Beer Compurgation

It is time to officially end one of my favourite blogging experiences. For four years I have looked forward to having a blog in December more than any other month. I'm already a geek for Christmas and to be able to combine that with a love for beer was a joy. On a night in November 2012 the i dea of doing a Beer Advent Calendar came to me . It was my first year blogging and so I was naive to the fact that such posts already existed. And then some. In hindsight the idea that nobody would have thought of such a simple idea was foolish. Still, as mine was exclusively Christmas-themed beer focused I had a slight niche and persevered. At times it has almost been a chore. December is a very busy time for me so finding the time to drink a Christmas themed beer each day has been problematic. Finding the time to write about a Christmas themed beer every day proved nearly impossible, with most years culminating in a completion post long after Christmas was finished , m...

Window Eighteen in this quickly progressing Advent Calendar is Goose Island Christmas Ale. It turns out I was lucky to experience Goose Island Christmas Ale as it no longer exists... OK it DOES exist but is now renamed Sixth Day for its 2013 release . Mine was the 2012 release and final under the name Goose Island Christmas Ale. It's had a fair while to age, bottled in May 2012, but being not entirely sure of the beer style I can't be sure this will be a good thing. This particular year is 7.3% and I see the first version of Sixth Day, this year, is 8.3% but apparently each year of Christmas Ale has been different. Let's see how this compares.   "It's the warmest time of year, Your Christmas whiskey means good cheer, A greedy smile from ear to ear..."   Goose Island Christmas Ale 2012 7.3% is a Nut Brown Ale that pours with a thin carbonation and rosewood Hue. It smells near sickly sweet with a spicy, earthy underlay and a piney hop hit. Y...

Bless my dear girlfriend for accepting my beer interest for what it is and supporting it in every way. It was never proven more than her happy, gleeful face when she bought me a bottle of Lincoln Green's Holly Green 5.5% knowing it would be perfect for my Advent Calendar. Her excitement was heightened more when I told her the honest truth that, not only had I  never seen this before, I'd never heard of Lincoln Green Brewery . It was the truth.   As I've found out since, Lincoln Green were only founded last year and seem to be trying to get in that unusual modern micro brewery market of being both "legendary" (according to their own bottles) and CAMRA approved. Rare, but not unwelcome, considering the stature just having a CAMRA approved Bottle Conditioned Ale provided just six years ago.   Holly Green gives little away about it's style from it's label and only hints at being a festive treat in it's endearing snowman induced label. Another murk...

I bought this on my first ever visit to B eermoth back in March , spotting the three wise men on the label and instantly grabbing it for this year's Advent Calendar. At this point, it was the first I'd heard of Special Holiday Ale 8.5% -  a collaborative brew between Nogne O, Stone Brewing and Jolly Pumpkin. Research into this shows that this a collaboration that has taken place each year since 2008 using the same recipe, but taken in turns to be housed at one of the 3 breweries each year, allowing for different brewing and aging practices. I like the premise and this particular is the second time the brew has taken place at Nogne O. A collaboration between three giants of brewing, Jolly Pumpkin were the only brewery I wasn't a huge fan of on purchase, but exploits into their Luciernaga and Noel de Calabaza in this very Advent calendar have made me a convert.   "Things are different since you've been here last Childhood dreaming is a thing of the past May...

For whatever valid reason, I'd begun to worry in previous years that some of are more modern and respected micro breweries were not embracing the festive season. With Christmas beers getting an undeserved bad reputation and not requiring a fistful of late hopping for style, I think many of them felt it was a tradition not for them. I've been proven wrong, of course, with this year I've discovered Christmas delights, whether new or old, from the likes of Red Willow, Ilkley , Hawkshead, Partizan and Revolutions to name a few. The Hop Studio are another usually hop focused brewery that have joined the seasonal spirit with There is NoEL in Christmas 4.5% . Having been launched just last year, the evidence seems to suggest this is the first year the brew has been released.   "We'll see the days of glory, We'll see the days when men of good will Live in peace, live in peace again."   The beer pours chestnut brown and is noticeably thin. The ches...

It's hard to begin a blog post with a mop in your hand. It's hard to really consider the depth or complexities of a beer when you are wiping dregs of it from your ornaments, books and plug sockets. It's difficult to consider a beverage's place in your festive line-up when all you want for Christmas is replacements to your personal possessions it has just damaged.   I speak, once more, of a gusher. Like it's previous American resident in this Advent Calendar, Jolly Pumpkin Noel de Calabaza 9% was so eager to escape from it's glass bottled coffin that it gushed all over my floor. Although, in fairness to it's predecessor, this did not just gush, it erupted, continuously building volcanic eruption until more than half of it was emptied, either onto laminate flooring or into a drinking glass.   In truth I was looking forward to this beer perhaps more than any other in my Advent Calendar. My recent sample of Jolly Pumpkin' s Luciernaga only made m...