It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Beer: Sierra Nevada Celebration and Penrose Graham's Chocolate Porter

And just like that, I'm done with my beer advent calendar.  It was 24 days of (mostly) deliciousness.  Here were the last two beers.

Beer #23 was an IPA, and the most IPA-y of the hoppy beers in this year's advent calendar.  Billed as a "Fresh Hop IPA," Sierra Nevada's Celebration was way too hoppy for my tastes, and that's about all I have to say about it.

Name:  Celebration

Brewery:  Sierra Nevada Brewing Company

Location:  Chico, CA

ABV:  6.8%

IBU:  65

Good for drinking if:  You need to air some grievances.

Rating (out of five stars, by quarter star increments):  3

The advent calendar ended on a high note, with a delicious porter from Penrose, located in Geneva -- Illinois, not Switzerland.  Graham's Chocolate Porter was great.  I love porters, and this one was both malty and chocolatey (as you might imagine).  They used chocolate from another local business, Graham's Fine Chocolates and Ice Cream, also located in Geneva.

Name:  Graham's Chocolate Porter

Brewery:  Penrose Brewing Company

Location:  Geneva, IL

ABV:  6%

IBU:  N/A

Good for drinking if:  After wrapping presents and getting everything ready for Santa's arrival, you realize you want to live again.

Rating (out of five stars, by quarter star increments):  4.25

It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Beer: Hopewell Stay Frosty and Sun King Electric Reindeer

I'm finally caught back up on my beers and should be able to finish the last two on their chose days.

Beer #21 was Stay Frosty, a winter lager from Chicago's Hopewell Brewing.  It seems like this is a beer advent calendar mainstay, and with good reason.  It's a very solid winter lager, and as I've said before, it's the kind of beer that would serve as a good gateway beer for someone who's looking to get into winter beers.  It's got good bit of malt and some sweetness, and at 6%, it's not too heavy.

Name:  Stay Frosty

Brewery:  Hopewell Brewing Company

Location:  Chicago, IL

ABV:  6%

IBU:  N/A

Good for drinking if:  You need a beer to help you relax after a far too busy last day of work before Christmas.

Rating (out of five stars, by quarter star increments):  4

Beer #22 was, I believe, the first Indiana beer in this year's advent calendar.  I've generally enjoyed what I've had from Indianapolis's Sun King Brewery, and I don't know if Electric Reindeer is a new addition to their lineup, but it's great.  I actually had it for the first time a few nights ago after gorging myself on ribs, so I was happy to open the slot and see it in the advent calendar.  It's a brown ale with ginger and molasses, so it has the maltiness of a brown ale, the spice of ginger, and the caramelly sweetness of molasses -- and a very cool can!

Name:  Electric Reindeer

Brewery:  Sun King Brewery

Location:  Indianapolis, IN

ABV:  5.5%

IBU:  23

Good for drinking if:  ALF is watching you watch college football.

Rating (out of five stars, by quarter star increments):  4.25

Hair Band Friday - 12/22/23

1.  "Wind Me Up" by Mr. Big

2.  "Dynamite" (live) by Scorpions

3.  "Gimme Your Love" by Black 'N Blue

4.  "Livin' On a Dream" by Britny Fox

5.  "Shot of Love" by AC/DC

6.  "In a Simple Rhyme" by Van Halen

7.  "Paris is Burning" (live) by Dokken

8.  "Sunset Superman" by Dio

9.  "Pain and Pleasure" by Judas Priest

10.  "Get Your Monkeys Out" by Kix

It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Beer: Alter Swedda Wedda and Uncle John's Cranberry Apple

Beer #19 was fantastic.  An oatmeal stout with vanilla, Alter's Swedda Wedda -- a play on Chicagoans' penchant for pronouncing "th" as "d" -- was basically everything you'd want in a seasonal oatmeal stout.  It was roasty, but the vanilla added some sweetness.

Name:  Swedda Wedda

Brewery:  Alter Brewing Company

Location:  Downers Grove, IL

ABV:  6%

IBU:  N/A

Good for drinking if:  You want a velvety dark beer to drink while you're finishing up some mindless work.

