroads to grandma’s house, we’ve got just the thing to scratch that wild-hearted itch. Gear them up in a full-zip hoodie, pair the fit with a ceramic campfire mug and one of our camper caps, and they’ll look fresh off the set of a folksy holiday rom-com. Bundle your gifts with our soft rolled blanket and a shiny new Nalgene® to wish them even happier trails. 

Christmas is Going to the Doggos
They’re all good dogs, so make sure they know it! Our new Pride Bites® Christmas Ale Dog Toy is the safest (and cutest) way to crack one open with your lil buddy. Dress your pooch up in a matching Collar and Leash set, or in the equally adorable bandana for some extra swagger. Did someone say treat? You bet! Our Brewhaus Dog Bones™ are made with spent brewery barley malt grain by The Brewhaus Bakery Co., a not-for-profit company dedicated to providing vocational training for young adults with disabilities. A good cause for good dogs. 

Yes, Chef, There is a Santa Claus 
Your holiday host already loves to roll up their sleeves and throw down, so throw a little cooking inspo their way with our Signature BBQ Sauces, Christmas Ale Glaze, and Bertman Original® Dortmunder Gold Mustard. Our Ohio-shaped bamboo cutting board puts the O-H in HO-HO-HO, and a Midwest IPA pint glass makes a perfect vessel for kitchen beers and classic Midwestern hospitality. They’ll be a home chef influencer in no time. 

Cross everyone off your list at store.greatlakesbrewing.com, or make a visit to our brewpub to sip while you shop our wares, including limited items and bundle deals you won’t find online. Follow @glbcbrewpub on Instagram for the latest promotions, and keep up with @glbc_cleveland on Instagram and X, and at Facebook for merch drops, collaborations, and the latest brew news.

Words by Marissa DeSantis

Salt. Pepper. Beer. That’s right, beer can sit right beside your favorite spices in the kitchen, and not just to keep the chef happy. Beer’s ingredients and versatility in flavor profile makes it an excellent tool to take your culinary adventures to the next level. Let’s look at what makes our crafted brews the perfect complement to cooking and enjoying your next meal.

Malt makes beer, and it also gives beer its best asset in the culinary toolbox. As a grain, malt naturally contains a host of bread-like flavors, and depending on how it’s processed, it can also include a range of roasted, sugary-sweet, or dark fruit flavors as well. Underlying all forms of malt flavor is a certain level of Maillard reactions, the browning reaction that occurs when barley is heat-dried during the malting process. As it turns out, these are the very same reactions that occur when cooking food! Those crisp lines on a grilled steak and caramelly shell of crème brulée are Maillard reactions as well.

This core linking of browning flavors is foundational for making beer such a great cooking ingredient. Consequently, malt-forward beers tend to be ideal candidates for incorporation into a dish. When heated during the cooking process, liquid from the beer evaporates, intensifying the beer’s bready, sweet, Maillard-rich contribution. This makes the lightly toasted, smooth and malty Eliot Ness Amber Lager (or, when in season, our critically acclaimed Oktoberfest) an excellent partner in the kitchen, whether it’s in a savory mushroom gravy or a zippy balsamic vinaigrette.

Of course, the intensification of flavors that occurs during cooking isn’t just relegated to malt. Bitterness intensifies as well, making higher IBU beers a bit trickier to work with (though less bitter IPAs such as Juicy Vibacious Double IPA can work, even in a spicy cornbread!) That bitterness, while pleasant in the beer, will become unpalatable at a higher intensity in the dish. The key here is to avoid applying heat, so tossing some IPA in a salad dressing (try Commodore Perry IPA in blue cheese, trust us) or a creamy chip dip will work just fine. Roast character and astringency will intensify as well, so have a lighter touch while tossing Edmund Fitzgerald Porter into shepherd’s pie (though go wild with a chocolate mousse, and smoky barbecue will play nice too). Note that the application of heat can drive off more volatile aromatic compounds as well, so if you’re hoping to have Midwest IPA’s nicely hop-forward aromas translate, add it later in the cooking process.

Keeping these key flavor interactions in mind, beer can be used in countless ways when making dinner. Any time liquid is called for in a recipe, beer can be substituted! Swap in some beer for stock when making soups, like our chefs do with our infamous Stilton Cheddar Soup made with Dortmunder Gold Lager (it’s a great way to use low fill bottles, too – zero waste!) Marinating chicken breast or pork chops in beer will add moisture and help tenderize the meat in addition to infusing it with the beer’s flavor. Adding beer to a pot of chili or beef stew while browning the beef will add an extra layer of richness and a flavor contribution that sits perfectly alongside beans and spices. Beer lightens up batter for fried chicken or fish, can deglaze a pan after sautéing vegetables or steaming mussels, and more (three words: Beer Can Chicken). You can even substitute in beer for classic dishes where wine is called for, like cioppino or beef bourguignon. And of course, beer gives a wonderful finishing touch to desserts. Our Christmas Ale Pumpkin Pie recipe is a fan favorite, but try out our Boozy Bundt Cake Series for a fun twist.

