They said it couldn’t (or shouldn’t) happen, but it has. Five years after putting it out to pasture, our beer correspondent Ben McCormick has decided to resurrect his annual Beer Advent Calendar in an attempt to spread a bit of festive joy in these testing times. 

Tapping in to the zeitgeist and aiming to recreate the joys of remote working Zoom meetings, he’s decided to dispense with the written form this year and is dipping his toe into the murky waters of broadcasting. Every day, he’ll be cracking open a bottle and delivering his verdict live via the hastily-constructed Beer Advent Calendar YouTube channel. What’s more, the pub that compiled this year’s calendar – Bath’s Chapter One – will post a beer list on its website, so you can drink along on the day if you like. 

Also new this year is the unprecedented ‘Bag of Cans’ feature, which will see three nights when Ben aims to recreate the challenge of updating the calendar after a night on the razz by necking a few tinnies beforehand. Merchandise is, of course, available.