The continuing saga of advent calendars
2021where Covid is business as usual and retailers are learning to cope with the disruption to the supply chain. If that wasn’t enough, there’s fucking Brexit with chaos at the ports, a shortage of lorry drivers, food and petrol all causing more delivery woe. It’s amazing any of the beer purveyors got anything done this year, let alone deliver their calendars!
For the first time I’ve not included BrewDog’s calendar. The standard calendar from last year was mediocre and they’ve not bothered with a premium calendar, again. To make matters worse, the UK calendar’s contents compare poorly to the US one that, at first glance, offers more variety.
So this year we’re having a showdown with calendars from Honest Brew and Beer 52. Honest Brew have featured every year so far (only because I’ve a monthly £10 subscription which pays for the calendar ) whilst this is Beer 52’s first outing. We are familiar with Beer 52 from their CyberFest online virtual beer drinking parties which coupled some excellent theatrics with a great choice of beer.
As usual, I’ll compare the beers from both calendars on a daily basis. Honest Brew beers on the left and Beer 52 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.
The Running Total will feature again, showing 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. Prices in italics are guesstimates if no price can be found from UK sellers.
Overall Verdict
8% lagers, 21% stout and 2% cider, so not a bad range of beers this year.
The calendars were evenly matched with Beer 52 slightly edging the daily verdicts despite shipping all the lagers.
They were both in the same ballpark on price too, with Beer 52 being the more expensive. Probably a reflection of their website prices more than actual calendar value.
Day Twenty Four
Honest Brew serve up Fancy Cathedrals from Boundary.
Konrad’s Stout from Lervig is the final showing from Beer 52.
Verdict
Two stouts to finish off the calendars. the Imperial Stout from Lervig wins the final for Beer 52.
Tasting Notes
Fancy Cathedrals nice tasting stout.
Konrad’s Stout lovely, thick and string tasting stout.
Running Totals
Honest Brew: £74.79 (+£2.79)
Beer52: £88.78 (+£4.95)
Day Twenty Three
Cervesa Espiga have Mosaic in the Honest Brew’s calendar.
Zoet & Zalig from brewers De Molen are in the Beer 52 door.
Verdict
A strong stout from Beer 52 wins today, but it’s flavoured with cinnamon so it might be a trojan horse.
Tasting Notes
Zoet & Zalig Yeah, the cinamon spoilt this a little. More of a dark ale than a stout, too.
Running Totals
Honest Brew: £71.90 (+£3.50)
Beer52: £83.83 (+£6.00)
Day Twenty Two
Milkshake IPA from The Garden Brewery, this time in Honest Brew’s calendar.
DC Brau have Continuing Resolution in the Beer 52 calendar.
Verdict
IPA vs Milkshake IPA, hard to decide but glorious can artwork swings it for Beer 52.
Tasting Notes
Continuing Resolution A lovely, strong, hazy IPA.
Milkshake IPA Smooth, sweet, nice.
Running Totals
Honest Brew: £68.40 (+£3.19)
Beer52: £77.83 (+£7.49)
Day Twenty One
360 Degrees brewing have Fog and Sunrise in the Honest Brew door today.
Stu Mostow’s Holiday Stout has a repeat visit but in the Beer 52 door this time.
Verdict
The Holiday Stout was lovely, so Beer 52 for the win over the Hazy Pale.
Tasting Notes
Fog & Sunrise Nice hazy IPA, not as juicy as you’d get with Simcoe hops.
Running Totals
Honest Brew: £65.21 (+£2.50)
Beer52: £70.34 (+£4.29)
Day Twenty
Whisky Cask from Thistly Cross in Honest Brews calendar.
Beer 52 feature Jaleo from Peninsula
Verdict
Easy win for Beer 52. Pff, cider, what were Honest Brew thinking?
Tasting Notes
Jaleo Standard hazy IPA.
Thistly Cross Rik said “it was alright”
Running Totals
Honest Brew: £62.71 (+£2.45)
Beer52: £66.05 (+£3.00)
Day Nineteen
Stu Mostow feature again in the Honest Brew calendar with Glowing.
Station to Station from Whiplash is Beer 52’s contender.
Verdict
Another day, another draw.
Tasting Notes
Station to Station excellent, strong IPA. Hazy, hoppy, recommended.
Running Totals
Honest Brew: £59.26 (+£3.50)
Beer52: £63.05 (+£6.49)
Day Eighteen
Cloudwater have How Wonderful! in the Honest Brew calendar.
White Hag grace Beer 52’s door with Yule.
Verdict
Another two good choices, another draw.
Tasting Notes
How Wonderful A good pale ale
Yule A nice beer that is light on the xmas spices, thankfully.
Running Totals
Honest Brew: £55.76 (+£3.00)
Beer52: £56.56 (+£3.09)
Day Seventeen
OBroth3r partner with Honest Brew and have re:/format.
Beer 52 and Two Tribes get together for Metroland.
Verdict
Another draw, pale ale vs IPA and both looking tasty.
