Not only is Santa’s Little Helper Port Brewing’s best-selling seasonal, it’s an automatic contender on top winter beer lists like Paste's Magazine's "Best Christmas Beers." Draft Magazine also featured it as one of the essential “25 Beers of Christmas.”

Come Winter, it appears in the refrigerators of dark beer fans throughout Southern California - popping up in six packs so beer goers can drink its chocolate-heavy, woody roasts on the regular.

Pouring as black as a naughty kid’s lump of coal, the first sniff of this brew is like trapping your nose in a Ghiradelli dark chocolate bar -- think 70% grade or higher. Once your palate adjusts to the liberal cocoa flavors, an entire gift bag of adult-candy unfolds: milky ganache, toasted marshmallows, bourbon, and Tahitian vanilla toffee.

Outside of SoCal, we get the brew in 22 oz bottles and that’s good for us -- we’re not as acclimated to its dense, concentrated flavors. We need to sip and share -- diving into a six-pack habit with this 10.5% ABV seasonal staple would be like running a marathon without any training.

Invite it into your glass and see for yourself why it’s become a vital part of holiday drinking for 20 years running.

Rated 4.02 on Beer Advocate