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

Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale

Chico, California - 6.8% abv

We wanted to start this party off with a bang, and what better way than with a Celebration!

Sierra Nevada may be one of America’s largest breweries, but they remain family-owned, and their consistent quality is something anyone can appreciate. Craft beer fans look forward every year (and have since 1981!) to this fresh-hop IPA, which is brewed only once annually each September immediately following the hop harvest.

While dried hops in various forms are used in beer brewing all year, it’s only at this special harvest time when the sticky, resinous fresh hop buds are available and can make a brighter, more intensely hoppy and aromatic IPA.

Sierra Nevada sources three of the traditional West Coast hop varieties (Cascade, Centennial, and Chinook) from Washington and Oregon, to showcase the familiar citrus and pine aromas we all know and love. They expertly balance that intense hoppy bitterness with a robust malt backbone, making this beer a very flavorful but incredibly drinkable IPA.

So with this first beer of the 2021 Advent Calendar, Spencer & Lynn wishes you peace, love, and *hoppiness* this holiday season!

pmenschDecember 1, 2021KimComment