2018 Advent Beers: Part II

Wow, that holiday season blew by pretty quickly, didn't it? Looks like some of my advent beers won't hit my blog until 2019...but at least these six snuck in under the wire!

Day7: Fruit Salad

In lesser hands, the idea of an India Pale Ale flavoured with grapefruit, passionfruit, mango, raspberry and blueberry might be a bit offputting, but Denmark's Evil Twin Brewing can always be counted on to bring creativity and balance to the table. Extremely fresh tasting and crisp thanks to the hops you normally associate with IPAs.

Day 8: The Check Please

This Black IPA from Evil Twin is made with Cascadian dark hops. I've had a few beers in this style now, and although they will never be my favourite, they are a delightful variation on regular IPAs, with a bit of roast-taste making its way through the hops.


Day 9: Galaxy Hoppy Blonde

Huh, apparently I neglected to log this one in on Untappd...well, my recollections are of a strong (6.5%), hoppy, Belgian-style beer brewed in Denmark by Ugly Duck, with added tartness brought forward by Galaxy hops. Lots of subtle fruit aromas from the yeast esters, I presume. I seem to recall that their bottle copy reflects the sort of mindset that keeps many women away from beer, but in the glass I had no complaints.


Day 10: Export Lager

I associate lagers with a time in my life when practically every beer you were offered was a lager (including some labelled as IPAs...yes, I am looking at you Alexander Keith!), most weren't very good, and as a result I hardly ever drank any. There are plenty of good examples of the style now, but the association remains. Ugly Duck's Dortmunder lager (as opposed to Pilsner) is a solid example, with a great malt/hops balance and clean, rich taste. A great entry point into craft beer for those who mightn't have taken the plunge yet.

Day 11: Can You Pass Me the Milk?

Milk stouts are one of my favourite subsets of my favourite style of beer. This Dutch one from Brouwerij Frontaal is surprisingly light at 4.5%, but still rich, smooth, and a little sweet, with hints of chocolate. Plus a fantastic label design.

Day 12: Ceres

The other half of Brouwerij Frontaal's advent offerings, Ceres is a lighter (5.3%) Scottish Ale with lots of body and hint of smoke, to my palate at least.