Best beer advent calendars for a very hoppy Christmas countdown in 2024

We absolutely love the design of this calendar – a box of book-like drawers, each of which contains at least one item of beer-related fabulousness. There are 13 beers and a pint glass stashed in this calendar, including some of Greene King’s most popular tipples (False Nine Golden Beer and Level Head Session IPA, we’re looking at you) and some with which we were less familiar, such as the Lazy Day IPA. Plus, the sturdy construction and book-themed design of this calendar makes it a perfect addition to your bookcase, as its drawers are perfect for stashing odds and ends.

Do beer calendars get cooler than this? We suspect not. We’re huge fans of Beavertown’s beers and the fact we can purchase an advent calendar stuffed with the brewery’s finest tipples is music to our ears. This year, Beavertown has ditched the traditional Christmas regalia and opted for a rocket-shaped calendar instead, which is somewhat of a refreshing approach. There are beers here to suit every palate – we were chuffed to see our favourite, the highly quaffable Bones lager, alongside the brewery’s famous Neck Oil IPA, and we loved the quirky, colourful skull-adorned glass included as an unexpected extra.

What’s better than a beer-filled advent calendar designed to resemble a bow-adorned present? Nothing, in our opinion, especially when the contents are this good – 25 tipples from Bakewell-based Thornbridge Brewery. This is a brewery known for its fantastic range of beers, and the calendar reflects that – notable brews include the delicious AM:PM IPA (one of several gluten-free options), the wonderfully creamy Market Porter and the West Side Glory, which packs a punch with its 7 per cent ABV. It’s another calendar with the potential for reuse, too, as the individual drawers were unexpectedly rigid. Store it until next Christmas and simply refill it with your favourite brews.

The 25 tipples in this calendar include some of the best produced by Woodforde’s, a brewery founded in Norfolk in 1981. We’ll avoid revealing too many surprises, but expect bestsellers such as the brewery’s Volt, a punchy aromatic IPA, alongside a couple of limited-edition tipples. The box itself is relatively simple – a blue cardboard cube adorned with images of fairy-lights – but, when the beer’s this good, we’re not going to complain. Bonus points for the inclusion of a couple of ciders, too.

The Best of British Beer’s beer calendar never fails to disappoint – the contents represent some of the UK’s top craft breweries and, although the contents of one beer box might be slightly different to another ordered on the same day, you can rest assured they’ll all be hop-tastically moreish. Our calendar’s highlights included a delicious Double Dragon Ale from the Felinfoel Brewery, and the Harbour Brewing Co’s Arctic Sky IPA. The 24 cans and bottles included several beers from breweries we weren’t familiar with, too – a reminder that these types of calendars provide beer drinkers (who are often, let’s face it, creatures of habit) with the perfect excuse to step out of their comfort zones.

In reality, this calendar’s contents don’t differ that much from the Best of British Beer beer advent calendar – the contents are just as varied, and a brilliant range of breweries are represented. We can’t help but feel the packaging could be a little more exciting (the box seems to have exactly the same design as last year’s), but with beers such as Harbour Brewing Co’s fantastic Singlefin lager and Glamorgan Brewing’s delicious Welsh Lager, we’re also not going to kick up too much of a fuss.

Yes, this calendar is relatively simple but the festive red-and-green colour scheme is spot on, and there’s no denying this calendar offers brilliant value for money. Most beer drinkers will be familiar with many of Brewdog’s thirst quenchers, but the brewery hasn’t rested on its laurels by simply stuffing this with their old favourites – there were various surprises, including a Hoppy Christmas IPA. We also appreciated the addition of one of the most elegant beer glasses we’ve come across.

Who doesn’t like chomping on tasty snacks while enjoying their favourite tipples? We were smitten instantly with the design of this calendar, on which the individual doors resemble Christmas baubles. We were able to sample several beers we’d never come across before (Keith Brewery’s Keith Beer is now one of our favourites) and the wide range of snacks, which included everything from snacking pickles (who knew there was such a thing?) to various types of roasted nuts tingled our tastebuds and did a great job of satisfying those beer-related hunger pangs.

The designers of Qwerty’s beer box have done things a little differently – and that’s no bad thing. The 12 beers are stashed in holes with even numbers between two and 24, and removing the cans reveals questions that are perfect for a post-dinner quiz (our favourite question required us to guess which UK city has the most pubs per square mile, and we guarantee you’ll be surprised by the answer). Tipples included lots craft brewery gems, such as Signature Brew’s Roadie Pale Ale and Siren Craft Brew’s mango-tinged Lumina beer.  Make sure you take time to appreciate the artwork – a beautiful depiction of a brewery, complete with barrel-loaded production lines.

Who needs snow-dusted robins when you can have arty monochrome images of the Manchester skyline on your advent calendar? It’s not just the design (created by artist Susie Wright) that pays tribute to Manchester, though – the beers honour the Northern powerhouse, too. There are tipples from Cloudwater, Beer Union, Blackjack and Squawk, and every single one is testament to the diversity of the city’s brewing scene.

Standouts include Cloudwater’s Happy pale ale (with an ABV of just 3.4 per cent, it’s an easy-drinking beer that is unexpectedly moreish) and Blackjack Brewing Co’s Salvation IPA. The best bit? When you buy this calendar, you’ll be helping to support Manchester charity Lifeshare Partnership. Oh, and a top tip – if you’re buying it as a gift, you can request a personalised card to be added (and the invoice to be removed) at the checkout stage.