Halloween candy is still on the shelves, but in Cleveland the holidays officially started yesterday. The first pour of Great Lakes Brewing Co.’s Christmas Ale drew hundreds of people downtown on Thursday, and this year the party also served as an unofficial pregame for the Guardians’ first home game of the American League Championship Series. As one Cleveland station put it, not much work got done in town that day, with First Pour and Game 3 of the ALCS landing on the same date. Talk about a Cleveland double-header.
A Line Around the Block (and a 3:30 a.m. Alarm)
Dedication to this beer is real. The line wrapped around the block, and one of the first fans in it said he got up at 3:30 a.m. to drive in from Youngstown and claim his spot by 6 a.m. The ceremony kept its familiar rhythm: the keg arrived at 11 a.m. and the first pour followed at 11:30. Once the taps opened, the pace was frantic. Great Lakes estimates it pours a Christmas Ale every 13 seconds during the celebration, and it will keep pouring through January. There was a charitable side too: the day included a fill-the-bus winter clothing drive, live music, and Christmas Ale treats from Brewnuts while they lasted.
What’s in the Glass
Christmas Ale is a spiced amber that people either crave every fall or haven’t tried yet. It was first brewed in 1992 using fresh ginger, cinnamon, and honey, and it became one of GLBC’s top performers even though it’s only sold for about ten weeks a year. When Great Lakes expanded into New York City, co-founder Brown called it the largest-selling holiday beer in the U.S. The beer has evolved over the years: in 2020 it showed up in 12 oz. cans for the first time since it debuted in 1992. And for the bourbon crowd, there’s a bigger version: Barrel Aged Christmas Ale, which spends six months in bourbon barrels.
My Own Christmas Ale Quest
My first trip to Oxford, Ohio was in November 2012, and one thing was at the top of my list: find some Great Lakes Christmas Ale. I found it at Noonan’s liquor store in nearby Hamilton and left with my first fresh six-pack. Ask any Christmas Ale fan and they’ll tell you the first fresh six-pack of the year tastes a little better, and I still remember mine. Ohio must have made a good impression, because the next spring my wife’s job brought us to Oxford for good. Since then, Christmas Ale has been part of every holiday season for us.
The Brewery Behind the Beer
Great Lakes was opened in 1988 by brothers Patrick and Daniel Conway in Cleveland’s Ohio City neighborhood. It was the first brewpub and microbrewery in Ohio, and it is credited as one of the early forces behind the revival of Ohio City on the near West Side. I have a soft spot for that timeline. A year after the Conways opened their doors, I opened Friends Brewing in Helen, Georgia, the state’s first craft brewery. Those were the days when “craft beer” needed an explanation at every bar. Great Lakes has since built a lineup that includes Edmund Fitzgerald Porter and Dortmunder Gold Lager, but Christmas Ale is the one that brings people out at dawn.
The 2026 Holiday Lineup
This year’s release comes with plenty of company. Great Lakes rolled out its full holiday lineup with Christmas Ale at the center, joined by a new Holiday Party Pack and Snowscape Winter Lager, plus returning Barrel Aged Christmas Ale and Barrel Aged Blackout Stout, and a new Barrel Aged Caramel Pecan Blackout Stout. The holiday pack also brings Cran Orange Wheat and Cookie Exchange Milk Stout to the table.
If you missed yesterday, you can still get to it quickly. Bottles, cans, and kegs go on sale at the brewery gift shop today, Oct. 16, with the wider release starting Oct. 19.
Cam, my brewery wingman, has already announced his plan: find out whether Christmas Ale goes with vanilla ice cream. I’m voting for gingerbread cookies instead. Either way, the Christmas Ale season has started, and in Cleveland it begins in October.
Address: 2516 Market Ave., Cleveland, OH 44113
Website: https://www.greatlakesbrewing.com