Last year at this time, I wrote, “What a year 2020 has been!” Well, it seems like 2021 said, “Hold my beer” and here we are. At least it’s December 1st already, and the start of another Beer Advent Calendar! This is the 17th year(!) I’ve been running this feature, and each day from now through the 24th a new holiday- or winter-themed beer will be revealed—some old favorites, some new ones we haven’t seen before.

To kick things off, we’re starting with a beer we haven’t seen before: Jingle Java Holiday Stout from Bent River Brewing in Moline, Illinois.

Jingle Java is the holiday version of the brewery’s top selling Uncommon Stout, an oatmeal stout infused with coffee, with 6.4% alcohol by volume and 31 IBUs. It’s available on draft and in bottles (I’m still favoring at-home consumption for 2021, so bottles are perfect). The description says:

Fans of our Uncommon Stout will love Jingle Java! This coffee stout is enhanced with vanilla, pecan, cinnamon, caramel and rum to give it a flavor that is the perfect compliment to the holidays.

Located in the Quad Cities of the Mississippi River Valley overlooking the Mississippi River, Bend River Brewing got its start in 1993 as Koski Home Brew Fixen’s, and the Bent River bar opened in 1996 (albeit not brewing beer in-house yet). Its own beer started flowing several years later.

The brewery won a GABF medal in 2007, and in 2012 opened its second location in neighboring Rock Island. Today it distributes across Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri.

Jingle Java sounds like just the thing to kickstart the holiday season, and even though it’s only the first of the month, consider saving a bottle for Christmas morning in place of your coffee…

Find Bent River Brewing Jingle Java Holiday Stout on:

• Untappd
• BeerAdvocate
• RateBeer
• Facebook

Image credits: Bent River’s Facebook page.