Next time you find that not-so-fresh beer hiding in the back of the fridge, put it to good use in your next meal! And make sure to have some fresh beer on hand to enjoy as well. Use our Beer Finder to locate all our crafted brews near you.

Words by Advanced Cicerone® Michael Williams 

Want the latest buzz? Subscribe to our newsletter, Much Abrew, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and X for updates on all of our year-round, seasonal, and limited release beers. Keep up to date with brewpub releases and events at our Brewpub Instagram, and with private event opportunities and Tasting Room happenings at our Event Space Instagram.

Questions? Email GLBCinfo@greatlakesbrewing.com for more information. 

The shadowy star of our barrel aging program is back. Fan favorite Barrel Aged Blackout Stout returns in 2024!

Next time the power goes out, light a candle and pull this special brew from your cellar. Aged in bourbon barrels, our bold, roasty Barrel Aged Blackout Stout imparts flickers of vanilla and cocoa with every illuminating sip. 

Barrel Aged Blackout Stout arrives at the GLBC gift shop on Wednesday, November 27. Find it for a limited time in cans and draft throughout our distribution footprint following the gift shop release. To locate Barrel Aged Blackout Stout and other GLBC beers in your area, visit our Beer Finder.

RELEASE DETAILS
GLBC Gift Shop: Wednesday, November 27
Distribution Markets: Beginning late November
Packages: 4-Pack 16 oz. Cans, Limited

BARREL AGED BLACKOUT STOUT HIGHLIGHTS
ABV: 12.5%
Aged: 8 months in bourbon barrels
Pairs With: Ribeye steak, rich chocolate desserts, and pungent cheeses

Want the latest buzz? Subscribe to our newsletter, Much Abrew, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and X for updates on all of our year-round, seasonal, and limited release beers. Keep up to date with brewpub releases and events at our Brewpub Instagram, and with private event opportunities and Tasting Room happenings at our Event Space Instagram.

Questions? Email GLBCinfo@greatlakesbrewing.com for more information. 

Dessert in a glass. The next best thing to a slice of cake. Some intensely flavored, full-bodied beer styles, like Imperial Stout or barrel aged beers, are often described as having a dessert-like quality. We take this flavor approach quite literally with Cookie Exchange Milk Stout, brewed each year with a rotating cookie-inspired flavor. Our seasonal stout is part of a growing trend of truly decadent dark brews nicknamed “Pastry Stout” for their intentional channeling of specific sweet treats. We’re not hinting at the scrumptious Peanut Butter Blossom cookie here – take one sip, and it feels like you’re biting into the baked good itself.

As with other newer beer styles, like Hazy IPAs and Fruited Wheats, our brewers combine traditional techniques and unconventional ingredients to achieve Cookie Exchange’s unique flavor profile. Let’s look at the methods that transform a simple stout into liquid cookie goodness.

Appropriately enough, the base beer for our cookie-inspired brew is a Milk Stout! (Yes, we approve of dunking cookies in your beer.) This traditional stout substyle first found popularity in early 20th century Britain before making its way across the pond to American craft brewery taplists, often served via a creamy nitrogenated pour. While you won’t be helping your daily calcium intake with this beer, the style is brewed with lactose sugar and malted barley. Brewer’s yeast creates plenty of alcohol and carbon dioxide from the latter, but they’re unable to metabolize lactose (one could say they’re lactose intolerant). As a result, this sugar remains in the finished beer, giving the brew a fuller mouthfeel and more intense sweetness. The resulting stout is delicious in and of itself, and with plentiful residual sugars, it’s also a perfect canvas to layer on rich, dessert-like flavors. While not all Pastry Stouts contain lactose, using it is the most common way to provide an intensely sweet base beer to build equally sweet flavors upon.