Rating (out of five stars, by quarter star increments):  4.5

Beer #20 was no beer at all, but rather a cider!  It was a cranberry apple cider from Uncle John's, and it was pretty good.  I prefer my ciders to be on the dry side, and this was a little sweet, but the cranberry gave it a bit of tartness.

Name:  Cranberry Apple

Brewery:  Uncle John's Fruit House Winery

Location:  St. John's, MI

ABV:  6.5%

IBU:  N/A

Good for drinking if:  You're wrapping presents while watching a bowl game that is such a blowout that the announcers spend far too much of the fourth quarter discussing the plot of Love Actually.

Rating (out of five stars, by quarter star increments):  3.75

Retro Video of the Week: "Christmas at the Zoo" by The Flaming Lips

Our last holiday-themed Retro Video of the Week of 2023 comes courtesy of psychedelic alt rockers The Flaming Lips.  In 1995, they released their seventh studio album, Cloud Tastes Metallic.  On that album was a song called "Christmas at the Zoo," which is a trippy alt rock song that appears to be about releasing the animals at a zoo on Christmas, which I don't recommend doing.  It is weird seeing lead singer Wayne Coyne without gray hair and without a beard.

It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Beer: The Last Five Beers

Between work, holiday parties, children's activities, watching the Hoosiers blow a lead, more holiday parties, and watching the Bears blow a lead, I haven't had time to post over the last few days, but I finally caught up on my beer advent calendar.  Of course, I have stuff going on tomorrow and Wednesday nights, so I'll be putting myself behind again, but it was nice while it lasted.  Anywho, here are the last five beers.  They were all good, and the calendar is hitting its stride with a nice run of non-hoppy beers.

Beer #14 was from craft brewing stalwarts Ommegang.  It was called Everything Naughty, and it was billed as a white chocolate imperial blonde stout, but it tasted more like a Belgian-style strong ale, which would be on point for Ommegang.  Regardless, I quite enjoyed it.

Name:  Everything Naughty

Brewery:  Brewery Ommegang

Location:  Cooperstown, NY

ABV:  9.5%

IBU:  27

Good for drinking if:  You need a nice base before going to a party where you will consume about thirty tasters of even heavier beers.

Rating (out of five stars, by quarter star increments):  4.25

Beer #15 came from another great craft brewery, California's Firestone Walker.  I'm a big fan of their stouts, so I was happy to see Cinnamon Dolce when I opened the flap the other day.  It's a nitro milk stout with cinnamon and vanilla, and it's a perfect holiday stout -- made even better by the nitro can.

Name:  Cinnamon Dolce Nitro Stout

Brewery:  Firestone Walker Brewing Company

Location:  Paso Robles, CA

ABV:  6%

IBU:  61

Good for drinking if:  You're looking for something with some nice spice to take the edge off after you've spent the afternoon watching a youth performance of The Nutcracker and a Bears collapse.

Rating (out of five stars, by quarter star increments):  4.5

Cruz Blanca Brewery here in Chicago was co-founded by local (and international) celebrity chef Rick Bayless -- who somehow shares DNA with Skip Bayless -- and is located in the heart of the West Loop.  As you might expect, Cruz Blanca serves great Mexican food, in addition to brewing beer.  (Bayless is no longer affiliated with Cruz Blanca, from what I understand.)  Most of their beers are on the lighter side, but they also make great stouts.  I believe this is the first year they have done a Christmas ale, or at least the first year they have canned one.  Festiva -- despite sharing a name with the worst car Ford ever made, which is saying a lot (I'm looking your way, Pinto, Escort, and Probe) -- was a delightful Christmas ale, malty and with just the right amount of spice.

Name:  Festiva

Brewery:  Cruz Blanca Brewery

Location:  Chicago, IL

ABV:  6%

IBU:  N/A

Good for drinking if:  You decide a Sunday night is the right time to start watching an Icelandic serial killer show.

Rating (out of five stars, by quarter star increments):  4.25

Beer #17 was from yet another craft brewing giant, New Belgium.  Their Holiday Ale -- which I think is also a new addition to their repertoire -- was a nice winter warmer, with cranberry and cinnamon.  The cranberry wasn't too overwhelming, but gave it a hint of tartness.

