Once again, we had a blast putting together our annual Craft Beer Advent Calendar!! We've thoughtfully chosen twenty-four of the best beers to enjoy in December 2021, and wrapped them up together as the best advent calendar ever: one that surprises you with a new, limited, seasonal beer every day!

We've represented many of the best cans and bottles coming from our amazing local craft beer scene, alongside some ancient, traditional brews from across the planet, and even included some new and unexpected flavors and styles as well. With an array of IPAs, a smattering of sours, some crisp clean lagers, some way more obscure and nerdy lagers, plus all the roasty malty dark beers you could possibly want to keep you cozy throughout this holiday season... this year's selection is sure to delight any craft beer drinker, from novice to connoisseur.

We thank you for joining us for our second annual Beer Advent Calendar, and invite you to sip along with these daily tasting notes that we’ve put together for each individual beer. Once again for your convenience we saved the heaviest-hitters - those with alcohol contents over 7% - for the weekends. We sincerely hope you enjoy these selected seasonal offerings as much as we really do too!!

Cheers to you, cheers to craft beer, and cheers to the 2021 holidays!
Kim, James, Kelly, Jules, Jessica, Kathryn, Ashley, David & Pamela

Berkshire Brewing Company Steel Rail Extra Pale Ale

South Deerfield, Massachusetts / 5.3% abv

From the scenic Berkshires just over the border in Massachusetts, Berkshire Brewing Co. makes some super solid, underrated craft beers in myriad traditional styles. Their flagship, Steel Rail Extra Pale Ale, reminds us of why we love beer in the first place.

Extremely thirst-quenching, with fruity flavors and a subtle sweetness, this beer just goes down easy. We get flavors of ripe red delicious apples and a biscuit/cracker maltiness. The trademark soft, fine carbonation feels almost creamy, and demonstrates this often-overlooked humble brewery’s true finesse.

We agree with renowned beer writer Lew Bryson, and think he hit the rail spike on the head when he said Steel Rail EPA is “what the water in heaven oughta taste like.”

pmenschDecember 2, 2021KimComment