It may still be November, but the Christmas trees are up in town centres and Frank and Bing Croon Carols is blaring out of every shop. It's time to prepare for Christmas. Several brewers are already ahead of the game and have seasonal beers for the festive period. Leicester brewer Everards has launched its perennial Christmas favourite Sleighbell. So festive is the beer that each special pump clip comes with bells on. The 4.5 per cent cask ale will be available throughout December.
Erika Hardy, brands manager for Everards, said: "We're making Sleighbell available again for the Christmas period due to its success and popularity in previous years. We hope that real ale enthusiasts and those not so familiar with our ales will be tempted to try this traditional Christmas beer."
Moorhouse's brewery has launched a new Christmas special called Santa's Piste. The 4.5 per cent beer replaces Reinbeer's Revenge as the Lancashire brewer's seasonal offering, as Moorhouse's 140th anniversary year draws to a close.
Wychwood brewery in Oxfordshire has announced it will be launching an extension to its Brakspear brand for Christmas. O' Be Joyful was originally brewed in 1993 and stands at 4.8 per cent ABV.
And added to this the brewery has unveiled the fruity five per cent beast that is Santa Claws which head brewer Jeremy Moss calls "Christmas pudding in a glass".
Finally, St Peter's Brewery in Suffolk has launched two winter beers, Spiced Ale Cinnamon and Apple and the 6.5 percent Winter Ale.