Name:  Holiday Ale

Brewery:  Holiday Ale

Location:  Fort Collins, CO

ABV:  7.5%

IBU:  N/A

Good for drinking if:  You want a nice holiday beer in between refereeing fights about which iPhone charger belongs to which of your kids.

Rating (out of five stars, by quarter star increments):  4

Beer #18 was one that I've had in past beer advent calendars.  War on Xmas (If You Want It), from Chicago's Illuminated Brew Works, is a white milk stout with nutmeg, cinnamon, and vanilla, and it's meant to give a nod to egg nog.  A nog nod, if you will.  And at 11%, it packs a nice punch.

Name:  War on Xmas

Brewery:  Illuminated Brew Works

Location:  Chicago, IL

ABV:  11%

IBU:  N/A

Good for drinking if:  You need a strong beer after refereeing fights about which iPhone charger belongs to which of your kids.

Rating (out of five stars, by quarter star increments):  4.25

Hair Band Friday - 12/15/23

1.  "Loss of Control" by Van Halen

2.  "Love at First Sight" by Kix

3.  "Looks That Kill" (demo) by Mötley Crüe

4.  "Wild Wild Women" by Mr. Big

5.  "Summertime Girls" by Y&T

6.  "Children of the Night" by Whitesnake

7.  "All or Nothing" by Europe

8.  "Shoot the Preacher Down" by BulletBoys

9.  "She's Good She's Bad" by Tora Tora

10.  "Sweet Little Razor" by Bang Tango

It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Beer: Allagash Snow Report

Lucky beer #13 was a delight, from one of the oldest and consistently great craft breweries, Maine's Allagash.  Known for their excellent wit beer -- the aptly named Allagash White, which is a beer I can drink any time of year -- they have some great other beers.  I had never seen Snow Report before last week, and I actually picked up a four pack at Trader Joe's, trusting that Allagash can do no wrong.  I hadn't yet had one before tonight.  They call it a winter ale, which I guess is true, but it's definitely a Belgian style golden ale.  It has some honey, but it's not too sweet.  All in all, a very solid beer.

Name:  Snow Report

Brewery:  Allagash Brewing Company

Location:  Portland, ME

ABV:  8.6%

IBU:  N/A

Good for drinking if:  You're kicking off your fun old fashioned family Christmas by heading out into the country in the old front-wheel drive sleigh to embrace the majesty of the winter landscape and select that most important of Christmas symbols.

Rating (out of five stars, by quarter star increments):  4.25

It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Beer: The Last Three Beers (Again)

Who knew drinking advent calendar beers on a schedule would be so hard?  I've yet again failed to keep up, so I'm still a day behind, but here are my last three beers.

I realize the beer is nearly impossible to see in the photo above, but that's because it was dark (and I take bad photos). Beer #10 was from local white whale brewery Hop Butcher For The World.  They are mainly known for their hazy IPAs, and their shtick was that they would release one beer a week, brewing out of Miskatonic's facilities in the suburbs.  They were highly coveted treasures, and the type of thing that hop lovers would stake out their local bottle shops and liquor stores for the limited quantities that were available.  They have since opened up their own full-on brewery and tasting room in Half Acre's old space in the North Center neighborhood.  As a non-IPA guy, I wasn't one for paying a liquor store clerk to hold a four pack back for me.  But I will say that their non-hoppy beers are pretty damn good too.  Minted is an imperial stout brewed with chocolate and Frango Mint oil.  Frango Mints, of course, are the famous mint chocolates that used to be sold at Marshall Field's, and mercifully, Macy's kept making them after taking over Field's.  The beer is awesome.  It's basically a boozy Thin Mint in a can, which I quite enjoy.

Name:  Minted

Brewery:  Hop Butcher For The World

Location:  Chicago, IL

ABV:  10.5%

IBU:  N/A

Good for drinking if:  You still call it Marshall Fields, and you want some Frango Mints to complement your Baby Ruth.

Rating (out of five stars, by quarter star increments):  4.5

Beer #11 was a collab between two suburban breweries, Solemn Oath and Riverlands.  As you can see from the title -- Between Two Pillows -- and can, it's inspired by the classic Steve Martin/John Candy film Planes, Trains, and Automobiles.  This one was a double dry-hopped hazy IPA.  Not my bag, or pillow, if you will.

