by Brian Beauchemin

As the December holidays approach, we fully expect to see beers loaded with fruits and spices. Our Charlotte brewers do not disappoint, offering brews fermented with plums and pears or ones that remind you of gingerbread and oatmeal raisin cookies. Surprisingly, lagers make up about 25 percent of this month’s releases, including a schwarzbier collaboration with a brewery based in Germany. Across the city, December brings a full range of options for all beer lovers. Unless otherwise stated, the beers are already available in local taprooms or supporting establishments.

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Birdsong Brewing

White Noise is a hazy IPA utilizing Citra and Nectaron hops fermented with Vermont Tropics yeast. The 6.5% ABV beer is a hazy juice bomb with notes of peach and candy. Draft and cans release December 14 in their tap room and for wholesale December 16.

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Lower Left Brewing  

Chamber Music is a 5.5% ABV Vienna-style lager brewed with North Carolina-grown Vienna and base malts in tandem with European specialty grains. In time for the holiday season, South End Santa is an oatmeal raisin cookie Christmas ale. Brewed with an abundance of oats, specialty grains, raisins, vanilla, and spices, this 6% ABV ale tastes like a liquid oatmeal raisin cookie.

Utilizing North Carolina-grown malts with both New Zealand and Pacific Northwest hops, Photon Ray is a West Coast IPA. The 6.8% ABV brew is clean and clear, with deep tropical and resinous notes from heavy dry-hopping. Oakenshield ESB is a 5.8% ABV extra special bitter brewed with traditional floor-malted grains and East Kent Golding Hops. True to style, the beer is malty and complex with firm bitterness and superb drinkability.

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Olde Mecklenburg Brewery

Schwarz-bier is a black lager brewed in collaboration with Störtebeker, a brewery based in Stralsund, Germany. The 5.6% ABV lager has notes of coffee, chocolate, and pumpernickel bread, balanced by hints of cherry licorice and cola caramel. Available on tap and six pack bottles at both biergarten locations.

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NoDa Brewing

Captain Peanut Butter’s Chocolate Revenge Imperial Porter returns, clocking in at a hefty 9.2% ABV. A big, malty, and smooth porter brewed with a massive load of cocoa nibs lending dark chocolate notes, as well as roasted peanut butter, adding a rich twist to the beer.

The winner of the 2023 AIGA Competition, Waffle Huis is a Belgian-style dubbel with maple syrup. The 7.5% ABV beer, brewed by Bill Lynch (a member of the Carolina BrewMasters homebrew club), is a balanced yet complex Belgian-style dubbel brewed with and fermented on maple syrup. It offers caramel notes on top of dark stone fruit and slight clove spice from the Belgian yeast strain. Releasing December 13, it is available on draft only at the taproom. Coco Loco will be back on draft and in cans December 20. The robust porter is brewed with cocoa nibs and toasted coconut and has a smooth, drinkable 6.2% ABV. 

A Dole Whip-inspired sour, Swole Whip is brewed with pineapple and vanilla and tastes like a tart Dole Whip dessert. The 5.0% ABV sour will be draft-only in the taproom starting December 27.

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Pilot Brewing   

Plum Gose is a German-style tart wheat ale with a slight coriander and restrained sea salt character, fermented on plum purée. The 4.2% ABV seasonally-appropriate fruited gose will be draught only in the market but includes cans in the tasting room. Releasing December 13, Snowbird Southeast IPA is a 5.4% ABV American IPA with low bitterness and high hop flavor and aroma. Single-hopped with Columbus hops, showcasing earthiness, black pepper, spice, and subtle floral and citrus. The use of flaked maize helps to yield clearness and leaves an enjoyable dry finish. 

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Resident Culture

Known within the brewery as their “house crusher,” Country Kind of Silence is a 4.5% ABV helles lager brewed with Hallertau Mittlefruh hops and naturally carbonated through the process of krausening. This occurs by transferring a small portion of actively fermenting lager into the finished base beer. The remaining fermentation carbonates the beer resulting in nice head retention with tiny bubbles. It also helps polish off the flavors providing an enjoyable, clean beer.

Forever Alone: Galaxy is a 7.5% ABV single hop hazy IPA. The latest in the brewery’s Forever Alone series features Galaxy from Hollingbery Hops imparting flavors of ripe passionfruit, juicy peach, and bright citrus. N.A.R.C. IPA is a non-alcoholic IPA tipping the scales at less than 0.5% ABV. It is a classic West Coast-style IPA hop profile with all the dank, pine, and resinous character but with much less alcohol. The NA beer is dry, crisp, and lightly bitter with notes of grapefruit and orange zest.

