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

Crabbie’s Alcoholic Ginger Beer

Edinburgh, Scotland - 4.8% abv

This next beer is basically a gingerbread cookie in a bottle! Many have tried to imitate this style, but no one even comes close to the consistent quality of Crabbie’s alcoholic ginger beer. The key to the piquant aromas and flavors is their use of real raw ginger, steeped for a prolonged period of up to six weeks. Exceptionally fragrant with an unrestrained, earthy ginger spice and a balancing warming sweetness on the palate, this is a great mouthwatering indulgence that’s equally delicious on its own or as a robust ingredient in cocktails. The real ginger flavor complements a wide variety of spirits and flavors and would get along with in a mixed drink with any of your favorite spirits. Another idea would be to save one for after eating a big dinner, when you could really benefit from the stomach-calming qualities of real ginger.

Back in the 1800s when Crabbie’s was founded, trekking across Asia in search of the best ginger and spices in the world, John Crabbie fell in love with the elephants that he saw in his travels. This great admiration is reflected in the elephant logo that adornes every Crabbies Ginger Beer label to this day. Today they honor the founder’s dedication to the species by partnering with the Millenium Elephant Foundation in Sri Lanka to protect these endangered giants, providing yet another reason to enjoy this delicious treat.

pmenschDecember 19, 2021KimComment