Name:  Between Two Pillows

Brewery:  Solemn Oath Brewery and Riverlands Brewing Company

Location:  Naperville, IL and St. Charles, IL

ABV:  6.7%

IBU:  N/A

Good for drinking if:  You're looking for some hops while uncovering a misunderstanding.

Rating (out of five stars, by quarter star increments):  3.5

Beer #12 was from another suburban brewery, Obscurity.  The last two years, they have done a holiday beer series inspired by the iconic Rankin & Bass stop-motion animation movie Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer called Island of Misfit Beers.  There are various beers of varying styles named after different characters from the movie.  Scooter for Jimmy was a pale ale "with holiday cheer," according to the can.  I was a little trepidatious when I saw the words "pale ale" on the can, but it's actually not that hoppy, and as you can see from the picture, the color is nearly an amber, so it has some malts to balance the hops.

Name:  Scooter for Jimmy

Brewery:  Obscurity Brewing

Location:  Elburn, IL

ABV:  5%

IBU:  N/A

Good for drinking if:  You're licking and labeling over 100 envelopes while watching a documentary about a Heisman race from your sophomore year of college.

Rating (out of five stars, by quarter star increments):  3.75

Retro Video of the Week: "Mistletoe and Wine" by Cliff Richard

This week's holiday-themed Retro Video of the Week comes from one of the UK's most successful pop stars of all-time, Cliff Richard.  Despite his massive success in the UK, he is one of those artists that, for whatever reason, never quite caught on the U.S.

Anyway, among his 14 #1 songs on the UK pop charts was his 1988 Christmas tune "Mistletoe and Wine," a relatively schmaltzy song that was originally written for a musical called Scraps, which was an adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Match Girl.  Richard's version topped the UK pop chart for four weeks, and though it was released in late November 1988, it sold an impressive 750,000 copies by the end of the year, making it the best-selling single in the UK in 1988.

The video features Richard walking through an apparent snowbound English village, complete with classic Christmas soldiers.  At least everyone is escaping their impending death or frostbite by singing.

It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Beer: The Last Three Beers

I've been slacking on posting, and I'm still one beer behind, but I vow to you that I will catch up at some point.  Anywho, here are the last three beer advent calendar beers.

Beer #7 was from a Midwestern holiday beer juggernaut, Cleveland's Great Lakes Brewing.  Their Christmas Ale is one of the best around, but that's pretty widely available (though I wouldn't have complained if it was an advent calendar selection), so perhaps that's why the purveyors of my advent calendar went with a different Great Lakes option:  Cookie Exchange Milk Stout.  I had never had this one before, but according to the can, it's a seasonal milk stout "brewed with a rotating cookie-inspired flavor."  Given the can, I assume this version was inspired by frosted sugar cookies, and the beer was definitely sweet, with some hints of vanilla.

Name:  Cookie Exchange Milk Stout

Brewery:  Great Lakes Brewing Company

Location:  Cleveland, OH

ABV:  5.5%

IBU:  15

Good for drinking if:  You want dessert in a can, rather than in solid form.

Rating (out of five stars, by quarter star increments):  4

Beer #8 came courtesy of one of my favorite breweries, Maplewood, located only a couple miles from where I live.  Silver Morning is their winter doppelbock, and it's fantastic.  Malty and caramelly, this is just a great bock and a perfect fall/winter beer.

Name:  Silver Morning

Brewery:  Maplewood Brewing Company

Location:  Chicago, IL

ABV:  6.8%

IBU:  N/A

Good for drinking if:  You're riding the high of a Bears' winning streak, while at the same time lamenting the fact that without two choke jobs earlier in the season, they would be in the thick of the playoff hunt.  Oh, and you have Rainbow's "Man On the Silver Mountain" in your head.

Rating (out of five stars, by quarter star increments):  4.5

Beer #9 is a local Chicago holiday favorite, Revolution's Fistmas.  It's a red ale with ginger and orange peel.  I feel like they must change up the recipe, as some years it's hoppier than others.  This is one of the hoppy years.  It's still good, but just a little too hoppy for a red ale, at least for my liking.

Name:  Fistmas

Brewery:  Revolution Brewing

Location:  Chicago, IL

ABV:  6.5%

IBU:  31

Good for drinking if:  Your forearms look like you have smallpox from putting lights and ornaments on your very pokey Christmas tree.

