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