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 13 – Little Bang X Mr Banks Colorado Weed Money– I’d been hanging out to see what Mr Banks & Little Bang would produce in this Canvent; so it was a great surprise to me to see them teamed up on this Oat Cream Pale Ale on Day 13.
“Delighted to see another oat cream ale on the list! Traditional pale ale flavors coming through with that classic creamy mouthfeel. Floral hops and slight sweetness from the grain. A decent pale ale and very easy drinking. Perhaps would have loved a bit more complexity but considered in isolation I cannot complain!”
Interestingly I got quite different hop notes, with mine being dominated by orange pith & peel. I agree however that it’s a more than serviceable Oat Cream Pale Ale.
Day 14 – Cheeky Monkey Cheeky Christmas Sour – Cheeky Monkey aren’t a brewery we see a heap of over here on the East Coast, but they’ve taken out label of the Canvent so far with their Australian Christmas scene.
“Glad to see a beer attempting to encapsulate the essence of an Australian beach Christmas. Refreshingly salty with a hint of sweet at the end. The sea salt and tang evoke the imagery of the beach and the crisp refreshing finish mean it would fantastic to drink under the hot sun.”
Day 15 – Fixation Holiday Road – Pulling this tin from one of my favourite brewers wrapped in an ugly sweater really put a smile on my face as I knew there was no way Fixation would let me down.
“Great to see a classic coastal IPA on the list. A beautiful blend of mosaic utilized 3 ways. Tropical nose, floral flavors and delightfully bitter. Classic beer type, with a great execution, this beer would be perfect to have on hand to survive those family holidays. Also my favourite title and can art combo to date!”
Day 16 – The Mill Oat Cream Imperial Stout – One of the few positives to come out of COVID has been seeing The Mill get their beer into cans! I love the idea behind this beer, an Oat Cream Imperial Stout; but god I don’t envy the brew day! That would have been painful!
“Glad to see another stout and an Oat Cream nonetheless! Strong smells of cacao, like tucking in to a bag of cacao nibs, tapered off with the hit of coffee from the cold brew. Very slight hint of vanilla, with an aftertaste that is almost cloying but not quite. Like drinking an iced mocha. Absolutely delicious little dessert beer.”
Another four beers down & with any luck I’ll have the final 8 up by the end of January. (See if you set really long goals you’re more likely to reach them…). The Fixation was a standout here although special mention should go to The Mill’s really interesting offering. I’ve done a lot of Year of the Local background work today, so with any luck I’ll have some news on that front for you all shortly.
Remember it’s always Beer O’Clock somewhere in the world!
