Can day 12 beer from Loz's advent calendar that I curated, picked up in Zagreb this year. Had this on day 25, so 25th December, Christmas Day after a short but extremely cold 🥶 6km loop hike to Gasthof zum Sonnewald Schofweg. Watching the latest Stranger Things on Netflix. We had Za'atar Roasted Squash with Spiced Yoghurt and Pickled Chillies also Quince and Pomegranate Glazed Pork also Lamb and Feta Börek and cous cous and finally Baba Ganoush. Pours pitch black, oily, smooth, lots of coffee, milky, creamy. Roasty and coffee floods through again, and reasonably well hidden, sweetness not so, pretty good but a bit of a one trick pony. Score 7.0

Can day 19 of the advent calendar that I curated for Loz. Had this day 25, so 25th December, Christmas Day after a 6km loop hike to Gasthof zum Sonnewald Schofweg. Listening to Tortoise - Touch, cooking Za'atar Roasted Squash with Spiced Yoghurt and Pickled Chillies also Quince and Pomegranate Glazed Pork also Lamb and Feta Börek, also cous cous, and finally Baba Ganoush. Pours hazy dark gold with a white head, good mouthfeel, yeah nice carbonation. Wouldn't necessarily think yeah Kumquats and Mango but it's definitely fruity and slightly tropical, slight warmth from abv, good Score 7.0

Can day 20 of my Mr Hop advent calendar that I got direct from the webshop Vernray Netherlands. Had this day 25, so 25th December, Christmas Day after a 6km loop hike to Gasthof zum Sonnewald Schofweg. Listening to Tortoise - Touch, cooking Za'atar Roasted Squash with Spiced Yoghurt and Pickled Chillies also Quince and Pomegranate Glazed Pork also Lamb, also Feta Börek and finally Baba Ganoush. Pours hazy brown with a white head that didn't last long, soft mouthfeel, it's a nice carbonation. Nicely spicy, definitely Belgian vibes, the gin works well in this, that's two gin infused drinks in the last couple of days for me. Score 7.0

Can day 19 beer of my Mr Hop advent beer calender, direct from Mr Hop webshop Venray Netherlands. Consumed Wednesday 24th December 2025, Christmas Eve. We're had Nidi di Tagliatelle al forno (baked pasta nests) listening to Anna B Savage on Tidal. A solid imperial stout, very much ticking all the boxes, pours pitch black, little or no head. Yep taste is a text book imperial stout a sort of do it by numbers Impy', roasty, chocolate, smooth, a little caramel, fudge and hints of coffee and vanilla on the nose, a little background woodiness. This never strays far from the textbook version and whilst this niggles me a little as I would like to see a little more individuality and something that lifts this from the mainstream, I guess that is also confirmation they can brew to style perfectly. Good beer just a tad too safe. Score 6.9

Bottle picked up from Äpfel Getrankemarkt Moosburg (I think 🤔). Consumed Wednesday 24th December 2025, Christmas Eve. We're cooking Nidi di Tagliatelle al forno (baked pasta nests) listening to c/Nightbus - Passenger. Pours clear light brown, excellent clarity. It was a bit eager to leave the bottle but the head didn't last long long. Not too much on the aroma, there's a gentle light malt but not much else. Taste is simple but really boring, mouthfeel good, light molasses, but very little else to talk about, boring. Score 6.0

Can day 22 of my Mr Hop advent beer calender, direct from Mr Hop webshop Venray Netherlands. Consumed Wednesday 24th December 2025, Christmas Eve. We're cooking Nidi di Tagliatelle al forno (baked pasta nests) listening to Emily Pilbeam standing in for Huw Stephens on 6Music. Pours murky brown with a head that was extremely disappointing in it's desperation to vanish. Taste thankfully lifts this back up a notch or two, wheaty yes, quite strong yes, a little tangy, soft mouthfeel, the gin does show but I was surprised that it brings something to the party, this is a decent beer, a little quirky yes but good. Score 6.9

Can day 23 of my Mr Hop advent calendar, ordered directly from the webshop Vernray, Netherlands. Had this at home Tuesday 23rd December 2025 listening to Emily Pilbeam standing in for Huw Stephens on 6Music. I made homemade Pork Pies and we had Conchiglone Pasta stuffed with Cream Cheese and Smoked Salmon. Pours mid yellow, slim white head, smooth in the mouth, tropical fruit, in fact overripe tropical fruit, hoppiness is discreet but then wow it comes through with hoppy burps. Score 6.9