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

Thanks to a work holiday party and traveling over the weekend, I've fallen behind on my beer advent calendar, so I had to sacrifice and drink two beers tonight and will likely have to do the same tomorrow night.  Just remember, to quote the great Bryan Adams, everything I do, I do it for you.

Beer 15 in the advent calendar was another interesting one.  It was from Riverlands Brewing, which is in suburban St. Charles, and it was party of their Pastry Power series.  From what I have gathered from Untappd, that's a pastry sour series with beers that taste like different pastries or pies.  Basically, it's the type of sour beer I can enjoy.  This one was Holiday Cheers, and it was made with apple, cranberry, and cinnamon, which gave it a nice sweet, festive flavor to balance out any sourness.  

Name:  Pastry Power:  Holiday Cheers

Brewery:  Riverlands Brewing Company

Location:  St. Charles, IL

ABV:  6.0%

IBU:  N/A

Good for drinking if:  You want to drink your pie.

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

Sweet 16 was one of the all-time winter beer stalwarts, Great Lakes Christmas Ale.  It's one of the best, most consistent Christmas ales, and I look forward to it every year.  You should too.

Name:  Christmas Ale

Brewery:  Great Lakes Brewing Company

Location:  Cleveland, OH

ABV:  7.5%

IBU:  30

Good for drinking if:  You need a great beer after a day of jury duty.

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

Number 17 was from Alarmist Brewing, in Chicago's Sauganash neighborhood on the northwest side.  Toke is a smoked helles.  I have a complicated relationship with smoked beers.  There are some smoked porters and stouts that I love.  On the other hand, I've had some rauchbiers -- or what one of my friends calls "the ham beers" -- that basically taste like you're drinking a campfire.  This one was somewhere in between.  With lagers, it's tough for the smoke flavor not to overwhelm everything, and this one was pretty good.

Name:  Toke

Brewery:  Alarmist Brewing

Location:  Chicago, IL

ABV:  5.0%

IBU:  N/A

Good for drinking if:  You want a poetic beer as you watch your fantasy football season go up in smoke because you started Christian Watson in your flex spot instead of Chris Godwin, Cordarrelle Patterson, Raheem Mostert, or AJ Dillon, all of whom would have won you the week and advance you to the semis.

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