So it’s the first, what beers did you get?
Mine is Pillow Fight by Flavourly, a chocolate, marshmallow porter.
Will be cracking it open later.
Schloßbrau Rheder Original Pils
https://www.ratebeer.com/beer/flavourly-pillow-fight/561851/
It was ok a touch of chocolate but not much marshmallow.
December 2nd I had Sayers Stout by London Beer Factory.
https://www.ratebeer.com/beer/london-beer-factory-sayers-stout/397021/
The wife and kids made me one! 
I know some of what’s in there, as she asked my advice when buying me a few bottles for Yule, but the rest is guesswork…
We’re away this weekend so I’l open ‘doors’ #2 and #3 tonight, but Dec 1st was Marble Saison de Pint, and it was delicious. 
I have struggled with the first three from Honest Brew. Not my sort of beers at all. I suppose I could see it as challenging, but it has slightly depressed me, and I just think that my taste does not match up with the current generation of brewers.
The first one, Common Grounds, has 265 positive ratings on RateBeer, and 11,491 positive ratings on Untappd. I appear to be the only person on the planet who found the beer dry, thin and characterless, and the additional flavourings of cold under-extracted coffee beans rather unpleasant. The second one, Buxton SPA, was way too hoppy for me - it burned my lips and tongue. The third one, Mandarina Lager, was too dirty, earthy and peppery, and rather messy with burned plastic and petrol fumes. However, at least I was able to finish this one.
I’m not sure if I am looking forward to what I’m going to get tomorrow…
If you want to give the rest to me I will be in Winchester a week on Monday 
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Day 3: Hohenthanner Schlossbrauerei Blau Weisse.
I don’t have the advent calendar but have had a couple of those before. I really enjoyed Common Grounds but can understand it’s not everyone’s cup of coffee… (sorry). Also, in my opinion Magic Rock’s one-offs and collabs are far better than their core range, they seem to favour IPAs though.
Buxton Spa was solid too though not outstanding, certainly not too hoppy, if anything I found it the opposite but it’s been almost a year since I had it, it was also not fresh so it’s possible hops had faded somewhat. I see it’s down as a Golden Ale here, not sure I fully agree but whatever.
Haven’t had the lager or indeed anything by that brewery so can’t comment on that last one.
Anyway I feel a bit bad for recommending their calendar now so I really hope you like whatever it has for the rest of the month. They haven’t revealed the list of beers but they do list the breweries inside and many of them are ones I recommend to people. But when I look at what styles you’ve rated the most I’m not sure you’d find many advent calendars containing that sort of stuff. Everyone’s about IPAs, Stouts and Sours these days aren’t they 
I’m OK with stouts and sours, but there does seem to be a trend toward stouts with citric hops, which is not to my taste. I am not a huge fan of citric hops (I like twiggy, earthy, tree bark hops - kinda more rounded and interesting to my palate - I am not someone who drinks tropical fruit juices, so strong citric flavours doesn’t attract me), and I especially not fond of the tendency to use hops as the forward flavour rather than as a balance to the malt. Sours I have always found interesting, but I like it when the sourness comes from the malt, and is either part of the malt flavours or is the forward flavour - I don’t like it when the sourness is mingled with hops.
The online shops I have recently purchased from tend to favour hop forward beers, or at least the sorts of beers that emerge from the BJCP school of brewing. That isn’t my favourite style of beer, though I do understand it is popular. But I am so out of touch, I hadn’t realised how popular such beers are these days. When I go into a craft beer bar I tend to avoid the keg beers because I have a life-time’s preference for cask. So I have been sort of subconsciously directing myself away from a lot of the modern hop forward breweries. I bought some beers from Hoptimism, purely selecting them as they were all reduced. That random selection threw up a lot of beers I disliked, and now the same is true of this (also random) advent calender. I find it interesting, but also a little depressing, as I feel I am out of place with the direction beer is going in. This lunchtime I met a friend in a local coffee shop chain, Metrricks, which sells local beer. They have now switched from cask to keg, because they say there is no longer the demand for cask. I am a man out of time…
So on the 3rd of December and I had a hoppy lager from my Flavourly Advent Calendar
https://www.ratebeer.com/beer/flavourly-lager-2-electric-boogaloo/561850/295172/
It was enjoyable.
Today is
https://www.ratebeer.com/beer/five-points-pils/435950/
So far its been an ok selection, but nothing a standout.
Bernstein Pale Ale - was down as an APA. Now as an Amber.
Day 4 - Lervig/Boneyard ‘Viking Blood’ India Red - yay! 
Day 5. Five Points XPA. Usual tropical fruit flavour hops with no malt character, but I enjoyed it. I could drink it again.
To get in the Xmas spirit I stopped by the Crafty Crow in Nottingham and discovered they are Advent calendaring their cans and bottles so I just had Lost & Found LE#1 double IPA for £4 rather than their usual price of £7.80. Ho ho ho. This may be habit forming.
Today: Schlossbrauerei Herrngiersdorf Sündenbock (a Doppelbock)
Falling behind though - going to have three tomorrow.
Kalea one from Amazon with 24 new beers in cans for me, 23 German and 1 Austria. Need to get my German ratings back up close to Belgium again.
Today, day 13 - Beatnikz Farmhouse Hitchhiker, yesterday - Mondo/Heretic Global Heresy 2. Sorted!
I still haven’t done any but I know some guys who did the Tiny Rebel and Costco advent calendars this past holiday season and overall liked them.
I had the Costco calendar and overall I was pleased with it.
Some of the beers were very good, however some were average.
But I did manage to get try 23 new beers.
Joe
