5 - Excellent (must buy), American IPA, Beer Reviews, Omnipollo, Sweden

Omnipollo Magic #4:21 Raspberry Smoothie IPA

Friday, 18 March 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Omnipollo
Country: Sweden
ABV: 6%
Style: American IPA
Other Notes: Brewed by Omnipollo at De Proef Brouwerij (Belgium)

Brewer Description: (from website) Part of Magic Numbers, a dreamy small-batch series: 4:21 is an IPA brewed with a dose of raspberries, vanilla beans and lactose sugar.

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.71
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.5

Intro: A 330ml bottle with a best before date of 6th July 2016, poured into a Spiegelau IPA glass.
Appearance: It poured a cloudy dark pinkish (like pink guava juice) colour with a one finger light pink head that had poor retention and little lacing.
Aroma: Very nice raspberry and guava aromas along with a hint of peach and orange.
Taste: Tart sour raspberries and guava, with some light grapefruit bitterness, orange sweetness and pine.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with medium carbonation.
Overall: Wow, I really liked this. There’s a good balance between sour, bitter and sweet here. The tart sour raspberries was really nice and the guava was a nice surprise. I definitely have to get myself more of this.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgian Strong Dark Ale, Belgium, Brouwerij Huyghe

Delirium Nocturnum

Thursday, 17 March 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Brouwerij Huyghe
Country: Belgium
ABV: 8.5%
Style: Belgian Strong Dark Ale
Other Notes: Triple fermentation

Brewer Description: (from website) Initially, a very good mouthfeel of alcohol and softness. This is followed by an increasing bitterness, partially from the hop, but also from the roasted malt and chocolate malt. Towards the end a nice balance between bitterness, sour and sweet.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.06
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.9

Intro: A 330ml bottle with a best before end date of April 2016 poured into a Chimay goblet glass.
Appearance: It poured a cloudy dark brown colour with a one finger tanned head that dissipated fairly quickly to a nice thin fluffy layer leaving some nice lacing.
Aroma: Strong dark fruits of raisin, plum, prunes, grape, dates and a hint of caramel.
Taste: Much like the aroma, there is strong sweet plum, raisin and prunes at the start. Sweet candied sugar and caramel midway. Before a light bitter finish with the alcohol coming through.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied and high carbonation.
Overall: This was nice and fruity but could be even better if the alcohol was hidden more.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Garage Project, New Zealand, Porter - Imperial

Garage Project Cherry Bomb

Wednesday, 16 March 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Garage Project
Country: New Zealand
ABV: 9%
Style: American Imperial Porter
Other Notes: Brewed with tart cherry and cacao nibs.

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Hello world, it’s Cherry Bomb imperial porter, a complex, decadent desert beer, spiked with sour cherries and cacao nibs. The finished beer has a rich ebony hue with a pronounced, bitter-sweet, dark chocolate and ripe tart cherry character.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.51
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.5

Intro: A 650ml bottle with a best before date of 15th April 2016 and poured into a Moonzen teku glass.
Appearance: It poured a dark dark brown colour with a one finger tanned head that did not stick around too long but left some sparse spotty lacing.
Aroma: Strong dark chocolate with some tart cherry. Coffee is also there but in the background.
Taste: Bittersweet chocolate at the start but the finish is tart sourish cherry with hints of vanilla.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with low carbonation.
Overall: Normally I’d say that chocolate and cherry goes well together. However in this case, it didn’t quite mix together too well. I’m thinking something like sweet milk chocolate would go better with cherry than the bitterness of dark chocolate. Having said that, it’s not bad, and its much more drinkable than the 9% would suggest.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Brouwerij Rodenbach N.V., Flanders Red Ale

Rodenbach Grand Cru

Tuesday, 15 March 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Brouwerij Rodenbach N.V.
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6%
Style: Flanders Red Ale
Other Notes: Rodenbach Grand Cru is a blend of “young” ale (33%) and ale that has matured for two years (67%)

Brewer Description: (from website) Grand Cru by Rodenbach has on average been left for much longer in the oak casks (“foeders”) of the Roeselare “beer cathedral”, which results in a more pronounced version of the “Flanders Red-Brown Beer” style. Rodenbach Grand Cru consists of 1/3 young beer and 2/3 beer matured two years in oak. The result is a complex beer with a great deal of wood and esters, vinous and with a very long aftertaste, just like a Grand Cru wine.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.47
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.4

Intro: A corked and caged 750ml bottle with a best before date of 18th March 2016. Poured into a Cantillon ballon glass.
Appearance: It poured a clear dark amber brown colour with a thin tanned head that dissipated quickly but left nice stringy lacing.
Aroma: Tart, cherry, grape, green apple and vinegar.
Taste: Tart cherry, grape soda, grape, oak with some light caramel.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with medium to high carbonation.
Overall: A wonderfully tart and fruity beer that is well balanced.

5 - Excellent (must buy), Beer Reviews, Stout - Imperial, The Lost Abbey, USA

Lost Abbey Box Set Track #10 (Bat Out Of Hell)

Monday, 14 March 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: The Lost Abbey
Country: USA
ABV: 13.5%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Aged in American Oak Bourbon Barrels

Brewer Description: (from website) From the Ultimate Box Set: “A fresh track, Track 10 began as a fresh Serpent’s Stout base aged in bourbon barrels with oodles of coffee and cacao nibs added shortly before packaging. Late in November of 2011, our head brewer asked about creating a Coffee and Cacoa Nib version of Serpent’s Stout for the San Diego Strong Ale Festival. The beer was a hit with our fans. When we wrote up the syllabus for the Ultimate Box Set, we knew a version of this beer would be included. We waited until the very end of the release schedule to put this beer in a bottle so that the coffee and cacoa nibs really come through.”

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.77
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.6

Intro: A corked and caged 12.7 fl oz bottle poured into a snifter glass. I believe this is a 2015 bottling as “2015” is printed on the neck.
Appearance: It poured an opaque pitch black with a thin less than half finger dark brown head that leaves nice stringy lacing.
Aroma: Strong bourbon and chocolate with some sweetness coming from hints of molasses, toffee and vanilla.
Taste: Very nice espresso coffee, crunchy coffee bean, dark bittersweet chocolate and bourbon notes.
Mouthfeel: Thick, full bodied with low carbonation and light alcohol warming.
Overall: This was really good. It was surprising that there wasn’t much coffee on the nose, but it definitely came out in the taste. A great sipper on a cool night.

words of another dreamy traveller

Monthly Archives: March 2016