Best Winter Beers In San Francisco

Dave McLean of Magnolia Brewing recommends their Winter Warmer beer, now in its 17th annual release. The eight percent ABV, rich, malt English strong ale went on tap for Thanksgiving and is available through December at both Magnolia locations in Haight-Ashbury and Dogpatch, as well as around town at other bars and restaurants. Brewmaster Dave, the man behind Magnolia's beloved local brand, would also suggest Anchor's Christmas Ale as a classic San Francisco-brewed winter beer.

It's a classic. Since 1975, the velvety, winter warmer style from Anchor (founded 1896) has been hotly anticipated. Always a little bit different with each annual release, the highly-guarded recipe for Christmas Ale is termed as spice/herb/vegetable by Anchor. Count on each and every seasonal release to be rich, dark, complex and only available from November through mid-January. Some say this year's 41st Christmas Ale is one of the best, prominently featuring cloves. Look for the label with a hand-drawn Christmas tree. In addition to the Dogpatch location, Christmas Ale is also being poured at The Anchor Beer Garden at The Yard near AT&T Park.

Say voodoo three times, click your heels and be transported to the Dogpatch, where 16 rotating taps for signature IPAs await. Try their flagship beer, Inception Belgian Tripel or the new Carcosa Belgian Quad, first tapped in mid-November. It's all about "combining the best qualities of Belgian and West Coast styles to create unique and interesting beer." Flights and tours are available at the dog-friendly location. If you missed the $20 beer and cheese pairing, there's another on Dec. 22, 2015.

Opened next door to Hecho in the Castro one year ago, Brewcade features 21 classic arcade games and even more than that number of hand-crafted beers. Kai Villegas is the beer guru, who suggests Hot Chocolate Mexican Export Stout by Fieldwork Brewing in Berkeley. While this isn't strictly a winter release, it is brewed with spices we associate with winter time and cold weather. Here we have a 6.6 percent Foreign Export Stout brewed with locally-made TCHO chocolate, cinnamon, nutmeg, cayenne pepper, milk sugar and ancho chilies. It's an awesomely rich and balanced stout you should definitely look for on tap lists in the Bay Area.

Released to coincide with an ugly Christmas sweater party and contest, the new nine percent Winter Sweater Imperial Porter was released on Dec. 3. Brewed with "high quality Crisp UK malts, 40 pounds of graham crackers and Madagascar vanilla beans," this winter warmer sounds as good as toasting s'mores at the fire pit. Get Macaroon while it lasts and T.I. Special — a 7.4 percent Old Ale with a malty, complex character with plenty of dark cherry, chocolate and black currant flavors — to ring in the holidays.