It’s at this point that Pastry Stout takes a uniquely American craft beer turn. Where in the past, one might have seen a Coffee Stout and expected a roasty brew with a complement of coffee flavor, the goal of Pastry Stout is to make the beer taste literally like the dessert it is named for! While some dark malts can convey chocolate, nutty, and dark fruit character, creating a Neapolitan or Black Forest Cake stout is going to require culinary ingredients beyond hops and malts. We call these additional ingredients “adjuncts,” and when it comes to pastry stout, brewers must spare no expense. Intensity is the name of the game! Anything that could go into sweets is up for grabs here: chocolate, coffee, coconut, vanilla, maple syrup, peanut butter, and marshmallow, just to name a few. Fruits, nuts, and spices may be used as well.

This year’s version of Cookie Exchange employs chocolate, peanut butter, and vanilla flavors to achieve the Peanut Butter Blossom flavor profile (look for a new cookie-inspired flavor each season). If it’s an ingredient in the pastry, it’s probably going to be an ingredient in the beer, and since these flavors need to be in-your-face, there’s going to be a large quantity of adjuncts involved. The culinary ingredients themselves are the key here – tossing in a sheet cake is not required, as fun as it might be. And while many Pastry Stouts match the intensity of dessert-like flavors with a high alcohol content, Cookie Exchange packs a mighty cookie punch at just 5.5% ABV.

Satiate your sweet tooth with Cookie Exchange Milk Stout. Find it in 6-Packs, on Draft, and in the Holiday Pack alongside Christmas Ale. Use our Beer Finder to track down our beers near you.

Words by Advanced Cicerone® Michael Williams

Subscribe to our newsletter, Much Abrew, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and X for updates on all of our year-round, seasonal, and limited release beers. Keep up to date with brewpub releases and events at our Brewpub Instagram, and with private event opportunities and Tasting Room happenings at our Event Space Instagram.

Questions? Email GLBCinfo@greatlakesbrewing.com for more information.

Our beloved Christmas Ale has graced our fermenters and your fridges for over three decades. Since 1992, that perfect balance of fresh cinnamon, ginger, and honey has delighted taste buds and social gatherings through the special year-end months. In fact, Christmas Ale is such a holiday tradition, we brew more of it annually than any other beer we make!

A beer with such history, ubiquity, and popularity – all wrapped up in holiday cheer – naturally breeds many a tale. And some of those tales are, well, taller than others. So to clear the baking spice-filled air, we turned to our in-house experts to officially bust some Christmas Ale myths.

Didn’t the ABV used to be higher?

For various reasons, many longtime Christmas Ale fans recall the holiday classic boasting an elevated alcohol content well beyond its current 7.5% ABV frame. However, this would have put us on the naughty list, as before 2002, such alcohol content for beer was illegal! “Years ago, the alcohol by volume (ABV) limit in Ohio was 6% alcohol by weight (ABW) which equals 7.5% ABV,” says longtime Brewmaster Mark Hunger. “The legal limit was raised about 20 years ago or so. We brewed Christmas Ale to this limit then, and it has always been the same ABV since.” While double-digit ABV Imperial Stouts and Double IPAs may be common today, a beer above 7.5% simply wasn’t a possibility when Christmas Ale was formulated.

Fun fact: while the original has always been the same ABV, our limited release Barrel Aged Christmas Ale clocks in at a filling 10% ABV! Regular Christmas Ale aged in bourbon barrels picks up a few additional percentage points of ABV by absorbing the residual spirits remaining in the barrel’s wooden staves, alongside the delicious notes of wood and vanilla the barrels impart. Find it in 16 oz. Can 4-Packs for an extra special holiday treat.

Does the recipe change every year?

If we made an “Overheard at Christmas Ale First Pour” list, perhaps topping it would be, “oh, it tastes different this year,” or “I hear they change the recipe every year.” While we certainly trust our fans’ palates, rest assured, Christmas Ale is brewed the same way every year, with 20 pounds of fresh-cut ginger, 20 pounds of whole cinnamon sticks, and over 600 pounds of honey per batch!

So why are many convinced of recipe tweaks or flavor differences? “When you have your first sip of Christmas Ale for the season, you most likely have not had one for many months,” says Sensory Specialist Jacob Eaton. “So many factors are at play here: memory fading, taste buds changing, even your mood and other consumption habits can have drastic effects on what you perceive.” Plus, there might be a little bit of peer pressure at play: “When you are about to take your first sip and you are expecting it to taste different, you are very likely to believe it does taste different! And while there’s absolutely nothing wrong with spirited discussions about our favorite beers, our brewery’s sensory panelists do go to great lengths to remove any bias when making sure our beers meet our specifications.” We owe them a Christmas gift for that!

While Christmas Ale’s recipe remains untouched, our Cookie Exchange Milk Stout features a rotating cookie flavor each year! Try this year’s version, inspired by the Peanut Butter Blossom cookie, available in 6-Packs and with Christmas Ale in the Holiday Pack.

