IT'S that time of year again when the hackneyed phrase 'it's that time of year again' gets painfully overused.
With the festive season almost/already in full swing (delete according to when you put your tree up), counting down the days to Christmas has begun, a practice which is usually accompanied by an Advent calendar.
You can get Advent calendars containing all manner of things nowadays, not just a tiny chocolate treat or a gladdening religious image.
Last year, I splashed out (with the aid of a Black Friday deal, mind) on a beer Advent calendar from a major online beer retailer.
It was, as I had feared, an exercise in excess stock clearance by said retailer. A box of beer intended to be consumed in December that didn't contain one stout or dark ale should have raised alarm bells.
Once bitten, I was determined to not get stung again, reckoning that a few quality beers was far better than a hefty 24 cans of distinctly average fare.
To that end, I would recommend counting the days until Christmas with an appropriately named and high-quality beer.
I purchased a bottle of Galway Bay's barrel-aged imperial stout Counting Off The Days a good 10 months ago, but stuck this 13.6 per cent monster in the cupboard for a bit of ageing.
The base beer itself was brewed way back in February 2020, back when Happy Birthday was only sung on someone's actual birthday and social distancing was only practised by people who were considered 'thran'.
Anyway, with time on their hands, the good folks at Galway Bay lagered it for a year, before giving it another nine months in rum and bourbon barrels.
The result is a sumptuous and decadent stout which deserves a reverent sip and savour.
Coming in the now familiar 500ml wax-dipped bottles, it pours a jet black colour in the glass with a thin, tan head.
There's a boozy whiff of Christmas pudding and coffee – at 13.6 there's no mission of hiding the strength here.
There's a good deal more complexity on the palate though. There's the ubiquitous coffee/dark chocolate dynamic going on before you start to break down hints of dried fruit, a slight sour, vinous feel and a little hint of caramel.
Bottled in small batches, it would be hard to get your hands on 24 to actually count off the days of Advent, but a few bottles will provide some welcome cheer.
