As we traveled for the holidays, this post is a bit overdue… so I figured I’d combine these last few days together.

On the 19th day, I had the same beer my boyfriend had the night before and then he had a barrel aged ale. 

The Hibernation Ale is aged in whiskey barrels and brewed by Great Divide Brewing Company in Denver, Colorado.  At 11.5% ABV, this is a good sipper.  Out of the other barrel aged beer we have had, this isn’t a favorite, but was still good.

The Omar porter I had is brewed by Crane Brewing in Raytown, Missouri,  This beer is 6.0% ABV and wasn’t too bitter.  I’d consider buying it if we ran across this beer in the future.

The remainder of what we selected is as follows… a majority of these are shared:

Day 20:  Arabicadabra (5.5% ABV) – Coffee Milk Stout by Bell’s Brewing in Comstock, Michigan and Stone Woot Stout by Stone Brewing in Escondido, California (11.5% ABV).  The Arabicadabra was opened by my boyfriend earlier this month and this time it was my turn.  It is an OK coffee milk stout.  Most likely would not pick up one of these or the Stone Woot Stout if we ran across it in the stores.  The Stone Woot Stout is an ale brewed with pecans, wheat and rye one quarter aged in bourbon barrels.

Day 21:  Shared – Cinnamon Roll Imperial Ale by Southern Tier Brewing Company in Lakewood, New York.  If you like cinnamon rolls, this is definitely a good one to pick up.  At 8.6% ABV, this is a smooth ale that definitely has a cinnamon flavor to it, but not too strong.

Day 22:  Shared – Mississippi Mud Cake Milk Stout by 4Hands Brewing Company in St. Louis, Missouri.  At 5.5% ABV, this is a very smooth stout and has a good flavor to it.  This came in a gift pack, so I believe that is the only way to purchase this flavor.  This is made with chocolate, vanilla and walnut.

Day 23:  Shared – Stone Xocoveza Imperial Stout inspired by Mexican hot chocolate by Stone Brewing in Escondido, Colorado.  At 8.1% ABV, it made it a bit easier to drink this one.  The pepper flavor is definitely there, so it is unique.  If you are looking for something to try, this is one to purchase.

Day 24:  Shared – Melange A Trois Belgian style ale by Nebraska Brewing Company in La Vista, Nebraska.  I had high hopes for this one, especially since I put it on the last day… At 10% ABV, it poured out light in color and smelled somewhat of an IPA.  This is part of the barrel aged reserve series and is aged in Chardonnay barrels.  This was drinkable, but we definitely would not purchase this again.

With this being the last post of the advent box, we discussed how this year wasn’t very good on the beer we opened.  I picked out the ones I thought would be good and only a few met and/or exceeded our expectations.  We have a year to determine if this is something we’ll do again next year or not… thoughts?