It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Beer: The Last Four Days

It's been a few days since I've graced you gentle souls with the details of my alcohol consumption.  Fear not, I didn't miss an advent calendar beer.  Here are the last four I've had.

Beer #7 was the courtesy of one of the best breweries in the country, in my opinion.  Bell's was the pioneer in the now insanely vibrant Southwestern Michigan brewing scene.  Unfortunately, it's so ubiquitous that I kind of forget about it, even though I drink Bell's beers throughout the year.  

The selection in the advent calendar was Arabicadabra.  I love a good word combination, and despite the fact that I'm not a coffee drinker (Jolt only for caffeine, thank you very much), I am a fan of coffee stouts and porters.  This was a coffee milk stout, and it was predictably delicious.

Name:  Arabicadabra
Brewery:  Bell's Brewery

Location:  Comstock, MI

ABV:  5.5%

IBU:  N/A

Good for drinking if:  You want to change up your pre-work drink from a Bloody Mary. 

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

Beer #8 in the ol' advent calendar was from another Midwestern brewing stalwart:  Three Floyds.  Like many breweries, they are focused on quality and hops.  That said they make a lot of really good non-hoppy beers.  Unfortunately, Space Station Middle Finger is not one of those.  It's an American Pale Ale, which for all intents and purposes, is an IPA.  Too hoppy for my tastes.

Name: Space Station Middle Finger 
Brewery:  Three Floyds Brewing Company

Location:  Munster, IN

ABV:  6.0%

IBU:  50

Good for drinking if:   You're unknowingly about to win an air fryer in a white elephant gift exchange.

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

Beer #9 was just fucking weird.  It's a gose from Collective Arts.  I'm not a fan of sour beers, and this was sour, with a lot going on.  Maybe if I would have cut it with some vodka, I would have liked it more, but I was not a fan.  On the bright side, after I drank it, I went to the Bears game, which was awesome.

Name:  Collective Project:  Guava Gose
Brewery:  Collective Arts Brewing

Location:  Hamilton, ON Canada

ABV:  4.9%

IBU:  12

Good for drinking if:   You want to give your friends a challenge beer.

Rating (out of five stars, by quarter star increments):  2.5

Beer #10 was much more up my alley -- my dark and delicious alley.  I've had 4 Hands's Cast Iron before, and I'll have it again.  It's a delicious, malty, nutty, chocolatey oatmeal brown ale.  More breweries should make brown ales.  That's a fact.

Name:  Cast Iron Oatmeal Brown
Brewery:  4 Hands Brewing Co.

Location:  St. Louis, MO

ABV:  5.5%

IBU:  20

Good for drinking if:  You want something to complement that chocolate cake you're eating for your daughter's ninth birthday.

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