The continuing saga of advent calendars
If you are curious to see what we’re drinking, then check it out here.
2020 the year of Covid and massive disruption to everything, everywhere. I’ve been wondering how the calendars would fare this year, especially BrewDog as they cancelled their Fanzine monthly promotion back in March when Covid lockdown struck the UK.
True enough, BrewDog didn’t bother with the premium calendar this year and shovelled out the cheap(er) one. A quick perusal of the contents (spoilers!) shows no super stouts like Abstrakt, or anything remotely special. Oh well, lets blame Covid for the lack of imagination from BrewDog and declare Honest Brew the winners this year. See you in 2021!
Well maybe not, that’s a bit harsh on BrewDog (but where’s my stouts!) and perhaps Honest Brew have dropped the ball too.
I’ve gone for the ‘standard’ calendar from Honest Brew as a fairer comparison to BrewDog plus I wasn’t convinced 2019's premium calendar was the best value around. There were some nice beers in it but it struggled to surpass BrewDogs premium and less costly calendar.
As usual, I’ll compare the beers from both calendars on a daily basis. BrewDog beers on the left and Honest Brew on the right.
Verdicts are purely subjective and based more on anticipation of how good the beer will be. Only the Tasting Notes will tell.
This year there will also be a Running Total of the daily cost of each beer to see if, at the end of the month, the calendars are actually worth it. The prices come straight out of Google Search and reflect the cheapest found.
Overall Verdict
Collecting the running totals gives us an insight into the relative value of each calendar.
Honest Brew’s calendar cost £64.90 and has an estimated £66 worth of beer — would have been slightly more if one of them wasn’t missing. There’s little mark-up here and whilst there’s no big discounts for bulk, at least you are not getting ripped off.
BrewDog’s calendar cost £50 and has an estimated £46 worth of beer, so a little bit of price mark-up.
It should be noted that BrewDog only have their beers in the calendar so all the profit is theirs. Honest Brew have to pay for the beer and their margins and profit don’t look to be that high.
The BrewDog range wasn’t as bad as I originally made out, but still not a patch on the Premium Calendar. On the daily tally, Honest Brew pip BrewDog by 16 to 15 but part of that is I’m jaded with the BrewDog range. As noted on Day One, time to drop the BrewDog calendar and try something different next year.
Day Twenty Four
BrewDog have their Christmas themed IPA, Hoppy Xmas.
Honest Brew have a black IPA from Six Degrees North brewers called Allez! Allez! Allez!
Verdict
Neither calendar pushed the boat out with the final door’s beers today. Having been used to a strong Russian Imperial Stout from BrewDog on the 24th, it’s all a bit meh.
Close call, but Honest Brew get the win with a cycling themed beer.
Tasting Notes
Allez! Allez! Allez!: Dark brown, rather than black and more like a traditional English bitter with extra bitterness.
Running Totals
Honest Brew: £66.08 (+£2.49)
BrewDog: £45.89 (+£1.74)
Day Twenty Three
Layer Cake from BrewDog is a sweet stout.
After yesterday’s faux pas, Honest Brew bring us a beer from brewers Brlo called Helles.
Verdict
Helles is a lager albeit brewed in a traditional German style. However, it can’t compete with a chunky stout so BrewDog FTW.
Tasting Notes
Layer Cake: Nice, thick, sweet tasting stout. Lovely drink.
Helles: Nothing special, a step up from Carling but that’s about all you can say about it.
Running Totals
Honest Brew: £63.59 (+£2.29)
BrewDog: £44.15 (+£2.94)
Day Twenty Two
BrewDog give us Elvis Hammer, a mash-up of Elvis Juice and Jack Hammer.
From Honest Brew we have “…”? Nothing; nil; zero; zilch; the big empty.
Verdict
Poor quality control from Honest Brew mean BrewDog win today.
