Monthly Archives: July 2017

4 - Good (buy), Beavertown Brewery, Beer Reviews, England, IPA - Black

Beavertown Black Betty

Leave a comment

Brewery: Beavertown Brewery
Country: England
ABV: 7.4%
Style: American Black IPA
Other Notes: 75 IBUs. Malts – Best Pale, Caragold, Caramalt, Carafa II and Carafa III. Hops – Colombus, Chinook and Citra

Brewer Description: (from website) So it’s a contradiction in terms. A Black India Pale Ale?! The concept we came up with revolved around the old chewy sweets ‘Black Jacks & Fruit Salads’. We wanted to take a big, fat IPA and lace it with under- tones of slight roast and aniseed and blend with the huge tropical aromas of Pacific West coast hops. We gained the hint of roast by using Carafa malts from Germany. They give us the dark colour and a touch of roast but minimal bitterness, thus letting the hops fly and fly!

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.33
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 330ml can with a best before date of 1st September 2017. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: It was a dark dark brown colour with a one and a half finger tanned head that had good retention and left some nice spotty lacing.
Aroma: Citrus peels with some nice roasty malts and cocoa.
Taste: It’s pretty much what you would expect from the aromas with nice citrus flavours, balanced with roasty malts and hints of chocolate and coffee. There is also a lingering grapefruit finish.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: A good Black IPA that is very easy to drink. It’s 7.4% ABV but feels very sessionable. Quite a dangerous combination.

2 - Maybe (likely wouldn't buy, might drink), Beer Reviews, Stout - Imperial, Three Floyds Brewing Co. x Mikkeller ApS x Warpigs Brewpub, USA

Three Floyds x Mikkeller x Warpigs Black Flame

Leave a comment

Brewery: Three Floyds Brewing Co. x Mikkeller ApS x Warpigs Brewpub
Country: USA
ABV: 12%
Style: American Imperial Stout

Brewer Description: (from website) The Black Flame (La Flama Negro). It burns bright for those who care to notice. It takes a true beer lover to stray from the norm and experience real flavor. If you can’t handle the black flame, you can’t handle adventure. Made in conjunction with Mikkeller.

My rating: 2
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.42
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.2

Intro: A 22oz bomber, I think bottled in 2015 (but nothing clearly marked on the bottle). Poured into a snifter.
Appearance: It was black in colour with a dark brown hue on the sides and a one finger mocha head that had decent retention and left some nice small spotty lacing.
Aroma: Orange citrus fruitiness and milk chocolate with hints of roasty coffee and some kind of spiciness.
Taste: Milk chocolate and molasses sweetness, roasted coffee and orange citrus with a hint of dark chocolate bitterness.
Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied with low carbonation.
Overall: You’d think that orange and chocolate flavours go well together, and it started off ok enough. But after a while, it just felt a bit too sweet and hard to finish. The orange was overpowering compared to the chocolate and I think it would have been better if it was the other way around. Just didn’t quite work for me.

2 - Maybe (likely wouldn't buy, might drink), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Brouwerij Girardin, Lambic - Gueuze

Girardin Gueuze White Label

Leave a comment

Brewery: Brouwerij Girardin
Country: Belgium
ABV: 5%
Style: Belgian Lambic (Gueuze)

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Filtered version.

My rating: 2
My beeradvocate.com rating: 2.99
My ratebeer.com rating: 2.8

Intro: A 375ml corked and caged bottle. The cork had the words Diam DX 2016 and the number 08 on it, which I think I’ve worked it out to mean Batch D, bottled in August 2016. Poured into a Cantillon Gueuze glass.
Appearance: A clear copper orange colour with a half finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly, but settles to a thin replenishing layer with sparse lacing.
Aroma: Sour-ish, raisins, green apple, pear, vinegar, oak and hints of cheese.
Taste: Tart and lightly sour, apple cider vinegar, apple core, lemon peel, grass and oak with a sweet-ish raisin, prune like finish.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate to low carbonation.
Overall: Aroma and taste was very different to all other Gueuze’s that I’ve tried and in this case, was just not really my thing, especially the dark fruit like sweetness and apple cider vinegar. I’d just stick with the Black Label version.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Brouwerij Lindemans, Lambic - Gueuze

Lindemans Oude Gueuze Cuvée René Special Blend 2010

Leave a comment

Brewery: Brouwerij Lindemans
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6%
Style: Belgian Lambic (Gueuze)
Other Notes: Grand Cru. Limited Edition

Brewer Description: (from bottle) This Old Gueuze produced by the Lindemans Brewery is an exclusive blend of 4 year old Lambic with young Lambic, fermented in oak barrels and refermented in the bottle. Golden colour, slightly sour, smooth Gueuze with a sherry-like aroma. The Gueuze for beer connoisseurs. Limited edition of 15,000 bottles.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.42
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.4

Intro: A 750ml bottle, bottled in June 2014 and a best before date of 2024. Poured into a Lindemans flute glass.
Appearance: A clear golden orange colour with a just over one finger white head that had pretty good retention and nice lacing.
Aroma: Citrusy lemon, lime, hints of orange, oak, pepper, damp hay, wet leather and a good amount of barnyard funk.
Taste: Lemon-lime, pear, apple peel, oak, lots of funk, barnyard, hay, lemon rind, vinegar bite and mustiness.
Mouthfeel: Crisp, medium to light bodied with high carbonation and a dry finish.
Overall: This surprised me in a good way. Very enjoyable with lots of funk, barnyard, wet hay and leather.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Brouwerij Lindemans, Lambic - Fruit

Lindemans Oude Kriek Cuvée René

Leave a comment

Brewery: Brouwerij Lindemans
Country: Belgium
ABV: 7%
Style: Belgian Lambic (Fruit)
Other Notes: 2016. No. 07578

Brewer Description: (from bottle) In Belgium brewing beer is considered a form of art. In our family this art has been passed down since 1822 from generation to generation. Our traditional Kriek Cuvée René Grand Cru is brewed with wild yeast from the surrounding air, water, malted barley, wheat, aged hop flowers and selected wild cherries. Deep cherry red clear body, tart taste with a moderate sourness and an authentic cherry skin presence. No added sugar.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.38
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 375ml bottle, bottled on 9th December 2016 and with a best before date of 9th December 2022. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A very nice deep ruby red colour with a two finger pinkish-purple coloured head that had good retention but pretty much no lacing.
Aroma: Sweetish tart cherry juice followed by some barnyard funk and damp hay with hints of vinegar and oak.
Taste: Crisp sour tart cherries and mixed berries and oak with only hints of barnyard funk.
Mouthfeel: Medium to light bodied with moderate to high carbonation.
Overall: Crisp, easy to drink, nice tart cherry and enjoyable.