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