Christmas drink traditions in Sweden

I am currently stocking up on my specially brewed Christmas beers, both alcohol-free and otherwise, along with glögg, julmust and svagdricka (explained below). All of these seasonal drinks appear in the Swedish shops, or they can be ordered from the central warehouses. The products available can vary from year to year.

The first of these drinks (glögg) is a punch or mulled wine, which is traditionally consumed during winter, especially around Christmas. The recipes vary widely throughout Scandinavia, but essentially it is based on white or sweet wine, or spirits such as brandy or cognac. Water is first boiled and the chosen spices are added to it, and this is simmered. The resulting mixture is sieved, and the wine or spirits are added; or fruit juice is added for a non-alcoholic version. It is consumed with gingerbread (round, star-shaped, heart-shaped), and almonds and sultanas are soaked in the brew in the special cup it is served in. You can read more about it here, or watch a video here.

The second drink (julmust) is a soda. The underlying syrup (called must) is apparently made exclusively by Roberts in the town of Örebro. This syrup is sold to soft-drink manufacturers, who then make the final product their own way. The syrup is apparently made of carbonated water, sugar, hop extract, malt extract, spices, caramel colouring, and citric acid. You can read more about it here or here.

The third drink (svagdricka) is a low-alcohol malt drink (less than 2.25% ABV). It is sweet and dark. You can read a little more about it here.
  

There are also the specially brewed Christmas beers, both alcohol-free and otherwise. Swedes love their beers, and there are special brews released for different celebrations (Säsongslanseringar = Seasonal releases), including Easter, and Octoberfest, in addition to Christmas. You can check out the current alcoholic releases (80 at the time of writing, mainly ales, and dark or medium-dark lagers) from the alcohol-monopoly (Systembolaget), with the catalog at: Julöl. I should also note that many of the low-alcohol beers in Sweden are actually very good.

Sweden also makes many fruit wines, as I recently noted in my post: What countries are best represented in Sweden’s wine retailer monopoly?

Jack Jakobsson has a summary (in Swedish) of the 2025 Xmas drink releases at: Julen 2025: Systembolaget | hela provningen.

This is, indeed, a joyous time! God jul! 1

1 Note that on 27 August 2025 a publication appeared called: How much is too much? A methodological investigation of the literature on alcohol consumption and health. It states: “We conclude that the claim that ‘there is no safe level’ of alcohol intake is not sufficiently supported based on our current scientific knowledge.” Quite right, too.