Monthly Archives: November 2017

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Blackberry Farm Brewery, Farmhouse Saison, USA

Blackberry Farm Barrel Series Brett Fruit Blend 2016

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Brewery: Blackberry Farm Brewery
Country: USA
ABV: 6.3%
Style: Belgian Saison
Other Notes: Our Barrel family is fermented with a variety of yeast strains and aged in wine and spirit barrels

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Ale aged in red wine barrels.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.9
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.7

Intro: A corked and caged 12.7 fl oz bottle, bottled on 17th August 2016. Poured into a Holy Mountain tulip glass.
Appearance: A hazy blonde orange colour with a slightly more than one finger white head that dissipated quickly to a thin layer around the glass and left sparse to no lacing.
Aroma: Tart, mixed berries, grass, hay with a hint of brett.
Taste: Tart, oaky, vinous, wine, funky with only a touch of mixed berries.
Mouthfeel: Dry, light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: The taste didn’t quite match the aroma, but it was still quite nice.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Belgian Pale Ale, Denmark, To Øl

To Øl Sans Frontière White Wine Barrel Aged

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Brewery: To Øl
Country: Denmark
ABV: 7%
Style: Belgian Pale Ale

Brewer Description: (from bottle) “Heaven knows no frontiers, and I’ve seen heaven in your eyes”.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.39
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.2

Intro: A 375ml bottle with a best before date of 20th February 2018. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: It was a hazy dark amber, reddish brown colour with a one finger off white head that dissipated fairly quickly to just the edges, while leaving sparse to no lacing.
Aroma: Prunes, grape, white wine, oak, lightly tart and mildly funky.
Taste: Brett, prunes and vinous white wine with some light caramel and wood.
Mouthfeel: Dry, medium bodied with moderate to low carbonation.
Overall: This was interesting to try but perhaps not quite my thing.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Epic Brewing Company, Stout - Imperial, USA

Epic Son of a Baptist

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Brewery: Epic Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 8%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Novo Coffee – Epic Espresso Blend. Malts – Ultra-Premium Muntons Marris Otter, 2-Row Brewers Malt, Black Malt, Crystal Malt, Chocolate Malt, Roasted Barley, Cara-Aroma and Demerara Sugar. Hops – Nugget, Chinook and Cascade

Brewer Description: (from website) Son of a Baptist is an 8% ABV imperial stout. It is not barrel aged like its father, Big Bad Baptist; instead its flavor profile was designed to highlight the complex and often unique flavors of small batch coffees. Instead of sourcing a coffee that would play well in a beer we sought out creative and innovative roasters, then asked them which beans they’re passionate about. Each resulting release of Son of a Baptist is widely different depending on the coffee selected. Some are fruity and sweet with notes of jam and chocolate, others are rich and earthy with a big roasted finish. Each limited release will return to the Roaster’s home market where the beer and the coffee can be sampled side by side.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.13
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 12 fl oz can with no clear canned on or best before date. Novo Coffee – Epic espresso blend. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: It was dark brown to black in colour with a just over one finger light brown head that had good retention and left lots of nice lacing.
Aroma: Roasted malt, coffee, dark chocolate with hints of brown sugar and a light char.
Taste: Roasted malt, coffee, milk, bittersweet chocolate and caramel. Sweetish to begin, while lightly bitter on the finish.
Mouthfeel: Creamy and velvety smooth, medium bodied with low carbonation.
Overall: Nice tasting and great to drink, but definitely preferred the barrel aging of its father, Big Bad Baptist.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, England, Euro Sour Ale, The Wild Beer Co.

Wild Beer Sourbeest

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Brewery: The Wild Beer Co.
Country: England
ABV: 5.9%
Style: Euro Sour Ale
Other Notes: Stout + Sour + Chocolate + Barrel-aging

Brewer Description: (from bottle) We believe exceptional brewing stems from imagination and passion. It’s not just a process. By embracing our environment and being free of rules and tradition, we can add a Wild 5th element to our beers – in this case a locally harvested culture of yeasts and bacteria from the famous Somerset orchards. We want to give you a truly memorable drinking experience. We want to alter your perceptions and thrill your taste buds. We want you to Drink Wildly Different. Sourbeest is a sour stout made by the magic of spontaneous fermentation and aged in oak barrels for over 9 months. We use the second running’s from our Imperial Stout, Wildebeest, as the base for this beer and let the yeast and bacteria in the air inoculate the cooling wort and start their own magical fermentation. The beer then goes straight into oak barrels to ferment and mature over many months until we deem it ready for your drinking pleasure. A taste of chocolate coated sour cherries fills the mouth. A proper treat!

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.36
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.2

Intro: A 330ml bottle with a best before date of 14th January 2018. Poured into a Holy Mountain tulip glass.
Appearance: A moderately dark brownish red colour with pretty much no head, with any head that was there, dissipating almost immediately, while leaving only sparse to no lacing.
Aroma: Tart and sour mixed berries, vinous red wine, cherry, oak with hints of chocolate in the background.
Taste: Milk chocolate, lightly tart, cherry, mixed berries, vinous, grape with perhaps some light oak.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with low carbonation.
Overall: The tart and sour part was actually pretty good. However, the chocolate came through in the taste every now and then, and while it wasn’t overpowering, I didn’t think it combined too well with the sour parts. I also felt that the carbonation was too light.

4 - Good (buy), Almanac Beer Co., Beer Reviews, USA, Wild Ale

Almanac Vanilla Cherry Dogpatch

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Brewery: Almanac Beer Co.
Country: USA
ABV: 7.6%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: Farm to barrel. Barrel aged in oak

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Sour red ale aged in wine barrels with cherries and whole vanilla beans.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.46
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.4

Intro: A 375ml bottle, released in May 2017. Poured into a Holy Mountain tulip glass.
Appearance: A lightly hazy pinkish orange colour with a one finger white head that dissipated quickly and left sparse to no lacing.
Aroma: Sweet and tart cherry, vanilla, oak and red gummy candy.
Taste: Very similar to the aroma with sweet and tart cherry, vanilla, oak and a light citrus tang.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: This was really nice and enjoyable. The vanilla and oak mixed really well with the cherries.