Carwyn Cellars is a name that every Australian Craft Beer lover should know. It’s the preeminent bottle shops in the country. For their advent calendar, they’ve partnered with 24 Australian Craft Breweries to make an exclusive canned release for their “Canvent Calendar”.

In my eyes this is the best beer advent calendar on the market & as I’ve done the last two years I’ll be documenting it all here. Also along for the ride this year will be Richo, after a lot hiatus from Beer O’Clock Australia writing he’ll be back offering his thoughts on the beers of the day. This year the plan is to do 6 posts of 4 beers each – timeliness has never been a Beer O’Clock Australia quality so there should be no spoiler issues as long as you’re only a couple of days behind…

Day 1 – Deeds Open December 1st – The first Canvent surprise arrived on Day 1 in the form of a tiny can, of a very big beer, inside a glass! You can hear more about the inspiration behind that decision in our interview with Ben Duval on the latest iteration of the podcast. It’s the first Barleywine Deeds have produced, something that surprised me.

I’m going to let Richo take over with the tasting notes, I’ll chip in with my two cents if I think there is something worth adding. “Great start to the Canvent! A deceptively massive beer and perhaps the most drinkable barley wine I’ve had sober! Rich toffee flavors from the malt , with a pleasant bitterness at the end. At 11% this is certainly one way to get into the Christmas Spirit!”

Day 2 – Hawkers Distress Call/Dollar Bill Barrel Aged Sour – Another subject that is discussed at length on the podcast was the potential refermentation issue that saw the Dollar Bill beer replaced with a Hawkers beer on Day 2 of the Canvent. Conveniently, for the purpose of the exercise, being based interstate Richo received the Dollar Bill beer, whilst I received the Hawkers offering.

So first up the Hawkers offering; considering they had less than a week to pull this together it’s an incredible effort. There’s loads of chocolate, I got this distinct childhood chocolate milk aroma, as well as vanilla, rum and a bit of barrel. It’s a wonderful christmassy offering, but it makes me wonder what Mazen & the Hawkers crew were planning to do with it before Carwyn came calling.

“The second day brings a refreshing and tart entry to get the mouth watering and ready for the days ahead. A great aperitif, the wild ferment brings a nice funk to the sourness and the Pinot Marc gives it a nice colour and tannin-like mouthfeel. A fantastic pre-dinner beer that I would love to have more of. Apparently there were issues with these cans on release but I was fortunate enough not to have any!”

Day 3 – Mountain Culture Chock A Block – When I saw Mountain Culture on the list of brewers there was never any doubt in my mind what style they’d brew. Oat Cream is a pain in the ass to brew with, but the end results can be superb!

“The third day brings with it a positive outlook on the future. A perfect encapsulation of a tropical holiday packed into an IPA. Tropical pineapple and a creamy mouthfeel. Light and flavoursome with only slight bittering hops. Almost like a pina colada in beer form.” There’s a reason Mountain Culture have become known for this style. It’s all juice & drinks dangerously easily considering the 6.3% ABV.

Day 4 – Beer No Evil The Uninvited Guest – I knew next to nothing about BeerNoEvil before this beer arrived on the 4th. They’re a contract operation out of Adelaide, who love beer & heavy metal. They are in the process of working towards opening their own venue in Somerton Park which will support the local beer & music scene.

“The fourth night of December brings it with it the darkness of Santa’s evil brother Krampus! This uninvited guest worms it’s way onto your palate with a dangerously drinkable flavor. Light malt, nice floral notes from the hops and a very slight resiny aftertaste. Certainly won’t remain uninvited for long.”

I was a little surprised to read that they’d chosen to brew a Session IPA, but as soon as I tasted it all doubt on that front was gone. It’s got super hop character for the ABV, with Citra dominating, & the malt bill packs more than enough punch so that it doesn’t come across as too thin. It’s the sort of beer that I would put far too many of away…

That bring us to the end of the first few days of the Carwyn Cellars Canvent 2020. I feel that it has been a good start to this years pack, with a wide variety of styles showcased already. As usual I would love to know your thoughts on the beers if you’re also partaking in the Canvent this year; hit me up at angus@beeroclockaustralia.com. Hopefully we’ll be back with the next update in a day or two.

Remember it’s always Beer O’Clock somewhere in the world!