Rating (out of five stars, by quarter star increments):  3.75

It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Beer: Marz Krampbiscus

Beer #6 was from perhaps my favorite local brewery to visit.  Marz is located in Bridgeport, a mile or so west of Comiskey.  They have an arcade room with a bunch of pinball machines and old school stand-up video games.  Krampbiscus -- which really should have been the beer on Krampusnacht, but I'm willing to forgive whoever decided on the order of the advent calendar -- is a fruited ale brewed with raspberries, cranberries, and hibiscus.  It verges on a sour ale, but it's really more tart rather than sour.

Name:  Krampbiscus

Brewery:  Marz Community Brewing Co.

Location:  Chicago, IL

ABV:  6.7%

IBU:  N/A

Good for drinking if:  You need a beer while taking a break from trying to find all your tubs of Christmas decorations.

Rating (out of five stars, by quarter star increments):  3.75

It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Beer: Begyle Flannel Pajamas

Beer #5 is a great winter beer, but then again, I enjoy oatmeal stouts any time of year, so I think this is a great spring, summer, and fall beer too.  Begyle is another one of my favorite local breweries, and Flannel Pajamas is their fantastic oatmeal stout. It's a nice, nutty, malty oatmeal stout.  At 5.4% ABV, it isn't too strong, so you can kick 'em back.  I also highly recommend their Imperial Pajamas, which is the barrel-aged version that comes in a few different varieties.

Name:  Flannel Pajamas Oatmeal Stout

Brewery:  Begyle Brewing

Location:  Chicago, Illinois

ABV: 5.4%

IBU:  N/A

Good for drinking if:  You need something to take the edge off after shuttling kids around all night.

Rating (out of 5 stars):  4.5 stars

Retro Video of the Week: "Fairytale of New York" by The Pogues feat. Kirsty MacColl

Now that it's December, the next three weeks of Retro Videos of the Week will all be holiday-themed songs.  We start on a somber note.  Last week, Shane MacGowan, longtime lead singer of beloved Celtic punk pioneers The Pogues, died of pneumonia in Dublin at age 65.  So even though I featured The Pogues' 1987 holiday hit "Fairytale of New York" (featuring British singer Kirsty MacColl) two years ago as a holiday-themed Retro Video of the Week, it seemed more than appropriate to feature it again in light of MacGowan's passing.

MacGowan and multi-instrumentalist Jem Finer cowrote the song.  It's a call-and-response duet sung from the perspective of an Irish immigrant (MacGowan) in New York who's sleeping off a Christmas Eve bender in the drunk tank, where he dreams of his former ladyfriend (MacColl).  The two reminisce about their relationship, and it devolves into them talking shit to each other.

Upon its original release in 1987, it went to #2 on the UK pop chart and #1 on the Irish pop chart.  It has reached the Top 20 on the UK chart in 19 different years since its release, including every year from 2005 to 2021, and it has made the Top 20 of the Irish pop chart nearly every year since 2007, breaking into the Top 10 most years.  It's the most-played Christmas song of the 21st Century in the UK, and it has been named the UK's favorite Christmas song in several polls over the years.  It has also secured a place on various "best of" lists, such as #1 on VH1's Greatest Christmas Songs for three years and #96 on Q Magazine's 100 Greatest Songs of All-Time, among many others.

The video features Matt Dillon as a NYC cop who arrests the drunk MacGowan, and apparently the video shoot was fueled with booze all around.  Be warned.  If you're of the PC or sensitive type, there is some colorful and offensive-in-2023 language in the song.  So pour yourself a stream of whiskey, sit back, and enjoy.

It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Beer: Old Irving Cinnamon Prost

Beer #4 in the beer advent calendar was a welcome return to a more winter-appropriate style from one of my favorite local breweries, Old Irving.  A more appropriate beer for tonight -- which is, in fact, Krampusnacht -- would have been one from Old Irving's barrel-aged Krampus stout series, but that would have presumably increased the price of the advent calendar by at least a few dollars.  Anywho, Cinnamon Prost is a white stout brewed with cinnamon, vanilla, and lactose, and it's as close a proximation to Cinnamon Toast Crunch as one would want in a beer.

