Brewdog Advent calendar review: a Christmas essential for craft beer lovers
RECENTLY someone in the office told me that they could remember the days when all you found behind the doors of Advent calendars were pictures.
Looking at the Brewdog Advent Calendar I've been tasked with reviewing, it's safe to say we've come a long way.
Craft Beer Advent Calendar, £55 from Brewdog
I can't imagine the German Lutherans who came up with the Advent calendar in the 19th century envisioned that within a couple of hundred years, their idea would have morphed into a 10kg box containing 24 cans of beer. (Then again, being German, perhaps they did).
Anyway, I'm not complaining — it's certainly more fun to review two dozen cans of beer than pictures of the Nativity.
With that said, read on for my full Brewdog Advent Calendar review.
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Pros:
- No duplicates
- Full-size cans
- Comes with a stylish beer glass
- Varied selection of beers with some festive specials
Cons
- While it's not expensive, it doesn't save any money compared to buying the beers separately
- Heavy (but that's to be expected)
- Not the most stylish design
- Flimsy box
Rating: 4/5
Brewdog Advent calendar review: quick summary
Brewdog is one of the only craft beer breweries I can think of that is big enough to offer a calendar like this.
There isn't a single repeat beer here, and inside you'll find lagers, IPAs, stouts and even a few seasonal specials included. It's a testament to how big the brand has come.
Admittedly, the box is a bit naff; when you open one door it's hard not to open another three with it by accident, and the novelty-Christmas-jumper design isn't going to be winning any awards.
But if you like Brewdog beer, you won't care about that. This is a box that allows you to try a new Brewdog product every single day.
Of course, you probably won't like every single beer included and I'm sure cans like the Rocky Road stout will ruffle the moustaches of beer traditionalists, but it's nice to see the brand bringing some fun to the festive season.
My only other small issue is the price. After doing some rough maths, I think that if you could buy all of the beers separately on Brewdog's website (which you can't), it'd cost you about the same as buying the Advent calendar.
Admittedly that's not the intention of this calendar; instead, it's a way to sample a wide selection of Brewdog beer without having to buy a ridiculous number of multipacks.
However, it would have been nice to see some sort of cash saving — the thinking being that only a small percentage of people will actually like every single beer offered in the calendar.
Brewdog Advent Calendar review: how I tested
I'm the reviews manager at Sun Shopping, and at this time of year, I get the opportunity to review a wide variety of Advent calendars, containing everything from IPAs to eye creams.
Beer calendars are some of my favourites to review — it's great to feel like you're being productive while making your way through 10 kilos of beer. It takes me back to my days of working in pubs.
Once I'd managed to get the weighty calendar home, I blasphemously opened every door and have since been trying the beers while rating the overall calendar for its design, variety and value for money.
Brewdog Advent Calendar review: full review
First impressions
The Brewdog Advent Calendar is extraordinarily heavy.
This might feel like an obvious point to make — after all, the box contains 10kg of beer — but I made the mistake of getting the calendar delivered to The Sun's office, and after lugging it home I feel the need to warn any potential buyers to get it delivered to their house, not their workplace.
Design-wise, it's not winning any awards; Brewdog has gone down the novelty route, and the result is a box reminiscent of a supermarket Christmas jumper.
It hits all the classic Christmas notes — red, green, snowflakes, trees — but considering the effort Brewdog has put into curating a festive selection of beer, it could have put a few extra minutes into popping it into an attractive box.
I feel like the design is especially important with an Advent calendar such as this one, which is 65.5cm wide and 37cm tall; realistically you'll have to have it out somewhere in your house for the entire month.
Brewdog does get brownie points for making its calendar fully recyclable, though its flimsy cardboard construction means that when you open one door, it's easy to accidentally rip open another a the same time.