To prepare for the end of 2014 and in anticipation of the upcoming holiday season, I’ve decided to take part in an idea from Andy Higgs of Grown-up Travel Guide and complete a Beer Advent Calendar of sorts. Beginning with the fourth Sunday before Christmas (November 30) all the way through Christmas Eve, I will try to drink a different beer each day and share it here.
This is the final post in this series, taking in a collection of holiday beers from the last days of the Advent season.
Day 22: Sunday, December 21, 2014 – Sylvester (2014) by Koninklijke Brand Bierbrouwerij
Sylvester is the Dutch name for New Year’s Eve, so I guess I’m a little early with this one, but glad I tried it! It’s a decent winter beer, with interesting flavors. Brand is one of the better “macro” breweries here in the Netherlands, so I’m always interested in trying their seasonal beers like this one.
Day 23: Monday, December 22, 2014 – Tsjeeses Reserva Bourbon Barrel Aged (2013) by De Struise Brouwers
Another pickup from my summer visit to De Struise brewery, along with the Port Barrel Aged that I tried last week. This one is smokier, with much more trace of the barrel than in the port. I did enjoy it, as it is an extraordinary beer, but I do think I enjoyed the Port Barrel Aged a little bit more this year. I’m going to look for the 2014 editions in the next few days for comparison.
Day 24: Tuesday, December 23, 2014 – Gauloise Christmas by Brasserie du Bocq
Things are very quiet at work right now, as everyone is on vacation for the holidays. I decided, why not, I have enough days saved up, so I took the afternoon off and headed over to Antwerp to check out their Christmas Market and see if I could find another nice Belgian Christmas Beer to add to the calendar. Unfortunately, the Kulminator is closed for the holidays, so I ventured off to another good beer bar in town, the ‘t Antwaerps Bierhuyske near the central market square. A nice bar that I don’t believe I’ve been to before, with a very good selection of Belgian beers, including a number of Christmas beers. I tried this one first, which was very nice. I did follow-up with another Christmas beer, the Stille Nacht from De Dolle which I truly loved, but I had already “opened the window” on this one 🙂
Day 25: Wednesday, December 24, 2014 – Titanbräu Birra Di Natale 2012 by Birrificio Artigianale Sammarinese
From the first day of this Beer Advent Calendar, I knew this Christmas Beer would be the final beer of the series, the Christmas Eve beer. I’ve been holding on to this beer since our 23-country road trip in October, 2013, where we picked it up in our short stop in San Marino. This is one of the most beautifully produced beer labels I have ever come across, and the beer is excellent as well! It’s a little past it’s prime according to the bottle, with a drink-by date of October, 2013 (when we picked it up), but it is holding up well, with a little added bitterness perhaps, and is a great way to end this Beer Advent Calendar series.
Thanks for following along on this beer journey through the holiday season! I hope you enjoyed some of the beers, and maybe drew some inspiration for beers to try yourself, either this year or the next years!
I hope you all have a Merry Christmas, and a Happy and Healthy New Year!
