A few years ago, my wife came up with the best Christmas present ever. An advent calendar for adults. Well, really just for me. But it’s still a great idea for any couple that enjoys, as I affection-ally refer to as, Beer-everages.
In this day and age, shopping for others is getting harder and harder. My wife and I are no exception to this. If we want something, you can bet we’re ordering it online from various retailers – whomever is cheapest at the time.
Enter the Beer-everage Advent Calendar
What better present than a new beer you’ve never had before? Right, exactly. Then do that 24 more times. For a connoisseur of fine beverages, this is the perfect gift.
One new beer every day leading up to Christmas. It’s thoughtful, and while not the cheapest, is fairly easy to replicate every year assuming you live in an area teaming with breweries.
But how do you keep track?
That’s a great question, and quite possibly where I lose some of you. Not in the sense that you can’t follow, but that it requires use of an app or service for tracking beers you’ve already tasted.
For me, this is UnTappd. I use the app (available for iOS and Android), but they also have a website you can visit. I imagine the apps get far more usage though. Speaking of…
I have to say, whomever came up with the app is a genius. Especially with the badges. Not that I’m advocating drinking, but the app does a great job promoting trying new beers. It’s great for the consumer AND for the business. In a sense, the consumer could find a new beer that they would never have tried otherwise. And for the brewery/business, it opens them up to new customers that they may have never reached otherwise.
I can definitely say this was the case with me. I used to be stuck in my ways and tended to prefer the beers that I knew. They were still nice beers, but it was always the same. Now I’m always looking for the new beer to try. I still have my daily drivers at home for when I need a “comfort beer”, but I openly welcome new beers when out and about.
Choosing the beers
A question my wife often receives is how she orders the beers and decides which ones come early in the month versus later. Because let’s be honest here, if you’re going to be opening a new beer everyday, you best bet the cream of the crop is at the end. No one wants to open the best beer first and then go down-hill from there.
For the wifey, the answer is simple though. UnTappd, yet again, comes to the rescue. After she has 25 beers picked out, she simply orders them from worst rated to best. This year, she told me that ranges from 3.59 to 4.2 (out of 5).
In my book, 3.5 is average. This represents a beer that you could drink, but you won’t go out of your way to order. It’s not bad, but not spectacular. Based on that, there’s a fair number of ‘average to above average’ beers this year. But that doesn’t matter, I’m just excited for the thrill of trying something new.
Wrapping things up
It is Christmas after-all, so the beers should be wrapped up in some fashion. This year, they are adoring the top of our dresser, mainly because that’s the only place out of reach of our son.
Anyways, Happy Holidays to everyone out there. If you weren’t sure what to get your loved one, hopefully our advent calendar inspires you.
Until next time!