8 great Saskatchewan-made winter beers to enjoy during the holiday season

The house is quiet, the gifts area all put away, a fire is roaring. The only things left beneath the tree aresome stray pine needles and a sleeping puppy. This quiet and somewhat-reserved holiday season just got a little quieter.

The stillness and solitude for some, gives us all a little time to think, reflect and maybe even reconnect with far-away friends digitally. Many of us will do this with a beer in hand.

Saskatchewan craft brewers are ready to serve up your holidays libations, with a vast variety of brews sure to satisfy any palate.

Angela Senenko is a sommelier at the Eighth St. Co-op liquor store in Saskatoon. She has gathered eightwinter-friendly beers from across the province that willsatisfy any beer lover.

"IPA's are really popular, and also stouts and porters the darker beers for winter are very popular," Senenko said. "There's just something heavier, something warming and a little bit higher in alcohol really nice for Christmas and the winter season."

Watch Senenko give some recommendations:

Eight Saskatchewan beers for the holidays

4 years ago

Duration 3:15

Saskatoon sommelier, Angela Senenko breaks down eight different Saskatchewan beer to enjoy during the holiday season.

Senenko's recommendations have been edited for length and clarity.

Hallertau Blanc, Malty National Brewing Corp., Regina

"This one is a West Coast pale ale. It's single-hopped, so they use one type of hops hallertau blanc hops which are highly aromatic German hops. You'll get a lot of notes of tropical fruit, flowers, citrus, pine and a slight bitterness. Overall, a really nice, easy drinking fun beer will pair well with burgers, pizza, pub food and served in a regular pint glass."

Triple Citrus Wheat Ale, High Key Brewing, Saskatoon

"It's a German style Hefeweizen, which just means wheat beer. It uses 100 per cent Saskatchewan grain bill from Maker's Malt in Rosthern, Saskatchewan. They loaded up this beer with three different types of fruit: mandarin oranges, grapefruit and lemons. It's also unfiltered, so it will have a slightly cloudy appearance, but it's absolutely delicious and very refreshing."

Hybrid Vigour, 9 Mile Legacy Brewing Company, Saskatoon

"They made this beer as a tribute to the Mrzen, which is traditionally served at Oktoberfest, but they call it a hybrid because instead of the traditional lager yeast, they use an ale yeast which speeds up the fermentation. They use 100 per cent Maker's Malt in this beer. It has Magnum hops and rich Vienna malt base. You get a lot more maltiness than hoppiness. It's five per cent alcohol. It's super drinkable."

Cherry Lambic, Rebellion Brewing Co., Regina

"This is a lambic-style beer based on the traditional Brussel styles. They aged it in oak barrels for two years and it goes through a spontaneous wild fermentation, from which you get a sour beer with a thick mouthfeel, a little bit cloudy, a little bit funky, but in a very good way. They get their sour cherries from Over the Hill orchards in Lumsden."

Robust Porter, Black Bridge Brewery, Swift Current

"The Robust Porter is an old school, London porter. It's a darker ale with roasted malts and it has aromas of toffee, coffee, chocolate, and ripe cherries on the finish."

Chocolate Oatmeal Stout, Better Brother Brewing Co., Saskatoon

"This stout is made from five different grains, all from Maker's Malt in Rosthern, Saskatchewan. It's a lighter stout. It's meant for the intermediate to beginner beer drinker and really has some notes of chocolate and espresso and a really nice long finish to it."

Cloud 9 New England IPA, 21st St. Brewery, Saskatoon

"They were actually the first brewers to make a New England style IPA in Saskatchewan.They add the hops later in the process, which gives it kind of a haze and citrusy flavor. So although there are a lot of hops added to it, that doesn't come out on the taste. This is a great beer as an introduction to IPAs."

India Pale Ale, Nokomis Craft Ales, Nokomis

"This is a classic IPA. They use four different types of hops to it and it's got that real bitterness and punch with notes of citrus and pine. Nokomis is also coming out with their double IPA within the next week or so. IPA lovers can watch for that. Double IPA just means there's more hops added and it will be a higher alcohol percentage."