Running Totals
Honest Brew: £61.30 (+£0.00)
BrewDog: £41.21 (+£1.74)
Day Twenty One
Juice Shack is another new beer from BrewDog.
Whilst Drumard from Brehon Brewhouse drops out the door of the Honest Brew calendar today.
Verdict
Another tie today. I enjoy the milkshake IPAs so expect BrewDog to have nailed this one. Drumard sounds tasty as an aged stout, but it’s not a Russian Imperial stout so narrowly misses on the win.
Tasting Notes
Juice Shack: Hmm, OK, but not overly tropical and a little lacking in the ‘milkshake’ department.
Drumard: Had this on the back of Layer Cake, so a thinner tasting stout. Has a dry, bitterness with an ashy aftertaste that you could begrudgingly call ‘smoky’. It might get better as I drink more.
Running Totals
Honest Brew: £61.30 (+£2.79)
BrewDog: £41.21 (+£1.74)
Day Twenty
Jagged Edge from Brewdog is touted as a “spiky” IPA.
Honest Brew have a White Hag beer from The Dark Druid range.
Verdict
Not sure what spikiness BrewDog will have and whilst I normally would be all over the stout, chocolate and orange are not my favourite combination of flavours.
It’s another draw.
Tasting Notes
The Dark Druid: A nice stout with the orange taste not overpowering the drink, luckily. Not as good as the Black Forest variant which is heavy on the cherries.
Running Totals
Honest Brew: £58.51 (+£2.79)
BrewDog: £39.47 (+£1.49)
Day Nineteen
BrewDog have an Overworks beer Sour Grinch.
Honest Brew package up Blatdesac from Spanish brewers Guineu.
Verdict
Two good looking beers today, so we’ll call it a draw.
Tasting Notes
Sour Grinch: BrewDog are not ones for understatement, so if it’s got sour in the title then it’ll be sour. This is definitely sour to the extent that everything else is just a hint, cranberry — yes; hazelnut and chocolate — nah.
Running Totals
Honest Brew: £55.72 (+£3.19)
BrewDog: £37.98 (+£2.49 guesstimate)
Day Eighteen
BrewDog’s strong beers pop up with Triple Hazy Jane.
Honest Brew have Spanish, or Basque if you prefer, Brewers Basqueland gift us with Bueno Bueno.
Verdict
Session IPA vs hard core IPA. Hmm, I enjoy these strong beers so a narrow win for BrewDog today.
Tasting Notes
Bueno Bueno: Another standard IPA, light, lively and nice tasting.
Triple Hazy: A strong IPA with an underlying sweetness to take the edge off the alcohol. Nice enough, but limited to one a night ;-)
Running Totals
Honest Brew: £52.53 (+£3.29 guesstimate)
BrewDog: £35.49 (+£3.94)
Day Seventeen
BrewDog bring us another favourite, Elvis Juice.
Honest Brew have Irish brewers Heaney supplying Dark Season (similar).
Verdict
Now, before we get into the verdict, let’s just say a big “WTF?” to the Elvis Presley estate for even bothering to care about a beer that has Elvis in the name.
Let us recall that this long dead crooner died, allegedly, eating burgers on the shitter. I wouldn’t bother to mention this, but hey, Streisand effect and stupid trademarks.
Anyhoo, if you’ve read any of these verdicts you know I’m on the ‘dark side’. Heaney for the anticipation win and fight-on BrewDog against trademark maximalists.
Tasting Notes
Dark Season: Expected more of a porter and was perplexed at the lightness and lack of stoutness. Having looked more closely at the label it is billed as a Dark Spiced Saison, so yes, black ale with a spritely taste. Didn’t catch any spiciness. Disconcerting but enjoyable nonetheless.
Elvis Juice: Still a nice drink after all these years, heavy on the grapefruit giving it a mild sour tang.
Running Totals
Honest Brew: £49.24 (+£2.99)
BrewDog: £31.55 (+£1.49)
Day Sixteen
Another day, another lager from BrewDog with Lost Lager.