I heard another brewery has the original recipe.

It’s no secret that our region is full of warming, spiced amber ales released for the holiday season. And we’re here for it! In fact, it’s a bit of an honor to see the style we effectively originated in the early 90’s become a mainstream phenomenon amongst fellow brewers and festive craft beer fans. We’ve even seen “Northeast Ohio-style Christmas Ale” brewed as far away as the west coast! As far as we’re concerned, the more holiday cheer, the better.

With so many other similar holiday beers out there and so many fellow brewers out there who used to work at Great Lakes (we consider them our extended family, by the way), it’s believed by many that the original Great Lakes Christmas Ale recipe was the victim of, well, industrial espionage. Not true, says Brand Coordinator and in-house historian and archivist Michael Williams. “One of my favorite GLBC memories is our 2016 Alumni Beer Dinner, where former GLBC brewers paired their beers and stories with our food. Tim Rastetter, Brewmaster at Thirsty Dog in Akron, was one of the invitees, and publicly cleared the air regarding the original Christmas Ale recipe. Like any good brewer, he thought he could make our beer even better, and so when he moved on to his own brewing operations, made his own version of our Christmas Ale with his modifications.” So while there are many homages out there, the original Christmas Ale recipe still lives on [Christmas] Carroll Ave. in Cleveland’s Ohio City neighborhood!

Can I get a cinnamon sugar rim at the brewpub?

Many consider their enjoyment of Christmas Ale incomplete without a cinnamon sugar rim adorning their pint glass. However, for our brewpub staff, this popular garnish is a sticky situation, according to Brewpub Manager Scott Smith. “Christmas Ale is a fantastic, full-flavored beer all on its own, and our brewers work hard to make it every year, so we offer the beer on its own merits to show respect for our brewer’s hard work.” On top of honoring our production teams’ efforts, Smith continues, “Offering the cinnamon sugar rim at the volume we sell Christmas Ale would cause slowdowns in service and make quite a sticky mess, to say the least. We sell more Christmas Ale than any other bar in Cleveland, including roughly 8,000 pints at Christmas Ale First Pour! We pride ourselves on providing a memorable experience at the brewpub that includes prompt service and a clean environment.”

While you won’t find plates of sugar and cinnamon by the brewpub taps, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with enjoying it that way. “If you enjoy your Christmas Ale with a cinnamon sugar rim at home or an establishment that offers it, go for it,” Smith says. “We’re all for whatever brings you more merriment!”

Now that you’ve got some conversation starters for your holiday gatherings, all you need is the beer! Locate Christmas Ale, Cookie Exchange Milk Stout, Barrel Aged Christmas Ale, and the Holiday Pack near you using our Beer Finder. If you want to learn more about holiday classic, register for our Holiday Beer Hop College class here.

Subscribe to our newsletter, Much Abrew, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for updates on all of our year-round, seasonal, and limited release beers. Keep up to date with brewpub releases and events at our Brewpub Instagram, and with private event opportunities and Tasting Room happenings at our Event Space Instagram.

Questions? Email GLBCinfo@greatlakesbrewing.com for more information.

It’s the most wonderful time for a beer! We are thrilled to announce the return of our classic seasonal Christmas Ale, now with a fresh look, along with Barrel Aged Christmas Ale, the return of new-flavor Cookie Exchange Milk Stout, and the Holiday Pack.

Christmas Ale: The Holiday Classic
Christmas Ale returns with its beloved ginger, cinnamon, and honey, and a refreshed look, bringing a festive red script to the package’s familiar wintry scene and ornament-filled train car. Christmas Ale returns in draft and package beginning October 21. Our brewpub’s annual First Pour® party and ceremonial tapping is set for Thursday, October 17.

Barrel Aged Christmas Ale is Back
Barrel Aged Christmas Ale returns in 16 oz. Can 4-Packs for a limited time throughout our markets. Aged in bourbon barrels, Barrel Aged Christmas Ale releases in select locations, in tandem with Christmas Ale.

Cookie Exchange Milk Stout: Peanut Butter Blossom
We debuted the rotating-flavor Cookie Exchange Milk Stout in 2023, with a Caramel Vanilla Shortbread flavor. For 2024, Cookie Exchange features a Peanut Butter Blossom-inspired recipe. Cookie Exchange launches alongside Christmas Ale in 6-Pack Cans and Draft. It’s also featured in the returning Holiday Pack, which includes six cans of both Cookie Exchange Milk Stout and Christmas Ale.

