Happy December! The first of the month means it’s officially Advent calendar season which heralds the return of the longest-running annual feature here on the blog: the Beer Advent Calendar! Each day counting down to Christmas I’ll feature a new holiday- or winter-themed beer to seek out.
To kick things off, the very first Advent Beer for 2025 is an annual favorite from Oregon’s Block 15 Brewing—Hoppy Holidays Imperial IPA. Hoppy Holidays embraces the spirit of the season with the addition of citrus and fresh spruce tree tips, which are hand-foraged at Starker Forests.
This yuletide IPA is brewed with a sleighful of hops, orange zest, and foraged spruce tips. Our gift of pine and citrus is wrapped in a warm malt backbone that is sure to bring holiday cheer.
250 Pounds of Spruce tips went into the beer, which were hand-foraged by our staff at Starker Forests in the Coast Range. 100 pounds of orange zest add the perfect amount of fruity flavor.
It’s a hefty and warming imperial IPA at 9.2% alcohol by volume, and one of several specialty seasonals the brewery releases for the holidays. It’s a good beer to kick off this annual feature and I do indeed wish everyone a hoppy holidays!
Find Block 15 Hoppy Holidays on:
Image credits: Block 15’s Facebook page and website.
