4 - Good (buy), American IPA, Beer Reviews, England, Siren Craft Brew

Siren Pompelmocello IPA

Thursday, 21 April 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Siren Craft Brew
Country: England
ABV: 6%
Style: American IPA

Brewer Description: (from bottle) This sour IPA is hopped with Enigma, Bravo and Apollo to create the biggest grapefruity hop profile we could muster, but we’ve also included grapefruit zest and juice for good measure. Added lactose rounds things off with a sweet and smooth touch.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.12
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 330ml bottle with a best before date of 7th December 2016 and poured into a Spiegelau IPA glass.
Appearance: It poured a slightly hazy golden colour with a one finger white head that dissipated quickly but left some nice lacing.
Aroma: Intense fresh grapefruit and grapefruit juice aromas with some gummy bear candy orange and a hint of lime and pine.
Taste: Tart and sour mango with pomelo, grapefruit and orange in the background. However, the finish just drops off to nothing.
Mouthfeel: Tangy, light bodied with medium carbonation.
Overall: I don’t get much bitterness from this IPA. Its much more sour than bitter and just seems more like a Berliner Weisse to me. I really liked the taste at the beginning and would have rated it higher if the finish was better. It really didn’t taste like much at the end. However, it’s very juice like and so very easy to drink. This was nice, but just missing a bit at the end.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), American Strong Ale, Beer Reviews, Rogue Ales, USA

Rogue XS Dead Guy Ale

Thursday, 21 April 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Rogue Ales
Country: USA
ABV: 9%
Style: American Strong Ale
Other Notes: 60 IBUs. Malts – 2-Row, C15, Munich, Rogue Farms Dare and Risk. Hops – Rogue Farms Revolution and Independent.

Brewer Description: Deep amber copper color. Buttery peanut brittle, orange blossom tea aromas follow through to a rich chewy and fruity full body with nice notes of caramel drizzled dried apricot and roasted grains and spice. Finishes with a long, tangy grilled grapefruit and chocolate fade.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.25
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.2

Intro: A 750ml ceramic and wingtop bottle with no bottled on or best by date. Poured into a Mikkeller pint glass.
Appearance: It poured a cloudy dark amber colour with a one finger off white head that dissipated fairly quickly but left some spotty lacing.
Aroma: Apple juice (very juicy), caramel, biscuit malt, grape and a hint of orange.
Taste: Caramel malt sweetness, apple juice, tea, grape, raisins and dark berries.
Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied with light carbonation.
Overall: This was ok. Not bad, but just ok. A little bit too caramel-ly sweet for my taste buds.

18th Street Brewery, 4 - Good (buy), American Pale Ale, Beer Reviews, USA

18th Street Lake Street Express

Wednesday, 20 April 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: 18th Street Brewery
Country: USA
ABV: 4.5%
Style: American Pale Ale

Brewer Description: (from can) All aboard the Lake Street Express! Floral and fruity hops smack your tongue like a runaway train in our crazed session pale ale. Fare’s paid, next stop: Satisfaction.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.09
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 12 fl oz can with unfortunately no best by or canned on date. Poured into a Mikkeller pint glass.
Appearance: It poured a cloudy golden straw colour with a two finger white head that had good retention and left nice stick lacing.
Aroma: On the light side, but there’s tropical fruit mango and pineapple followed by some grapefruit zest and biscuit malt.
Taste: Light mango flavours followed by some nice grapefruit zest bitterness and a hint of orange.
Mouthfeel: Dry, light bodied with medium prickly carbonation.
Overall: Great fruit flavours and very easy to drink. Would have preferred a stronger aroma, but still a good sessionable beer.

1 - Poor (never again), American Pale Wheat Ale, Beer Reviews, New Zealand, Yeastie Boys

Yeastie Boys White Noise

Tuesday, 19 April 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Yeastie Boys
Country: New Zealand
ABV: 4.4%
Style: American Pale Wheat Ale
Other Notes: Brewed for Yeastie Boys at Invercargill Brewery.

Brewer Description: (from bottle) A delicate session-strength beer with hints of orange blossom, coconut, vanilla and a refreshingly clean finish.

My rating: 1
My beeradvocate.com rating: 2.7
My ratebeer.com rating: 2.5

Intro: A 330ml bottle from batch 6 with a best before date of June 2016 and poured into a pint glass.
Appearance: It poured a hazy golden straw colour with minimal white head with some stringy lacing.
Aroma: Light aromas of orange and peach with maybe a hint of vanilla.
Taste: Orange and floral tea with coconut in the background followed by some vanilla towards the end. However, the coconut mixed with the vanilla for some reason gave me a plastic-ey taste that wasn’t too pleasant.
Mouthfeel: Light bodied with medium carbonation.
Overall: It was kind of fine until the vanilla came out. That mixed with the coconut really didn’t work here for me unfortunately.

5 - Excellent (must buy), Beer Reviews, Estonia, Põhjala x To Øl, Stout - Imperial

Põhjala x To Øl Cellar Series Taanilinn Cognac BA

Monday, 18 April 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Põhjala x To Øl
Country: Estonia
ABV: 14%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Cognac barrel aged spiced Imperial Stout. 70 IBUs. Malts – Pilsner, Oats, Cara 150, Melanoid, Chocolate, Cara Amber, Special B, Chocolate Rye and Demerara Sugar. Hops – Magnum and Goldings. Other – cinnamon, aniseed and orange zest.

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Põhjala and To Øl created this beer together to honour the old Danish heritage of Tallinn. Deep complex oatmeal stout aged for months on cognac barrels. Spiced with all the best from the liquors of Estonia.

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.72
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.6

Intro: A 330ml waxed bottle with a best before date of 4th November 2018, poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: It poured a pitch black colour with a thin beige head that dissipated quickly but left nice spotty lacing.
Aroma: Caramel, toffee, chocolate, vanilla, cognac, wood with a hint of dark fruit, plum and cherries.
Taste: Sweet. Its so sweet, but so good. Brown sugar, cherry, vanilla, oak and cognac with hints of bittersweet chocolate and espresso coffee.
Mouthfeel: Very smooth, mid to full bodied with low carbonation.
Overall: I usually do not enjoy sweet beers, but there are a few exceptions and this is definitely one of them. It starts very sweet, but the combination of oakiness and cognac helps to balance out this sweetness and keep it in check. It’s also surprisingly not full bodied. It’s almost there, but lacks just that little bit that you usually expect from a 14% ABV Imperial Stout. But, despite all that, in my opinion, this is right up there with the best Imperial Stouts, and is easily a must buy beer for me.

words of another dreamy traveller

Monthly Archives: April 2016