Monthly Archives: August 2017

4 - Good (buy), American IPA, Beer Reviews, Bellwoods Brewery, Canada

Bellwoods Runes Simcoe & Mosaic

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Brewery: Bellwoods Brewery
Country: Canada
ABV: 6.7%
Style: American IPA
Other Notes: DDH IPA w/ Simcoe & Mosaic Lupulin Powder

Brewer Description: (from website & menu) A pale malt bill with a healthy addition of oats, this beer received a massive dry hop addition of Mosaic and Simcoe lupulin powder. A proprietary hop product, lupulin powder is a concentrated hop powder that contains all he acids and oils from a hop cone that you want without the excess vegetal matter that you don’t. Strong aromas and flavours of blueberry, Mandarin orange and peaches lead into a soft, round mouthfeel with a pleasantly dry finish.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.41
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.3

Intro: On tap at Bellwoods Brewery, Toronto, a 16oz pour into a goblet glass.
Appearance: It was a hazy yellow orange colour (like pineapple juice) with a thin white head that dissipated fairly quickly while leaving some lacing.
Aroma: Tropical mango, peach, yoghurt-y with hints of mandarin orange on the finish.
Taste: Juicy mango, peach, apricot and mandarin. Only lightly bitter.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with moderate to low carbonation.
Overall: Very nice, juicy and so easy to drink.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Omnipollo, Stout - Imperial, Sweden

Omnipollo Noa Pecan Mud Cake Double Barrel

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Brewery: Omnipollo
Country: Sweden
ABV: 11%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Brewed by Omnipollo at Brouwerij De Molen in the Netherlands

Brewer Description: (from website) The pinnacle of our first run barrel project. An Islay and Cognac Barrel Aged Pecan Mudcake Imperial Stout. Brewed with aromas.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.23
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 330ml bottle with a best before date of 7th July 2020. Poured into a snifter.
Appearance: It was black in colour with a half finger mocha head that dissipates quickly while leaving some sparse lacing.
Aroma: Chocolate, pecan, caramel and whisky with hints of vanilla and cognac.
Taste: Sweet milk chocolate with a nice pecan nuttiness. There are also hints of oak, cognac and peat.
Mouthfeel: Full bodied with moderate to low carbonation.
Overall: This particular bottle was nice and tasty, but I don’t think that the barrels improved the base beer. It should be noted that this beer has had it’s share of infection. This is my third bottle now, of which I’ve had two good and one infected. The infected bottle clearly tasted sour and was just not pleasant to drink. You will know if you have an infected bottle, so I guess it’s a bit of the luck of the draw at this point.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), American Double IPA, Beer Reviews, Søle Artisan Ales, USA

Søle Over 9000

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Brewery: Søle Artisan Ales
Country: USA
ABV: 9%
Style: American Double IPA

Brewer Description: (from can) Double India Pale Ale with denali, eureka and lemon zest.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.88
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.7

Intro: Apologies, backlog review from late July. A 1 pint can, canned on 15th May 2017 and poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: A cloudy dark orange colour with a two finger white head that had good retention and left some sparse lacing.
Aroma: Strong whiff of pineapple followed by citrusy orange, mandarin, melon and pine.
Taste: Sweet and bitter. Biscuit malt sweetness mixed with tropical apricot, pineapple and bitter citrus rind plus pith. Finish is a lingering bitterness.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Not as juicy as a lot of other NE DIPA’s that I’ve tried, but it’s still quite nice.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), American Pale Ale, Beer Reviews, Stone Brewing Co., USA

Stone Ripper

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Brewery: Stone Brewing Co.
Country: USA
ABV: 5.7%
Style: American Pale Ale
Other Notes: 40 IBUs. Hops – Cascade and Australian Galaxy

Brewer Description: (from can) Sourcing classic Cascade from the Pacific Northwest and Australian Galaxy hops from… yes… Australia, we made a beer both lovers of frothy peaks and hoppy green buds will be stoked about. While some might think it lingers on an edge far closer to an IPA, with all the dry-hop flavor and aroma, it’s actually right in line with the current-day interpretation of a West Coast pale. Ours just so happens to have an Aussie accent that’s cascading with a juicy amount of grapefruit and passion fruit hoppiness.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.74
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.6

Intro: A 330ml can, canned on 21st March 2017, with an enjoy by date of 21st March 2018. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: A clear dark copper amber colour with a slightly less than two finger white head that had pretty good retention and left nice lacing.
Aroma: Grapefruit, grapefruit rind, pine, resin, pineapple with a hint of malt.
Taste: Grapefruit, orange peel, mandarin and pine with hints of tropical mango. There is a light but lasting bitter finish.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: This was nice and worth a try but with so much choice out there, probably not a regular for me.