Christmas Ale First Pour
Join us for the unofficial kickoff to the holiday season in Cleveland at our annual First Pour party! Enjoy the first taste of the season, along with festive music and food specials, a toy drive, photo opps, new holiday merch, and more! Find full details here: greatlakesbrewing.com/firstpour2024

Release Details:
October 17: Christmas Ale First Pour at Great Lakes Brewing Co. (no packages or kegs available)
October 18: Christmas Ale cans, bottles, and kegs, Barrel Aged Christmas Ale cans, and Cookie Exchange cans available in the GLBC gift shop
October 21: Christmas Ale, Barrel Aged Christmas Ale, Cookie Exchange Milk Stout, and Holiday Pack begin releasing throughout our full distribution footprint

Subscribe to our newsletter, Much Abrew, and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for updates on all of our year-round, seasonal, and limited release beers. Keep up to date with brewpub releases and events at our brewpub Instagram.

New look, same Dort. Some things never change (the beer) and some things deserve a little freshening up (the label). We’re excited to introduce a brand new look for our classic-tasting Dortmunder Gold Lager.

One of the first two recipes we developed and served from our humble brewpub in 1988, Dortmunder Gold Lager is Cleveland’s original craft beer, and has remained a tried-and-true, well-loved and respected lager in our hometown and beyond for the past 36 years. It’s the Gold that set the bar for Great Lakes, and for Ohio craft beer.

Dortmunder Gold Lager has sported several looks over nearly four decades, from its simple navy blue label (which we paid tribute to in 2023 to celebrate our 35th anniversary) to its most recent artwork featuring our beloved city wrapped in a custom gold medal, designed to celebrate Dortmunder Gold’s legacy.

The new Dortmunder Gold Lager packaging, crafted by GLBC’s own design team, incorporates elements from each of Dort’s past lives to honor its storied and celebrated legacy. The cans nod to the original label with rich navy blue type and accents, along with the red, white, and blue ribbon that’s adorned each subsequent version of our label. The can itself is a blend of flat and metallic gold, a visual expression of the beer’s name. A decorative barley pattern evokes the barley laurels of our logo and Dortmunder’s signature balance. “Est. 1988” flanks Dortmunder’s sporty new Lager script, celebrating Dort’s significance in the Great Lakes story.

Some things get better with time, and some things you can always count on. In the case of Dortmunder Gold Lager’s new look and classic recipe, we like to think both things are true.

Find new-look Dortmunder Gold Lager in 6-Pack Bottles, 12-Pack Bottles, 6-Pack Cans, 15-Pack Cans, 19.2 oz. Cans (new!), and in our Fall Edition Gimme Five! Variety Pack.

Goodbye, summer heat. Hello, fall wheat! Savor those final few sips of Strawberry Pineapple Wheat, because Cran Orange Wheat is ready to return for another extended season of fruit-forward autumnal flavor.

Cran Orange Wheat is crafted to accompany your favorite fall activities and feasts. Juicy orange and tart cranberry intertwine with soft, pillowy wheat to create a delightfully bright brew that’s a perfect complement to the hearty flavors of the season. Cran Orange Wheat is here to refresh everything from autumnal bonfires, to rich holiday meals, to chill game nights at home, or however you embrace the year’s coziest months. 

Cran Orange Wheat arrives at the GLBC gift shop in 6-Pack Cans on Friday, September 6 before hitting our entire distribution footprint in cans and draft beginning mid-September.

Cran Orange Wheat is also coming soon to the Fall Edition of our Gimme Five! Variety Pack, along with Northeast Ohio exclusive Cold Rush Premium Light Lager, Dortmunder Gold Lager, Midwest IPA, and Edmund Fitzgerald Porter. 

To locate Cran Orange Wheat and other GLBC beers in your area, visit our Beer Finder. 

RELEASE DETAILS
GLBC Gift Shop: Beginning Friday, September 6
GLBC Brewpub: Coming soon!
GLBC Market Distribution: September
Packages: 6-Pack 12 oz. Cans, Draft, Gimme Five! Variety Pack (Fall Edition)

IN THE CAN
Flavor: Harvest a medley of orange and cranberry in this satisfying Wheat Ale packed with the flavors of the season.
ABV: 5.5%
IBU: 17
Pairs With: Honey glazed turkey, burrata, and pecan pie

Want the latest buzz? Subscribe to our newsletter, Much Abrew, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for updates on all of our year-round, seasonal, and limited release beers. Keep up to date with brewpub releases and events at our Brewpub Instagram and Facebook.
Questions? Email GLBCinfo@greatlakesbrewing.com for more information.