It’s December and what a festive time to be a beer drinker as winter beers are on the shelves.

But what is a winter ale and how do breweries celebrate yuletide cheer? There are two breweries that have been doing winter beers well for years: Highland Brewing in Asheville, NC and Deschutes in Bend Oregon.

On this episode hosts Em Sauter and Don Tse talk with Highland CEO Leah Wong Ashburn about what goes into making Cold Mountain Winter Ale, and it’s now famous weekend-long festival.

The duo also chats with Ben Kehs, the innovation brewing manager at Deschutes about brewing Jubelale Festive Winter Warmer. There are some fun legends and superstitions around the beer.

Sennos

Happy Holidays from the All About Beer podcast!

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This Episode is Sponsored by:

Malteurop Malting Company (MMC) is based in North America—specializing in growing and producing quality malts for the craft beer and distilling industries. With local farms and Malthouses spread across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, MMC’s commitment to excellence is fully ingrained into every batch it produces, ensuring breweries and distilleries of any size can create the finest beverages on the planet. Visit www.malteuropmaltingco.com to learn how MMC can support your malting needs. Contact MMC at customersuccess@malteurop.com or (844) 546-MALT (6258) for questions or to place your order.

Estrella Galicia is an independent, family-owned brewery  in northwest Spain, founded in 1906. Estrella Galicia Cerveza Especial, a world class lager is brewed with the finest malt and locally cultivated Galician hops in a state-of-the-art facility in A Coruna. Recognized around the world for quality and exceptional character. Estrella Galicia is “A beer like no other.”

Em Sauter
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Em Sauter is an Advanced Cicerone®, cartoonist, author, beer reviewer, international beer judge and public speaker who runs the award winning website Pints and Panels, which focuses on visual beer education. Her first book "Beer is for Everyone! (of Drinking Age)" was published in 2017 by One Peace Books. Her second book "Hooray for Craft Beer!" was released in April 2022 with Brewers Publications. Em is also co-host of the All About Beer Podcast. She lives in New England with her husband Matt and two cats- Milbo and The Geen.

tse
Don Tse

Living near seven malthouses, Don Tse is a freelance beer and malt writer and consultant known globally as The Don of Beer. He has been active in craft beer for over 25 years and has famously sampled and written tasting notes on almost 27,000 different beers. He is the co-host of the All About Beer podcast. Don has also written for magazines and presented on beer in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Ukraine and Singapore.  Nobody in those countries thinks his jokes are funny.