Christmas 2021 has passed and prior to the start of December I ordered a Bad Tattoo Brewing Christmas Advent Calendar which arrived at the beginning of the month.
It contained 24 beers, one four each day of December up to Christmas Day. I liked a lot of these beers some being new to me while others are ones I have tried several times including a Summer 2021 visit to the brewery.
I’m giving you a day by day breakdown of each of these and while I didn’t drink one a day, I’ve tried some of these before so I have included some of the same information here.
Day One Patio Pink Lemonade
Digging in with a little research and I found out that this beer originated in Berlin Germany and also had a strong presence in Munich and the region of Bavaria.
They are low in alcohol and have a tart, sour finish. Definitely the case here. It’s 4.8 percent alcohol in this beer with an International Bitterness Units (IBU) of 10. Bad Tattoo notes that the raspberry and lemon are very present in this beer. Definitely true. Likeable for sure and definitely summertime quaffable.
Day Two Tramp Stamp Pale Ale.
I’ve had Tramp Stamp before, probably going back at least two-three years. Tramp Stamp Pale Ale gives you the full American Pale Ale experience that the brewery says is “fruit forward American style pale ale hopped exclusively with Super Pride, Galaxy & Summer Australian hops.”
I also use the book Tasting Beer a lot to do research on different styles that I try and it describes Pale Ale’s as one of those beers using the pungent flavours of Cascade and American Hops.
The hops in Tramp Stamp are Australian, Australian and Australian as you may have guessed so that shoots my theory out the window that American hops are the key here.
The IBU”s are high at 45 and that’s definitely consistent with Pale Ale recipes and I would drink this beer really anytime of year because it has a great mix of powerful hops and malty goodness. It was a duplicate beer on Day 20 as well so it’s great to have two in the pack. Bad Tattoo offers this beer year round.
Day Three Watermelon Gose.
I reviewed the Gose back in the summer and I’ve included the actual content from the blog post here.
I’ll be the first person to tell you I am not a big Gose drinker. I had thought to label them trendy given the fact that I see them around a lot these days at breweries I visit so I decided to do some research.
Gose have actually been brewed since the 13th century and were named after the German town of Goslar. The beer itself was adopted in Leipzig as well so much so that it become known for being from there as well.
Since the late 1980’s it has been a popular beer style in the U.S. and it looks like it’s come to Canada as well.
The issue I can’t get past the salty taste that emerges nor how my stomach felt after drinking one. I had a Los Muertos before so maybe it was the difference in beers. Not sure.
Day Four Hellion IPA.
This IPA is what you would expect in a beer that has a 6.3 percent alcohol by volume and an IBU of 66. Bad Tatoo says that “it has fruit forward notes of peach and mandarin followed by a light malt backbone to finish it off.”
I’d call the Hellion a classic IPA that I would drink at any time of the year. Solid entry into the pack and a great any time of year brew.
Day Five Counterflow Brewing Cherry Gose.
Why?. Probably one of the worst beers I have ever had. I poured it down the sink. Let’s move on.
Day Six Sol Vida Cerveza Clara.
Sol Vida is an easy drinking, almost too easy in fact, light beer that reminds me of a Corona. When I found out that it was the lighter cousin of my favourite beer, Los Muertos, I had to try it.
This beer could and should have a wide appeal because of it’s easy drinking nature. Hot days are the perfect time for this beer.
This beer is also good for winter especially apres ski or when you are thirsty after some winter exercise.
Day Seven White Peach Sangria Sour.
This beer is very Sour. Great peach notes and aroma is something that I noticed and loved immediately. I’m not big on sours but this one deserves a second taste. I saved the 2nd in this pack for 2022 when the weather is warmer.
I’ve dived in with some research here to from beeradvocate because I haven’t had a fruited kettle sour before and it’s an interesting style for sure. I really see this beer for hot Okanagan days spent in a fruit orchard.
Day Eight Los Muertos Cerveza Negra
My favourite Bad Tattoo beer. I would drink this at any time of year and at any opportunity.
With a 5% alcohol content and an IBU of 25, Bad Tattoo calls it “A malt forward, crisp, refreshing, medium-dark lager that loves being chilled down. Add a twist of lime for an authentic Mexican experience or enjoy on its own.”
Los Muertos is one of my favourite beers any time of year. It reminds me of Dos Equis Dark if anything and I enjoy its malty flavour. I love malty beers that remind me of coffee and chocolate.
With a 5% alcohol content and an IBU of 25, Bad Tattoo calls it “A malt forward, crisp, refreshing, medium-dark lager that loves being chilled down. Add a twist of lime for an authentic Mexican experience or enjoy on its own.”
Day 9 Bad Light
This beer was another fine light beer from Bad Tattoo. What can you say but the spoofing here is obvious since the brewery is trying to cash in on the Bud Light crowd.
Good on them. Never been a serious Bud Light drinker and never will be. Tried to have two Bud Lights once in a row and I felt like I had eaten a meal. Definitely felt bloated and just generally gross.