-Name:  Cinnamon Prost

-Brewery:  Old Irving Brewing Co.

-Location:  Chicago, IL

-ABV:  7.0%

-IBU:  10

-Good for drinking if:  You would really love to watch your alma mater's basketball team play an early season conference game, but instead of being on real TV, it was broadcast on Peacock, which you don't have, so you have to follow along on the ESPN app.

-Rating (out of five stars, by quarter star increments):  4.25

It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Beer: First Three Beers

We made it, guys.  It's winter beer season.  Sure, some breweries try to pretend that IPAs can be winter beers, but this is the season for the dark and malty.  Like last several years, I will once again be engaging in a 24-day weight-gaining enterprise I call It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Beer -- a daily look at a different beers throughout December.  I again bought two beer advent calendars:  (1) the Costco German beer advent calendar, which I again just bought that because it has a bunch of great German beers that aren't generally otherwise available in the U.S., so I can drink them anytime; and (2) my main beer advent calendar, again from local beer shop Beer on the Wall.

When I picked it up at the shop a couple weeks ago, the guy behind the counter handed me an envelope that contained a list of the beers.  I slid that right back to him and explained that one of the few joys I have in life is being surprised when I take a beer out of the box in the morning to put it in the fridge.

Thanks to some other activities this weekend that prevented me from diving into my advent calendar, I didn't get started until last night, so I'm a little behind.  Fear not, I made the sacrifice of having two beers tonight, and I'll do the same tomorrow night.  With that, here are the first three beers.

The advent calendar kicked off with a good one.  Called Beary Brown, it was a brown ale with coffee, cacao, cinnamon, and vanilla by Liquid Love, a brewery in suburban Chicago that admittedly, I am not very familiar with.  But they made a great first impression!  This was a collab with Beer On the Wall just for this advent calendar, so I felt it appropriate to use the commemorative Beer On the Wall glass that came with the calendar.  The beer was the perfect winter beer, malty with some winter flavors.

Name:  Beary Brown

Brewery:  Liquid Love Brewing Company

Location:  Buffalo Grove, IL

ABV:  5.8%

IBU:  N/A

Good for drinking if:  You've been drinking other beers most of the day and you just need a nice night cap while watching Sunday Night Football.

Rating (out of five stars, by quarter star increments):  4

Beer #2 was one of those damn winter IPAs, from another suburban brewery.  At least it was a hazy, so it was slightly more palatable than a standard IPA.  And both the name of the beer and the can were great, so that garnered an extra 0.25.  For those of you who are into hops, it has Citra, Idaho #7, Simcoe, and Centennial hops, which apparently gives it citrus and pine notes.

Name:  Santa Doesn't Believe In You Either

Brewery:  Hidden Hand Brewing

Location:  Naperville, IL

ABV:  6.5%

IBU:  N/A

Good for drinking if:  You finally have some time to do some Christmas shopping and you need something that tastes like Christmas tree orange juice.

Rating (out of five stars, by quarter star increments):  3.5

Yet another suburban brewery, Riverlands out of St. Charles, provided the third beer.  It's another hoppy one, named Hoppy Grinchmas and deemed a winter IPA.  That said, as you can see, it's a red IPA, which, again, makes it more palatable than a standard IPA, as there are some more malts in there, along with the Citra, Amarillo, and Simcoe hops.

Name:  Hoppy Grinchmas

Brewery:  Riverlands Brewing Company

Location:  St. Charles, IL

ABV:  6.5%

IBU:  70

Good for drinking if:  Gordon Shumway is watching you when finally have some time to do some Christmas shopping.

Rating (out of five stars, by quarter star increments):  3.5

Hair Band Friday - 12/1/23

1.  "Peace In Our Time" by Gorky Park

2.  "Hold On" by Bonham

3.  "Could This Be Magic?" by Van Halen

4.  "Rock & Roll Over" by Mr. Big

5.  "I'll Be There For You" by Black 'N Blue

6.  "Scratch That Itch" by Ratt

7.  "An Englishman on Holiday" by Thunder

8.  "Night By Night" by Dokken

9.  "Bastard" by Mötley Crüe

10.  "Got Your Mind in the Gutter" by Europe