Today is Dec. 26 — Boxing Day, that strange British after-holiday apparition that drifts in smelling faintly of gravy, old coins, and unresolved class tension. No, it’s not about putting on gloves and finally decking Uncle Nigel for his Brexit takes, nor is it about shoving unwanted scented candles back into their cardboard prisons. Boxing Day reaches further back, into the foggy mothballs of empire, powdered wigs, and social systems so rigid you could crack a tooth on them.
Picture Downton Abbey on loop: upstairs swanning about in silk and entitlement, downstairs sprinting on aching feet to keep the tea poured and the roast from burning. The servants, bless their overworked souls, rarely stopped — especially on holidays — because without them the aristocracy might starve, or worse, be forced to locate a kettle on their own. So once a year, the masters tossed down small tokens of gratitude — “Christmas boxes” for tradesmen, servants, messengers — and Dec. 26 off to remember they had families and legs.
Fast-forward to the modern UK, where Boxing Day survives as a gentle nod of thanks to postal workers, paper carriers, and public servants, lubricated generously with soccer, rugby, and early-morning pints. The tradition still hums across the Commonwealth — Canada, Australia, New Zealand — all politely keeping the ritual alive. In the States? We mostly just squint at the daylight, groan softly, and consider another drink.
Which feels right. Which feels honest. And which is why today we raise a glass — or several — to Boxing Day the only way Americans truly understand it: with beer. Please enjoy Craft Beer Crosscut 12.26.18: A Flight for Boxing Day, a liquid passport through countries that know how to say thank you, take the day off, and drink something sturdy while doing it.
Craft Beer Crosscut 12.26.18: A Flight for Boxing Day
Wells Banana Bread Beer
5.2% ABV, 18 IBU
In 2006, Charles Wells and Young’s of London merged to become Wells & Young’s Brewing Company and all brewing was moved to Bedford, England. In 2015, the brewery was renamed to Charles Wells. The brewery’s Banana Bread Beer smells like bananas. Seriously. In fact, Banana Bread Beer not only smells like bananas, but tastes like bananas, too, and not the artificial banana of bubble gum. The flavor is nicely balanced with the hops, the banana component more a whisper than a shout. The whole thing was a little sweet, but not in a disagreeable way.
Samuel Smith Organic Apricot Fruit Beer
5.1% ABV
One of the oldest operating breweries in the world, Samuel Smith’s Old Brewery has been brewing with the same derivative yeast strain in the same stone vats for the last 255 years. They even keep a small team of Shire horses — a breed that traditionally pulled brewery wagons — to deliver beer around its hometown of Tadcaster. But for all this tradition, Samuel Smith is remarkably modern. All but one of its beers are vegan and the brewery has an entire line of organic ales, including its Apricot Fruit Beer. According to Samuel Smith’s, it’s brewed at the All Saints Brewery in Stamford, England using all manually operated equipment. Barley and wheat are combined to make an ale, fermented and aged for an extended period, then taken to Samuel Smith’s brewery in Tadcaster, England. It is at this stage where they blend in pure fruit juice to create a fruit-forward ale with malt and some bittering hops on the back.
Belhaven Black Scottish Stout
4.2% ABV, 20 IBU
Similar in pour to the Guinness “widget top” draught in a can, Belhaven Brewery Black Scottish Stout lives up its name as it settles in the glass with a dark, ruddy hue. As a result of its draught style, this beer drinks like a nitro, with a smooth, non-bitter taste and creamy finish. Belhaven Black is brewed using pure Scottish water and a unique blend of Scottish triple malts sourced from Scottish grown barley for sweet caramel aroma and caramel chocolate flavor. Expect a bitter caramel herbal finish and smoked caramel aftertaste.
Unibroue A Tout Le Monde
4.5% ABV, 22 IBU
Kitchen Manager Lindsay Giantvalley arrives to Peaks and Pints first daily. She cranks the kitchen radio and preps for the day, listening to a wide range of music, including the occasional metal. Currently, her favorite beer gives nod to one of metal’s best, Dave Mustaine. The frontman for Megadeth hangs with Unibroue Brewmaster Jerry Vietz. The two friends brewed À Tout Le Monde, a refreshing and artisanal Belgian style dry hopped saison named after a hit single from the Youthanasia album, the song was a departure from the traditional sound of thundering double kick drums, amps on 11 and Mustaine’s angry “through-the-teeth” vocals.
Brunswick Ora et Labora
7.5% ABV, 30 IBU
Brunswick Bierworks in Toronto, Canada, invited Belgian’s Trappist Brewery Koningshoeven, better known as La Trappe, to collaborate on a “New World Double Bock” named Ora et Labora, which translates to “Work & Pray” — the philosophy of the La Trappe monks. La Trappe’s brouwmeester Lodewijk Swinkels and Brunswick Bierworks master brewer Christian Riemerschmid von der Heide weaves traditional krausen fermentation with a mighty malt bill and a unique blend of Opal, Loral, Mandarina Bavaria and Ontario Newport hops sourced from the Americas and Europe; bridging the two worlds of brewing. The recipe is “double bock” in strength with the ingredients and process with re-fermentation more like a wheat double bock — however the fermentation and yeast is like grand cru. Taste is plum and caramel, moving to nuts, some roast and light tart cherry. Finish is peat and some roast.
