This German-Style Beer Advent Calendar Has Costco Shoppers Divided
While the rest of the world is only now coming to terms with the start of fall and pumpkin pies flooding the bakery aisles at supermarkets, there's one retail giant that already has its eyes set on Christmas. Although the holiday season is three months away, Costco shoppers have already started spotting the retailer's boozy advent calendars for 2021. It's never too early to get into the holiday spirit, especially if there's some booze involved, eh?
Per Vinepair, Costco has brought back the Brewer's Advent Calendar by Kalea for the seventh year in a row. The giant advent calendar contains 24 16.9-ounce cans of German beer so beer fans can drink their way to Christmas. Each beer, the Kalea website claims, is sourced from small breweries located in Germany and Austria and packaged specially for the Brewer's Advent Calendar. While the 2021 beer calendar sees the return of Pilsners and Helles Lagers, there are six new additions to this year's version. Apart from a new Bavarian-style Marzen, a hefeweizen, and an Indian pale ale, Kalea says that the real kicker this year will be the Zwönitzer Steinbier and the Ladenburger Weizenbock. As with previous years, the 2021 Brewer's Advent Calendar is also priced at $59.99.
Yet, while a beer advent calendar sounds like a pretty exciting way for adults to get hyped about Christmas, some Costco shoppers aren't too happy about it.
Costco shoppers are questioning the legitimacy of the German beers
One skeptical buyer took to Reddit to ask fellow Redditors what their thoughts on Costco's beer calendar were and the reactions were divided, to say the least. Some swear by how amazing the beers are: "I had this last year and it was f***** amazing, and cheap too for a bunch of imported beer. It flew off the shelves here in SD." Another said that they bought this advent calendar every year and that it's a refreshing alternative for anyone who wants a break from American beers locally available.
Others, however, questioned whether the beers in the Brewer's Advent Calendar were real domestic German beers in the first place, adding that they couldn't recognize any of the beers in the calendar. One Redditor claimed that, "None of these are real German domestic brands. They just buy some generic overstocked beer and make up fake brands to sell it." Another comment seemed to agree, "I've been to Germany/Munich for Oktoberfest and recognize none of these."
Some also thought that the beer was just plain bad and that they had a metallic aftertaste. One Redditor offered a possible explanation for the poor quality of the beers. Considering Costco shoppers won't buy the advent calendar for another month or two, the beers are bound to become old, especially considering that they are left unrefrigerated at Costco. For anyone not sold on Costco's German beer calendar, the chain also has a wine advent calendar. The latter, though, is supposedly going to cost a whopping $99.99!