The Old Shoe: Sheffield bar sells £699 'advent calendar' containing 24 bottles of rare booze

A Sheffield bar is selling an advent calendar that is sure to go down well - 24 full-size bottles of rare booze.

The Old Shoe in Orchard Square has put together two dozen 750ml bottles of wild-fermented ‘natty wine, sour beer and funky cider’ and packed them in a vintage Hungarian wooden ammunition box. 

Wild fermentation uses naturally-occurring yeast, not commercial yeast, to make alcoholic drinks which are said to have a more interesting texture and complex flavour.

The box - dubbed the World’s Wildest Advent Calendar - reportedly weighs more than 66lbs. It is on sale for £699, with profits to a charity chosen with the help of the buyer, according to o-owner Mike Pomranz.

He added: “I wanted to create a gift that highlights our bar’s uniquely diverse drink selection but that was, itself unique. This advent calendar is such an incredible collection of wild-fermented beverages that members of staff were debating buying it as we were putting it together!”

Booze in the box includes products from craft breweries like the UK’s Deya, America’s Jester King, and Belgium’s Cantillon; cideries like Oliver’s, Little Pomona and Find & Foster; and wineries ranging from English producer Tillingham to the Burgundy darlings at Dugat-Py, he added.

The Old Shoe is in the former Schuh shop in Orchard Square. The ‘advent calendar’ is on display in the bar.