With the holidays around the corner, many beer consumers are anticipating the return of their favorite winter brews, whether they’re seasonally themed or just classic, hardy beer styles. Indeed, some winter beers have become so popular that they shoot to the top of the sales chart during the holiday selling season. 

Tröegs Independent Brewing’s Mad Elf ale is one such brew. First produced in 2002, Mad Elf was the No. 2 beer in total dollar sales in Pennsylvania for the 13 week period ended January 1, 2024, according to Circana data, the brewer says. Distributed in nine eastern states and Washington, D.C., Mad Elf has become “an essential part of many people’s holiday traditions,” says David Graham, director of marketing at the Hershey, Pennsylvania-based brewery. “And it’s not just beer lovers,” adds brewery co-founder Chris Trogner. “A lot of people who typically don’t drink beer have a special connection with Mad Elf.” 

Two Roads Brewing’s Holiday ale is another winter seasonal that has grown in popularity over the years. According to Phil Markowski, brewer and co-founder of the Stratford, Connecticut-based brewery, 11-year-old Holiday ale was first launched in 22-ounce bottles and on draft at the company tasting room, but today is distributed in six states in 6- and 12-packs of 12-ounce bottles, as well as on draft in numerous accounts. Brewed in the French biere de Noel style, Holiday ale features both French hops and French malt. At Wicked Weed Brewing in Asheville, North Carolina, meanwhile, Milk & Cookies imperial stout is celebrating its tenth anniversary in 2024, and, as in past years, a portion of sales of the beer will help support Feeding America food banks in the markets where it’s distributed. 

“Winter and holiday beers are great opportunities for retailers to refresh their year-round offerings with limited seasonal beers that reflect their customers’ seasonal spirits,” says Wicked Weed marketing director Kyle Pedersen. Milk & Cookies, along with the seasonal Jack Frost Double IPA, is being promoted as part of Wicked Weed’s “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” marketing campaign, while Tröegs’ Mad Elf, which Graham describes as having “somewhat of a cult following,” is backed with social media and digital executions, as well as merchandising cutout standees at retail. The brand is also featured in Tröegs’ Most Wonderful Beer of the Year variety 12-pack.

But it’s not just holiday-themed beers that brew lovers clamor for during the cold winter months. In addition to brands like Mad Elf and St. Bernardus Christmas ale, “sales of dark beers spike at our store during the winter,” notes Frank Mazzola, manager of Wine Warehouse in Voorhees, New Jersey, pointing to brands like Guinness and Founders KBS. The four-unit chain stocks up to 50 winter beer SKUs, generally priced between $15 to $22 a 4- or 6-pack.

With competition from hardy beer releases, trends for winter-themed beers at Garfield’s Beverage Warehouse in Illinois, meanwhile, have been “holding steady to falling off a touch” in recent years, according to Bryce Carmichael, craft beer buyer at the ten store chain. The stores stock about 30 different SKUs of the seasonals, generally priced at $11-$25 a 4- or 6-pack, and top sellers include Sierra Nevada’s Celebration fresh hop IPA and Revolution Brewing’s Fistmas holiday ale. At Garfield’s Palatine store, which features an on-site bar, “I always try to put Celebration on draft ($6 a 16-ounce pour) because it’s a staff favorite,” Carmichael says.

One of the biggest challenges in stocking holiday brews is efficient forecasting and ordering, retailers and brewers agree. Unlike seasonals like Oktoberfest beers, “it’s a problem to have these beers sitting around after the holidays,” Carmichael says. “It can be difficult to figure out how much to order.” Some holiday beers, however, have staying power. Tröegs’ Graham notes that “some retailers like to squirrel away” a few cases of Mad Elf for events like “Christmas in July.”

Focused merchandising can be a great tool to help drive sales of winter and holiday brews. Markowski of Two Roads advises they receive prominent floor position as well as hand-selling, noting “It’s a good reminder to consumers that not all beers are IPAs.” Tröegs’ Graham encourages retailers to curate a collec-tion of winter beers so as to offer up a diversity of flavors. At this time of year, “shoppers are looking for a reason to bring more celebration into their lives,” he says.