Dec. 24 - Apostel Bräu

It's the end of my calendar!  All things must end, I suppose.  Tomorrow starts Beermas, however, and so we are reminded that every end is also a beginning.  The Apostel Bräu appears promising, as those more religiously themed beers tend to have some weight behind them.  Must be something about monastery life that makes people feel the need for powerful liquids.  Oddly, the can on one side has the normal "Gebraut nach den deutschen Reinheitsgebot" while the other side warns of the dangers of excess alcohol to health.  In Spanish, no less.

So, for the finale I get another transparent vaguely yellow brew.  It's so...unimpressive to behold.  The head is fairly resistant, takes a while to fizz away.  Not much aroma, just a hint of grain.  It's kind of a suggestion of beer.  The first taste is smooth and somewhat heavy, much more than the color would have you expect.  It's not exactly sour, but definitely not sweet.  The aftertaste lays down a little bitter at the back of the tongue.  It's not bad, I guess.  I feel like the Christmas Eve beer should have been more wintery, or at least a black beer, but you get what you get sometimes.  And starting tomorrow I get what I want to get, within certain limitations.  Nah, I get what I want to get, I make the rules for Beermas!

Dec. 18 - Eichbaum Sünnbörg

Finally we get to something darker!  A real black beer.  This can has a little story on the side in craft style, insisting that malt is the basis of the best beer.  Sünnbörg looks more Swedish than German, but Scandinavia has been producing some stellar stouts in the last few years, so maybe it shouldn't be surprising.

Oh boy, oh boy, looks the right color, a little lighter than regular stouts and porters.  A little malty aroma, but nothing too heavy.  It's an interesting flavor, only slightly sweet with a touch of licorice.  There's a little bit of smoke hiding in the background too.  Some sourness develops giving the beer a fruity touch.  It's not a sticky feeling drink, also pretty clean after the mouthful.  The complexity of the flavor gives me hope for the future, but I don't think there are too many black beers in the box.

Dec. 17 - Eichbaum Premium

Next up in Eichbaum Presents Advent, Premium!  Not Premium lager, pilsner, ale or anything specific, just Premium Bier.  Okay, then.  It's a fairly festive can, with that nice shiny red and the horse drawn sleigh.  I wonder if premium is better than luxurious?

Well, it looks pretty much the same as yesterday's, maybe a fluffier head.  But, same color, same transparency.  Just a little more aroma.  Sort of sweet, a little malty.  Also honey right up front with this one, reminds me more of mead than of beer.  I think it's more cloying than yesterday, a little stickier.  It sours a bit as it gets warmed up, but it's still a really sweet beer.  And not like a chocolate stout or porter, or any of those fruity ales, it's pretty much sugar water.  Okay, fermented sugar water, since it does give you a little of that alcohol heat in the cold of the evening.  Still, I would rather have had a stout.

Dec. 16 - Eichbaum Landbier

Well, this is a more lively can, with the mustard yellow tractor in the wheat field.  The other landbier was pretty good, so I'm feeling hopeful.  Yet again, it's an Eichbaum product, promising enjoyment in the shade of the oak.

Very foamy and extremely light colored.  I'm a little disappointed in that.  Also barely detectable smell, I think if I didn't know it was beer I wouldn't guess.  Much more flavorful than the aroma would suggest, heavy on the sweet.  It starts out just mild, like a sweeter lager, but builds quickly into a honey flavor that sits for just a moment between the tongue and palate.  As you might imagine from the ghostly color, it is a very clean drink, little to no aftertaste, zipping right down the gullet.  Like so many of these light beers it isn't bad, but it's not what I would prefer in the winter.  They would be much more refreshing and enjoyable in the summer months.  Maybe this calendar was meant to go to Australia.

Dec. 15 - Ureich

Well, it's back to lager, but this is a luxurious lager!  Says so on the can.  There are some nice hops on the side to make you think it's well flavored, but we'll see.  Ureich, you have a challenge ahead of you.

I think it's even weaker in color than yesterday's, again with a resistant head.  Barely any smell, though, just the tiniest hint of bitter and a whisper of pepper.  I swear I think I'm getting pepper.  That would be something of a luxury.  The taste, however, is regular lager, with a big round start that flattens out into a grainy sweetness, and trails off with a dash of bitterness down the throat.  Even flavor from start to finish, a good drinking lager, but the pepper is lacking in the taste, and it's not what I would call luxurious.  A good stout, now that's luxury!  Or even a strong IPA.

Meh, not quite

Dec. 13 - Der Jäger aus Kurpfalz

Well, doesn't this can look busy?  Now we have another wheat beer, although not my favorite, it's a welcome break from the blandness of the pilsners.  This is another Eichbaum beer, so I guess this calendar was an agreement among just a few friends.  I'm already calculating how to get one from Beer Geek another year.

Not much for head, this one, but a more mouth-filling appearance than the recent beers.  It's a dusty opaque, dark gold, looks like a nice wheat.  Slightly tangy aroma, goes with the territory.  Not a bad mouthful.  Starts somewhat sweet but rolls down into a sour that one expects from the wheat beers.  It hangs around a little, not quite as clean as those blah pilsners, but inoffensive aftertaste.  On the whole, not bad at all, and a bright spot in a field of mediocrity.

Dec. 5 - Sankt Bartholomäus wheat

Finally, something that isn't a pilsner!  Maybe we're taking the next step, here.  It's another from Eichbaum, Sankt Bartholomäus Hefeweizen.  Like the rest, it insists that it is a premium quality beer, even though it has one side of ingredients printed in Chinese.  I guess that would be expected for export.

A pleasant wheaty smell comes off the opened can immediately, and the beer certainly has more character than the previous ones in appearance - dirty orange and opaque.  A good looking wheat.  The head dies back to a thin foam on top, but manages to hang on there.  The taste is quite mild, and without that snappy aftertaste that many have.  It's kind of a sweet-and-sour flavor, like a little sour gummy.  After a while beery bitterness has a chance to develop a little and add some texture.  Kind of a soft kitten of a beer; while it has a clear flavor and nothing to sharp around it, it also adds bit of backbone in the aftertaste and the look.  I'm still awaiting better, though, spoiled craft drinker that I am.

Dec. 3 - Eichbaum

Number three is a lager, so getting away from the pilsner for the moment.  I do not know Eichbaum, of Mannheim, but they have a snappy promise on the front of aromatic hops.  It is a lager, not an ale, so we'll see.

I really see no difference from the last two in appearance, although the head isn't quite as resistant.  It's the same light yellow and transparent liquid.  Beerier smell, though.  Promise of a little more bitter.  Indeed, there is a heavier flavor than that Darguner especially, although it isn't especially strong.  The bitterness is extremely mild, and there is just a itty-bittiest tang in the aftertaste.  It's slightly more perky than the previous pilsners, but not nearly as in your face as what I've become accustomed to.  It's not such a bad beer, but sort of forgettable.