Sea salt and lime combine to form the next beer in the brewery’s non-alcoholic line. N.A.R.C. Sea Salt & Limeis a crushable lager, bright and zippy with a pop of zesty lime and a balanced mouthfeel from the addition of sea salt.

Three beers release December 13. Double Quantum Wobble is a 6.5% ABV fruited sour heavily dosed with guava, mango, and blood orange. Thank You For Your Patience is a Horchata-inspired porter. Infused with cinnamon, vanilla, and toasted almonds, the 6.5% ABV English-style porter is an indulgent twist on a classic, capturing the creamy sweetness and warmth of horchata in every sip. The third release, Hit the Ground Running, is a 7% ABV hazy IPA bursting with the bold, juicy hops of Strata, Citra, Mosaic, and Nelson Sauvin. Expect vibrant notes of tropical fruit, dank pine, and citrus, with layers of ripe pineapple, passionfruit, and grapefruit.

Cultivated Wisdom is a barrel-aged barleywine with an ABV of 8.7%. Aged for 18 months in Buffalo Trace and Taransaud French apricot brandy barrels, this brew offers an elegant flavor profile. It opens with a pleasant booziness, followed by rich caramel notes, and balanced by a subtle, warming, roasted bitterness. The finish is clean and reminiscent of molasses. Available starting December 14 at the Plaza Midwood taproom and online for shipping to North Carolina addresses only.

Brewed with Tettnang and Celeia hops, Last Rays of Innocence is a crisp and refreshing rice lager. Light, clean malt flavors are complemented by subtle herbal notes of spice and a touch of floral bitterness, all closing with a smooth, dry finish. The 4% ABV lager releases December 20. 

Two other beers release December 20. Spatial Occasion is a crisp, resinous West Coast IPA. The 7% ABV brew is double dry-hopped with Nelson Sauvin, Citra, Simcoe, and Chinook. Bold aromas of bright citrus, white wine, and pine lead into flavors of grapefruit, zesty lemon, and a touch of earthy dankness, all balanced by a refreshing bitterness that lingers into a clean, dry finish. Reaching the opposite end of the IPA spectrum, Pageant Worthy is the haziest of their hazies. The 8.5% ABV hazy double IPA brewed with Strata and Amarillo hops boasts big berry and tropical fruit flavors with a touch of resin in the mouthfeel.

The brewery’s last release of the month on December 27 bounces back to the West Coast. Disco Baby is a 6.5% ABV IPA brewed with Galaxy, hand-selected Citra, and Simcoe to bring you a mouthful of vibrant pine, ripe citrus, and juicy tropical fruit.

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Sycamore Brewing

The 2024 edition of the brewery’s annual Rising Hope creation is Orange Blossom, a 5.1% ABV pale ale brewed with orange blossom purée. 100 percent of the proceeds will be donated to the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation, funding crucial research and support. It is available only in the taproom.

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Triple C Brewing

Enzo Gorlami is a 5.5% ABV Italian Pilsner. This lightly double dry-hopped pilsner satisfies both lager and hop lovers. Aromas of white wine grape must and spicy noble hops with a hint of citrus meld with light bready malt undertones. A crisp and dry mouthfeel with moderate bitterness makes this a beer’s beer.

Releasing December 14 on draft only, Still Running at 40 is a classic West Coast IPA. The 6.8% ABV brew is a crisp and dry blend of IPA flavors and aromas. Dank bitterness with piney aromatic undertones blends with tropical flavors and a refreshing citrus bite. Clear, bitter, and clean just as ‘westies’ should be.

Red Lion is an old-school style English pub ale. Toasted bread and mild caramel malt flavors blend with European and North American hops, providing a medium bitterness ideal for crisp and cold winter nights. The 5.6% ABV brew will be released on December 20 on draft only.  A traditional Czech-style amber lager, Republic is brewed with rice and corn to give it a smooth and slightly sweet malt characteristic balanced with noble style hops for a touch of bitterness. The 5.3% ABV draft-only beer releases December 27.

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Wooden Robot Brewery

Gingerbread Good Morning Vietnam is a 5% ABV blonde ale brewed with locally roasted Ethiopian coffee from Enderly Coffee Roasters and rich Madagascar vanilla beans. This seasonal version of Good Morning Vietnam receives an added kick of gingerbread cookies using gingerbread-infused malt. A tasty companion for the holiday season.

Refermented with 500 pounds of prickly pears from Wild Hope Farms in Chester, South Carolina, Prickle My Fancy is a prickly pear sour ale. The 6% ABV beer is brewed with local Epiphany Craft Malt and aged with the brewery’s house sour culture. This brew is an oaky, sour, and fruity taste of the Carolinas.

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