Tasting Notes
re:/format Fine but otherwise unmemorable.
Metroland not bad but has a sour tang to it.
Running Totals
Honest Brew: £52.76 (+£2.49)
Beer52: £53.37 (+£2.49)
Day Sixteen
Siren Craft feature again, but this time in Honest Brew’s calendar with Riding the Wave.
Rascals supply Beer 52 with Hazy in Love.
Verdict
Two good looking IPAs, another draw.
Tasting notes
Riding the Wave a nice hoppy IPA, clean tasting, slighty hazy. Doesn’t say it’s unfiltered, but there’s plenty of sediment.
Hazy in Love Standard hazy IPA though not as ‘juicy’ as most others.
Running Totals
Honest Brew: £50.27 (+£2.50)
Beer52: £50.88 (+£2.99)
Day Fifteen
Honest Brew have Six North’s Riviera IPA.
Vocation have Pure Pilsner for Beer 52.
Verdict
Easy win for Honest Brew as Beer 52 supply another lager variant.
Tasting Notes
Riviera IPA A little tart, but nice enough.
Running Totals
Honest Brew: £47.77 (+£3.50)
Beer52: £47.89 (+£2.05)
Day Fourteen
Spanish brewer Cerveses La Pirata feature in Honest Brew ‘s door with Nadala Winter Ale.
Siren Craft Brew show off Enter Simcoe in Beer 52’s door.
Verdict
Two good looking beers with nothing between them. A draw today.
Tasting Notes
Enter Simcoe lovely hazy IPA. Simcoe hops seem to produce a softer, sweeter tasting IPA.
Running Totals
Honest Brew: £44.27 (+£3.00)
Beer52: £45.84 (+£3.55)
Day Thirteen
Fierce have Fierce Rhubarb in the Honest Brew door.
Beer 52 sees use with Grapevine from Fallen Brewing.
Verdict
Unlucky 13 for me as I’m not at all keen of Rhubarb, too many memories of stewed rhubarb and custard for school pudding, so Beer 52 win today.
Tasting Notes
Grapevine nice pale ale which is a little stronger than most.
Running Totals
Honest Brew: £41.27 (+£2.25)
Beer52: £42.29 (+£3.10)
Day Twelve
Verdant have Light Bulb in the Honest Brew calendar.
Père Noël from Belgium brewers De Ranke is with Beer 52 today.
Verdict
Two good beers today, pale ale vs “xceptional Xmas Beer” (sic) Hmm, Beer 52 takes a narrow win.
Tasting Notes
Light Bulb A nice beer, hoppy taste, quaffable.
Père Noël a dark Belgium style beer, hazy, unfiltered, with a strong alcohol taste. Nice.
Running Totals
Honest Brew: £39.02 (+£3.50)
Beer52: £39.19 (+£2.70)
Day Eleven
Honest Brew have Portuguese brewers Musa with Saison O’Conner.
Garden Brewery have a German style lager in the Beer 52 calendar, Keller Helles.
Verdict
Yeah, you guessed, Honest Brew for the win.
Tasting Notes
Saison O’Conner nice saison, with a Weiss-Bier type taste.
Running Totals
Honest Brew: £35.52 (+£1.98)
Beer52: £39.19 (+£2.49)
Day Ten
Honest Brew gift us with Rooster Brewing’s First World Problems stout. (surely this should’ve been Thirst World Problems…)
To OI are in Beer 52’s calendar with Quaffzilla.
Verdict
Two nice looking beers, but the stout wins for Honest Brew.
Tasting Notes
First World Problems A nice stout, big hints of caramel.
Quaffzilla A really good tasting hoppy IPA
Running Totals
Honest Brew: £33.63 (+£3.80)
Beer52: £36.70 (+£2.99)
Day Nine
Stu Mostow have Holiday Stout in the Honest Brew’s door.
A festive Super Santa from Amundsen in Beer 52’s door — well, it’s more of a flap as the whole calendar has virtually collapsed!
Verdict
Super Stout Day, with two Xmas themed beers! Another drawer.
Tasting Notes
Super Santa Another nice stout, chocolaty.
Holiday Stout Good, thick stout that probably forms the base of a good Russian Imperial stout
Running Totals
Honest Brew: £29.83 (+£4.29)
Beer52: £34.71 (+£3.95)
Day Eight
Honest Brew have collaorated with Dot Brew to bring us Maple Breakfast.
Whilst Beer 52 bring us a Stieglbock from Stiegl.
Verdict
Easy win for Honest Brew. As we said before, “you don’t win friends with Lager”, even if it is a 7% ABV one.
Tasting Notes
Stieglbock strong fizzy lager. Unfortunately had this on the back of a few of Arkell’s Noel and it can’t compete for taste.
Maple Breakfast Sweet stout, pleasant enough.
Running Totals
Honest Brew: £25.54 (+£2.99)
Beer52: £30.76 (+£3.19)
Day Seven
Honest Brew serves us an interesting collaboration from Mondo and Calusa Brewing gives us Christmas in Florida.
