For Christmas of 2015, my wife bought me a really cool present: BeerAdvent Calendar 2015 from Kalea. In truth, my wife got me a lot of nice presents (she’s the best wife ever), but the nice thing about the Beer Advent Calendar is you get it early. You have to, since it’s comprised of 24 different imported German beers in a box with little doors that you open, one per day from December 1st through December 24th. All of the beers are listed on the side of the carton, however, so be careful not to look and spoil the daily surprises!

I love German beer more than beer from any other country on Earth, so this was definitely right up my alley. Knowing this, my wife got me another for 2016. I told you I was lucky! Last year, my one criticism of the calendar was there were no bocks or doppelbocks (not fair!), but otherwise it was just an amazing way to sample 24 German beers I had never seen before. I got mine a Costco here in Georgia and paid $59.95 for the box, and it was running the same price for 2016. That might sound steep, but when you distribute that price over 24 different half liter cans, it only works out to $2.50 per can. Not a bad deal at all looked at that way.

I enjoyed several of these beers in December of 2015, but saved a lot of them for 2016, the “Year of German Beer” if you will. I call it that because 2016 marked the 500^th Anniversary of the Reinheitsgebot, or Bavarian beer purity law. The 2016 calendar acknowledges this:

The Reinheitsgebot is the world’s oldest regulation for food. The Bavarian order of 1516 was introduced in part to prevent price competition with bakers for wheat and rye. The restriction of grains to barley was meant to ensure the availability of affordable bread, as wheat and rye were reserved for use by bakers. The text of the 1516 Bavarian law is as follows “…Furthermore, we wish to emphasize that in future in all cities, markets and in the country, the only ingredients used for the brewing of beer must be barley, hops, and water. Whosoever knowingly disregards or transgresses upon this ordinance, shall be punished by the court authorities confiscating such barrels of beer, without fail…”.

To this day, all beer produced in Germany is complying with these regulations!

It’s important to note too that the Reinheitsgebot was also very much intended to keep suspect ingredients from being used to brew beer.

For 2016, there are a few differences in the beer advent calendar. This year, it’s labeled as the “Brewer’s Advent Calendar” and has no year on it. Last year, it was called the “Beer Advent Calendar 2015”. Most of the beers are actually the same, although there are a few new ones. There are reports again as with last year that not all of the calendars have the same beers for the same days. So don’t panic if yours are in a different order.

Day 7 brings with it a very special beer indeed, Herrnbrau Jubilaums Sud. This beer is special because it is a dedicated brew to commemorate the 500th Anniversary of the Reinheitsgebot, and likely won't be seen again. That makes it a new addition to the 2016 calendar.

From the website:

Ingolstadt, ehemalige Herzogstadt und Sitz der ersten bayerischen Landesuniversität ist die Heimat von Herrnbräu. Herzog Wilhelm IV. verkündete in Ingolstadt am 23. April (Georgitag) 1516 das älteste heute noch gültige „Lebensmittelgesetz“ der Welt, „Das Bayerische Reinheitsgebot“. Für Herrnbräu ist „Das Bayerische Reinheitsgebot“ Verpflichtung, um einer überragenden Qualität des Bieres und dem hohen Anspruch an die Herrnbräu-Bierspezialitäten gerecht zu werden.

Naturtrübes Dunkles Kellerbier

2016 feiert „Das Bayerische Reinheitsgebot“ seinen 500. Geburtstag. Speziell hierfür wird der „Herrnbräu Jubiläums-Sud“ mit einem Stammwürzegehalt von 12,8 % im klassichen Ein-Maischverfahren gebraut. Alle verwendeten Rohstoffe stammen aus der Region. Als Resultat eines altüberlieferten Rezeptes mit einem extra hohen Anteil an Röst- und Karamellmalz eingebraut, unter Zugabe aromatischen Hallertauer Hopfens und einer exakt kontrollierten Gärung mit frischer untergäriger Herrnbräu-Hefe entsteht ein dunkles Bier mit kräftiger Farbe und einem milden, angenehm süßen und malzig-würzigem Geschmacksbild. Naturbelassen und unfiltriert. Ein kräftig aromatisches Bier mit feiner Hefe.

„Herrnbräu Jubiläums-Sud“, das ist Bier pur – ursprünglich und in besonders hoher Qualität. Der ideale Trunk für Bierkenner mit einer Neigung zu vollen und geschmacklich stark ausgeprägten Bieren.

Herrnbrau Jubilaums Sud has an alcohol content of 5.6% by volume. My can is stamped as packaged on 01.07.2016 and expires on 01.10.2017. Don’t be fooled by the European date coding format, that means packaged July 1^st 2016 and expires October 1^st 2017.

Herrnbrau Jubilaums Sud pours to a dark reddish brown color with a thick creamy tan head and a thick malty nose hinting at cookie malt and grassy hops. Taking a sip, the beer is dark and malty and hints at toasted nuts, chocolate chip cookies and cola. The depth of malt character is a little less than I expect from the style, but the body is fuller, richer and meatier than any German Dunkels I’ve ever tasted.  The beer finishes grassy hoppy and gently bitter. Balancing out the malt sweetness. I’m very grateful for this chance to sample this tasty, limited edition German brew!

I’m greatly enjoying my Beer Advent Calendar 2016 with the day 7 beer. Here’s looking forward to the remaining 17, and another assortment of 24 in 2017. We’ll be on the lookout next year at Costco once again! Follow them on their Facebook page.

The beers of the 2016 Beer Advent Calendar: