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

I was out of town this weekend, so I haven't had a chance to post about my winter beers, but rest assured, I have been drinking them.  Here are the last four I had.

The third beer in the beer advent calendar was a variant of a Around The Bend's lovely pistachio cream ale, Vera.  The added cinnamon to it and called Vixen, and it's a great, easy drinking seasonal beer that counteracts some of the heavier winter beers this time of year.

Name:  Vixen

Brewery:  Around The Bend Beer Company

Location:  Chicago, IL

ABV:  5.0%

IBU:  11

Good for drinking if:  You need a beer after driving to rural Indiana.

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

Beer #4 was another light one from another local Chicago brewery, Forbidden Root.  It's called Early Sunset, and I really can't give it a better description than what's on the label:  a tart golden ale with pomegranate juice, orange peel, and silver needle tea.  I'm not a fan of sours, though I wouldn't classify this one as a true sour.  "Tart" is the right description.  It was good, but it wouldn't be my go-to for winter beers.

Name:  Early Sunset

Brewery:  Forbidden Root Brewing Company

Location:  Chicago, IL

ABV:  6.2%

IBU:  N/A

Good for drinking if:  You're about to dominate a white elephant, both literally and figuratively.

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

The fifth beer in the advent calendar was the first one I didn't really like, as it was an IPA.  Specifically, it's Goose Island's Christmas IPA, which is to say that it's an IPA that has the word "Christmas" in front of it.

Name:  Christmas IPA

Brewery:  Goose Island Beer Co.

Location:  Chicago, IL

ABV:  7.5%

IBU:  38

Good for drinking if:  You're forcing your seven-year-old son to watch a DVD about the history of the Bears.

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

Number six was closer to what I look for this time of year.  Porters are my favorite type of beer, and this one was Phase Three's Niu, which is a coconut porter, but this is a variant with chocolate and vanilla added.  Phase Three makes some great beers, but I had some trepidation because I don't like coconut.  Thankfully, the chocolate really comes through, so it wasn't too coconutty.  And at 6.3%, it's not too heavy either.

Name:  Niu: Chocolate + Vanilla

Brewery:  Phase Three Brewing

Location:  Lake Zurich, IL

ABV:  6.3%

IBU:  N/A

Good for drinking if:  You're watching a football game where one team has attempted three passes the entire game, and the other team's quarterback is your starting quarterback in fantasy, but he needed 0.6 more points to ensure you weren't eliminated from playoff contention.

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