Honest Brew have a red rye beer from Pühaste called Linalakk.
Verdict
No surprises that Linalakk wins today. I’ve had Lost Lager before and wish it had stayed lost.
Tasting Notes
Linalakk: A nice tasting beer. The blurb describes it as soft, fruity and creamy. Not sure about fruity but definitely soft and creamy. Definitely worth a taste.
Running Totals
Honest Brew: £46.25 (+£3.00, guesstimate)
BrewDog: £30.06 (+£1.24)
Day Fifteen
Clockwork Tangerine from BrewDog is a nice tangy session IPA from the core range.
Honest Brew bring us a pale ale from Whiplash called Honest Promise.
Verdict
Nothing spectacular today, so another draw.
Tasting Notes
Honest Promise: Very pale, cloudy ale with frothy head, but surprisingly little carbonation in the drink. A mild taste, no discernible flavours to speak of, but overall a nice drink. I’ll admit to having had my taste buds blasted by Buxton’s superb King Slayer prior to this, so on another day it might taste wholly different!
Running Totals
Honest Brew: £43.25 (+£3.00, guesstimate)
BrewDog: £29.82 (+£1.49)
Day Fourteen
BrewDog have another pale ale variant with Pale Ale.
Brew by Numbers have 01, a Saison Citra in the Honest Brew box today.
Verdict
It’s not often BrewDog understate the beer names, so this could just be another pale ale or it could the definitive Pale Ale.
Brew by Numbers have some good beers in their range and if 01 is based on their first release, then this should be good.
Hard to call it today, so we’ll go with a draw.
Tasting Notes
01: An average beer that belies it’s 6% ABV
Pale Ale: Wasn’t too bad. I’d go as far to say it was a decent session beer.
Running Totals
Honest Brew: £40.25 (+£4.00, guesstimate)
BrewDog: £28.33 (+£1.49)
Day Thirteen
Jack Hammer, BrewDog’s oldie IPA with bite.
Peninsula bring Puro Tropikal to Honest Brew.
Verdict
Jack Hammer is a good fallback beer, but Puro Tropikal gives every impression of being a juicy session IPA, so that’s m winner for the day.
Tasting Notes
Jack Hammer: Supposed to be a ruthless bitter with bite, but I’ve always found it to be a nice tasting but average beer.
Puro Tropikal: A standard session IPA with more bitterness than most. Nice but not a hint of Tropikal fruitiness.
Running Totals
Honest Brew: £36.25 (+£3.49)
BrewDog: £28.33 (+£3.00)
Day Twelve
BrewDog bring out a topically named lager, Lock Down.
The Wipers Times from Belgium brewers Kazematten are included in Honest Brew’s selection for the day.
Verdict
Another lager from BrewDog, which could be a fruity sour. Kazematten’s beer looks to be a traditional white beer.
Another draw for the day.
Tasting Notes
Running Totals
Honest Brew: £32.76 (+£2.69)
BrewDog: £25.33 (+£1.49)
Day Eleven
BrewDog bring out one of the big guns with O-G Hazy.
Honest Brew bring out another well-known brewer, Wiper and True with a Berliner Weisse named Mimosa.
Verdict
Hard to call this one. O-G Hazy is a good beer that I’ve had before and beers from Wiper and True are more often than not a good drink. A pleasant draw for this day.
Tasting Notes
Mimosa: A light sour with an effervescent hit on the tongue.
O-G Hazy: Not bad; got a strong alcohol kick. Can’t taste the fruitiness that BrewDog allude to — perhaps I’ve got COVID?
Running Totals
Honest Brew: £30.07 (+£2.39 guesstimate)
BrewDog: £23.84 (+£2.95)
Day Ten
A sour hazy IPA, Fake Empire, graces BrewDog’s calendar whilst Honest Brew have an New Zealand IPA from Round Corner called, Jandals & Togs.
Verdict
Fake Empire went straight into the fridge for later, so I guess that makes its today’s winner.
Tasting Notes
Fake Empire: A strong sour both in sourness and alcohol. Very enjoyable.
Jandals & Togs: Standard IPA
Running Totals
Honest Brew: £27.68 (+£2.39)
BrewDog: £20.89 (+£2.95)
Day Nine
BrewDog’s Duopolis looks tantalising. An oat cream DDH IPA.
Meanwhile Thornbridge make an appearance in the Honest Brew calendar with Kasperia, a Cashmere Pale Ale.
Verdict
Had neither of these before but Duopolis has grabbed my attention today, so BrewDog wins this round.
Tasting Notes
Duopolis: A ‘nothing’ beer. Not strong; not thick as a milkshake should be; not massively hoppy; not creamy. Bit of a let down when it promised so much.
Kasperia: An OK beer, like a light weisse bier.
Running Totals
Honest Brew: £25.29 (+£2.09)
BrewDog: £17.84 (+£1.49)
Day Eight
Another BrewDog oldie with Dead Pony Club.
Musa bring us Mick Lager in the Honest Brew box.
Verdict
Mick can keep his lager and I’ll have the Pale Ale from BrewDog, today’s winner.
Tasting Notes
Mick Lager: Had it last night and I can’t honestly recall what it tasted like, which probably meant it was OK.
Running Totals
Honest Brew: £23.20 (+£2.59)
BrewDog: £16.35 (+£1.49)
Day Seven
A light hazy IPA from BrewDog aptly named Light Speed. At first glance this would be a low alcohol take on Hazy Jane.
Honest Brew bring us Porter from spiky Spanish brewers Espiga.
Verdict
The Porter wins but Light Speed could be interesting.
Tasting Notes
Porter: A rounded porter style beer with hints of coffee. Worth getting a bottle if you can find it.
Light Speed: A surprisingly nice IPA. Quite light and very floral. Reminds me of Badger’s Golden Glory without the bitterness.
Running Total
Honest Brew: £20.61 (+£3.19)
BrewDog: £14.86 (+£1.75)
Day Six
BrewDog collaborate with Cloudwater to deliver a variant on the New England IPA. Had this before and it’s a nice enough beer.
Honest Brew have packaged a Smoked Lager from Bristol Brewers Moor.
Verdict
Smoked Lager could be one of those things you think your going to hate, like Haggis, but it’s not too bad. Unlike, say, Brussel Sprouts, they’re just evil.
I think it’s a tie today as most lager should just be burnt.
Tasting Notes
New England IPA: A mellow hazy IPA that is fruity, thick and has an aftertaste that shouts STRONG BEER. You are immediately warned not to quaff this one, unlike some of it’s peers.
Smoked Lager: No. You can fucking keep this. Worst drink so far. Smokiness requires some tanginess to balance the taste, but there’s nothing but piss underlying this.
Running Total
Honest Brew: £17.42 (+£2.07)
BrewDog: £13.11 (+£3.00)
Day Five
Double Punk, BrewDog’s new Punk IPA to challenge some of the strong IPAs that are on the shelves today.
Siren Craft’s mouthful of a beer Castilian Lemon and Honey Cheesecake is №5 from Honest Brew.
Verdict
Double Punk’s going to be good but for novelty and anticipation Siren’s beer takes the prize for Honest Brew.
Tasting Notes
Castilian Lemon and Honey Cheesecake: A nice sour with definite aftertaste of honey. Not tasting the Lemon, but maybe that’s just part of the sourness.
Double Punk: No messing with this one and hiding the strength behind hazy sweetness. This tastes strong, the alcohol is front and centre with a bitterness that hangs around the palette. Very enjoyable.
