Roundup
Three advent calendars, twenty four days and seventy two beers later we can summarise what each calendar had to offer and how they compare overall.
For the day to day opening, read the previous story here.
The first thing to note is that all the calendars offered a great selection of beers. Most of the beers inside you will not have come across unless you subscribe to some of the beer companies catalogues. I don’ t think anyone would have been disappointed with their calendar.
Beer Types
It was an interesting range of beers too, here’s a table with a break down styles:
The first thing to note is that BrewDog are big on the stouts. If you don’t like strong, heavy stouts that need sipping, then choose one of the other calendars. BrewDog also had a few other drinks in here, a ginger ale and G&T.
Lager type beers including pilsners were thankfully few and far between.
Novelty Factor
How did they compare for novelty? Here’s a table based off the daily verdicts, using an arbitrary points system:
Interesting that Beer Hawk tops the novelty table. No surprise that BrewDog come last. I subscribe to BrewDogs FanZine and have been getting three beers every fortnight so many of their beers are familiar and lack the novelty factor.
Again, I don’t think you’d be disappointed in any of the calendars as far as range or novelty goes.
Notable Points
BrewDog came out with some heavy hitters and overall strong beers. Putting a special beer in the last day was a good finishing touch.
Beer Hawks use of little info-snippets on the inside of the calendar doors was a great idea and gave a bit of background on each days beer or brewery.
The packaging of all the calendars was well done.
Comparing the BrewDog calendar to last year they upped their game a little as far as packaging and Xmas themed drinks. Of note though, there was no glass this year (good or bad?) and no Tokyo* or Hop Shot. I was really looking forward to some these super strong beers. Oh, well. the Xmas sales are here now :-)
Price
BrewDog £70
Honest Brew £69.90
Beer Hawk £59.95
At face value, the Beer Hawk calendar seems a bargain. Good beers, for £10 less that the others.
BrewDog, however had some quality beers in there. Their strong stouts usually cost £10 on their own so they win the value award. It’s worth noting that when it’s your own beer you are selling you’ve cut out a layer or two of middle men and thus can discount more.
Overall Verdict
The BrewDog calendar is being ordered for next year. The quality of the beers is superb, hoppy IPAs and strong stouts evenly split with a few novelty drinks thrown in.
I’d happily choose any of the others for next year, but if budget is a concern, then go for the cheapest.
Well done to BrewDog, Honest Brew and Beer Hawk. You’ve been fantastic, cheers!