This version however is a great light beer that works again on hot days. I have generally chosen pilsners over lagers for the warmer days of spring and summer but both the Bad Light and Sol Vida are both great choices for light beer drinkers.
Day 10 Rock Creek Rye Saison
Too bad this had been only included once in the pack itself and instead of the second Counterflow Cherry Gose.
According to the brewery it’s “brewed from and inspired by local rye grown in Rock Creek from a small independent farmer, this French Saison is dry and slightly spicy with a clean effervescent finish.”
It’s a limited release too and I wasn’t able to search and find out when it’s availability will be.
Great beer all around. That’s probably too easy a thing to say isn’t it so I did some research on Saison style beers.
A saison is also called a farmhouse ale and it originated in the French-speaking Wallonia region of Belgium. Saisons are known as farmhouse-style ales for a reason, they were originally brewed on actual farms. They come in many colors and flavours.
Day 11 Hazed & Confused Hazy Citrus IPA
The Hazy Citrus IPA is high on alcohol content at 6.2 percent and IBU of 60. Somewhat bitter too.
According to the brewery it’s a “fresh-squeeze menagerie of lemon, orange, and tangerine flavours from a blast of Lemondrop and Amarillo hops.”
Doing a little hops research I found out some interesting things about Amarillo hops in particular that they give a very sweet citrus flavor and aroma that is closer to oranges than grapefruit.
Hazy IPA’s are also called New England IPA’s something else I didn’t know.
Day 12 Patio Pink Lemonade
This is the 2nd beer in this pack. See December 1 above for the review of it.
Day 13 Counterflow Brewing Paradigm Shift Pink Guava Berliner Weisse
This was the 2nd Counterflow beer in the pack and it was not a favourite. It’s the odd taste that must come as a result of the Pink Guava is the best I can describe it.
Day 14 Hang Ten Hefeweizen
Up next was the Hang Ten Hefeweizen which I thought was another tasty beer and it’s one I actually had not tried before.
I hadn’t realized that a Hefeweizen is also a type of weiss beer—German for “white beer.” Hefeweizen itself translates to “yeast wheat” in German.
Made up of >50% wheat, weiss beers are characterized by a strong presence of banana and clove, even vanilla or bubblegum, in the aroma and flavor. Definitely feeling and tasting those flavours and profile and liking it a lot.
Day 15 Counterflow Citrus Circus Hazy IPA
Hazy IPA’s are all the rage these days or they seem to be and the style is one that I actually albeit in small doses.
With a high alcohol content of ABV: 6.8 and an IBU of 30 this beer has notes of juicy tangerine and mandarin orange. Definitely worth a drink.
This beer like all Hazy IPA’s has a cloudy appearance one you can’t see through like a light-bodied pilsner.
But a Hazy IPA is far more than looks. Its foggy appearance hints at a fullness of flavor, which it delivers. The careful planning of malt and hops, along with less filtering before packaging, yields a beer with lower perceived bitterness than other IPAs and hop character that’s decidedly fruity—you’ll often hear “juicy” as a flavor descriptor, like a tasty bite of ripe citrus. That’s all hops; we don’t brew Hazy Little Thing with any real fruit.
Day 16 Counterflow Cherry Gose
Repeat of Day Five. Least favourite beer in the pack.
Day 17 SOL VIDA CERVEZA CLARA
Repeat from Day 6.
Day 18 Juice Bomb New England IPA
The Juice Bomb follows the New England IPA recipe that features an intense, tropical fruit centric, hop aroma and flavour. New England IPA’s are heavily dry hopped to the point of being hazy. They tend to have a fuller body, smoother flavour, and less perceived bitterness than typical IPAs.
It’s a great IPA and a definite alternative to the Juice Bomb IPA which is all the rage these days with the hazy look and tart taste.
Day 19 LOS MUERTOS CERVEZA NEGRA
Repeat from Day 8. And how nice it was to get two in the pack.
Day 20 Tramp Stamp Pale Ale
Repeat from Day Two. Delicious!
Day 21 Watermelon Gose
Repeat from Day Three!
Day 22 Bad Light
Repeat from Day Nine. Another solid entry.
Day 23 White Peach Sangria Sour
Another repeat that I have saved for the spring.
24 Peanut Butter Stout
Here it is, the last beer in the pack and they saved one of the best for last. Having first drunk this beer in probably 2018 I want to say, this is a great addition and definitely one to drink on Christmas Eve.
With an ABV: 6% and nice low IBU of 18, porters as we know are a style of dark beer known for its deep brown to black colour and dark malts. They often impart chocolate and toasted flavours and well balanced, hearty characteristics.
I realized this is why I love porters so much and why I always gravitate to beers and dark coffees like this. I’ve always also been a Reese peanut butter cup kind of person as well. Yum.
Again I wish I had gotten two of these in the pack because really one of these is just not enough.