Beer 52 have Raspberry Gose from Yonder.
Verdict
Honest Brew’s collaboration beer sounds good but is a DDH IPA, so maybe nothing special. The Gose from Beer 52 pips it today.
Tasting Notes
Raspberry Gose wasn’t quite as raspberry as I was expecting, but damn it was a fine sour gose.
Christmas in Florida Double Dry Hopped (DDH) pale ale, low ABV so not as hard hitting as most of it’s kindred. Nice enough.
Running Totals
Honest Brew: £22.55 (+£2.99)
Beer52: £27.57 (+£4.80) Did see this on sale for discounted £2.50 but was out-of-stock.
Day Six
Winter Fruits Sour, a Buxton Brewery beer for Honest Brew.
Wild Beer’s Pulsar is a Hazy IPA in Beer 52’s calendar.
Verdict
Two interesting beers with not much to put one above the other, so a draw again.
Tasting Notes
Pulsar is a standard hazy IPA tagged as a session IPA due to the lower than usual (all ~1%) so lacks the fullness of a stronger IPA, but that just means you can drink more of them!
Winter Fruits Sour not very fruity but definitely sour, nice if you have a preference for that.
Running Totals
Honest Brew: £19.56 (+£2.49)
Beer52: £22.77 (+£2.99)
Day Five
Honest Brew have a regular guest, Brlo, who supply a West Coast IPA “packed with notes of tangerine, grapefruit and pine”.
Beer 52 favour London brewers Hammerton with their Sundae Sauce, a chocolate and vanilla sundae stout.
Verdict
It’s Sunday, I prefer stouts, so the Sundae Sauce wins but I expect it promises more than it can deliver and Brlo’s fruity IPA will be better.
Tasting Notes
Sundae Sauce a sweet stout more vanilla than chocolate. Nice in small doses.
Brlo IPA Very nice, lots of tangerine hints.
Running Totals
Honest Brew: £17.07 (+£3.49)
Beer52: £20.78 (+£5.00)
Day Four
Retro Gamer, a cherry Berliner Weisse from Tanker is in Honest Brew’s calendar.
Nothing Stops Mobberley Brewhouse from slipping into Beer 52’s number four door (see what I did there?)
Verdict
Two great beers, the retro Gamer packaging is attractive and appeals to the 1980’s kid in me so it’s a narrow win for Honest Brew.
Tasting Notes
Retro Gamer; cherry weisse sums it up, a sour base that isn’t unpleasant, but probably better on a summers day.
Nothing Stops is a good hazy, hoppy IPA. Definitely the better of the two today.
Running Totals
Honest Brew: £13.58 (+£3.00)
Beer52: £15.78 (+£4.50)
Interestingly, you can get Retro Gamer direct from Tanker for £1.70 at today’s exchange rate.
Day Three
Round Corner Brewing feature in Honest Brew’s door today with Saison Du Melton.
Beer52 have a Vienna style lager from Utopian.
Verdict
As the Simpson’s say “you don’t win friends with Lager” so Honest Brew take the win today.
Tasting Notes
Saison Du Melton Lots of spice flavours percolating through this one, which means it’s not one I personally enjoy. Smells like a urinal cake too.
Running Totals
Honest Brew: £10.58 (+£3.25)
Beer52: £11.28 (+£2.80)
Day Two
Brew By Numbers have 10 — a coffee porter for Honest Brew.
Coincidently there’s a stout in Beer 52’s door, from Saugatuck Brewing co. called The Ghost of Neapolitan White Stout.
Verdict
An excellent set of dark beers, and it’s too close to call, so a draw today.
Tasting Notes
The Ghost of Neapolitan Definitely tastes chocolaty-vanilla. Taste and smells stronger than the 6% ABV would imply. Yeah, not bad for an occasional brew.
10 — Coffee Porter They aren’t joking about the coffee, it’s front and centre in this. A touch of vanilla to enhance the smoothness, but it’s only for the cocoa bean aficionados out there.
Running Totals
Honest Brew: £7.33 (+£4.50)
Beer52: £8.48 (+£3.99)
Day One
Honest Brew start with Backstage IPA from London brewers Signature Brew.
Beer52 have North Brewing Co.’s Empire of Sound which is a West Coast IPA.
Verdict
Two nice looking IPAs, but Beer52 take the win by dint of the larger can.
Tasting Notes
Empire of Sound Slightly hazy, hoppy IPA. Nice!
Backstage IPA should be standard faire, but on the back of a gose and a mediocre DDH it was genuinely good.
Running Totals
Honest Brew: £2.83 (+£2.83)
Beer52: £4.49 (+£4.49)
Unboxing
Honest Brew’s motto must be “why ruin a good thing” as their calendar sticks with the now traditional design. A tall, 4x6 design with a colourful design.
Beer 52’s calendar is a 5x5 design which nicely gives an extra door for the complimentary glass. The packaging is less robust than Honest Brew’s and nearly popped open all the doors when I was unpacking it!