Running Total
Honest Brew: £15.35 (+£3.99 for 330ml, so for 440ml lets call it £4.75)
BrewDog: £10.11 (+£2.99)
Day Four
Snow Ball, a ‘cream soda lager’ from BrewDog.
Quickly moving on, Honest Brew bring us Roggenbier courtesy of brewers Stu Mostow. A ‘top fermented’ rye beer in the traditional Bavarian style.
Verdict
Snow Ball, what the McFuck is this abomination!
Needless to say Honest Brew win the day.
As an aside, this reminds me of a joke that my friend swears happened. People in a cinema are watching Waterworld and in the opening scene it shows Costner pissing in a tub which he then pours into a funnel. The camera pans back through a semi-complex purification process to show the output being poured into beaker from which Costner takes a swig. Some wag in the audience shouts out “So that’s how you make lager!”
Tasting Notes
Roggenbier: A good German style beer. Reminiscent of wheat beers as there is definitely that flavour, but not to the extent of a Hoegaarden or its ilk. Very enjoyable and a nice change to the strong Hazy DIPAs I’ve been enjoying.
Running Total
Honest Brew: £10.60 (+£2.29 for bottle, can is 440ml so lets call it £2.75)
BrewDog: £7.22 (+£1.49, not on sale so lets assume it’s similar to Lockdown Lager)
Day Three
Another favourite from BrewDog with Hazy Jane, a hazy (duh) IPA that has a good taste.
Honest Brew keep up the pressure with a Signature Brew called Nightliner.
Verdict
Nightliner is a Coffee Porter so it’s immediately got my attention and the vote.
Tasting Notes
Nightliner: An understated coffee taste that doesn’t overpower and a thinner drink than yesterdays milk stout. Nice and quaffable for such a strong brew.
Hazy Jane: A good beer from BrewDog. A not unpleasant aftertaste that could be the tangerine kicking in.
Running Total
Honest Brew: £7.85 (+£2.79)
BrewDog: £5.73 (+£1.49)
Day Two
BrewDog let fly with Jet Stream which is an American style IPA with some British Airways branding.
Honest Brew up the ante and ship a Galway Bay milk stout called Buried at Sea.
Verdict
Honest Brew win primarily by dint of it being a stout. Jet Stream could be OK, but a sneak peek over at Untapped suggests it’s a simple session beer.
Tasting Notes
Buried at Sea: A pleasant enough milk stout. Has a thicker feel than perhaps a mid-ABV stout should. Worth a try.
Jet Stream: Don’t bother. A nothing beer that tastes more like a lager than a Pale Ale. BrewDog don’t often do shit beers, but this is one of them.
Running Total
Honest Brew: £5.06 (+£2.86)
BrewDog: £4.24 (+£1.74 ~ assuming same price as Speedbird)
Day One
Both calendars show off some mediocre beers that lack any ‘wow’ factor for the first day. I’ve sampled both beers before and neither stand out.
BrewDog go with Punk IPA which was amazing when it first came out but now I only buy if the only other choice is traditional British Bitters. There’s so much better on the shelves of the supermarkets.
Honest Brew have New Zealand brewers Yeastie Boys and their White Noise session beer.
Verdict
An easy win for Honest Brew but maybe it’s time to try a different set of calendars next year ;-)
Tasting Notes
Punk IPA: Still a good drink after all these years. A good fall-back drink for when the Hazy IPAs are too much.
White Noise: A palatable bitter IPA.
Running Total
Honest Brew: £2.20
BrewDog: £2.50
Unboxing
Honest Brew have similar packaging to last year with a refresh of the graphics adding more colour.
BrewDog have changed their packaging (although this is the cheaper one so may have always been like this). It is a ‘cans only’ design where the height gives it away that there’s no special bottles inside. It features BrewDog’s new shield design on everything. As branding goes it’s fine, albeit unimaginative.
The box is actually a few inches too large for the insides and everything has shifted over. With door one being in the middle it was unclear which beer was number one as the divider was in the middle.
