Monthly Archives: December 2017

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Stout - Imperial, USA, Westbrook Brewing Co.

Westbrook Mexican Cake

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Brewery: Westbrook Brewing Co.
Country: USA
ABV: 10.5%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Malt beverage with cocoa nibs, vanilla beans, cinnamon, and habanero peppers added

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Way back in December 2011, we brewed our 1st Anniversary beer – a serious imperial stout aged on cocoa nibs, vanilla beans, cinnamon sticks, and fresh habanero peppers. It was so delicious we decided to bring it back once each year. Salud!

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.4
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.3

Intro: A 22 fl. oz. bomber bottled on 23rd May 2016. Poured into a snifter.
Appearance: Black in colour with only a thin brown head that doesn’t stick around for long and sparse lacing.
Aroma: Cocoa, chocolate and cinnamon with touches of liquorice and char.
Taste: Sweet-ish chocolate, cinnamon, liquorice, cocoa powder with hints of vanilla and nice light pepper heat on the back end.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, medium to full bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Very nice relaxing sipper. Just so easy to drink with the flavours so balanced.

2 - Maybe (likely wouldn't buy, might drink), Beer Reviews, Belgian Dubbel, Hong Kong, Moonzen Brewery

Moonzen Golden Gourd Ale

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Brewery: Moonzen Brewery
Country: Hong Kong
ABV: 8%
Style: Belgian Dubbel
Other Notes: One-off release

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Moonzen’s Golden Gourd Ale, a double mushroom dubbel (8%ABV, 330ml) brewed with Golden Tremell and Russulaceae vinosae, essential ingredients that nourish the blood. Concocted to celebrate the release of Moonzen’s Golden Gourd beer glass.

My rating: 2
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.19
My ratebeer.com rating: 3

Intro: A 330ml bottle with no clear bottled on or best before date. Poured into a Moonzen Golden Gourd glass.
Appearance: A dark amber red colour with a big three finger tanned head that had good retention while leaving some lacing.
Aroma: Dark fruit raisin, plum and prunes with a hint of banana and toffee in the background.
Taste: Some prunes to start but it goes away real quick to be replaced by watered down plum and dates before a finish of light savoury mushrooms, which I was not expecting.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, medium to light bodied with low carbonation.
Overall: This one was strange for me. The aroma of lots of dark fruits was actually great, but the flavours didn’t match up to the aroma and disappeared quickly. Everything was just kind of abrupt. All that said, I do really like the design of the Golden Gourd beer glass.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Nøgne Ø x Kissmeyer Beer, Norway, Porter - Imperial

Nøgne Ø x Kissmeyer Naked Kiss

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Brewery: Nøgne Ø x Kissmeyer Beer
Country: Norway
ABV: 11.5%
Style: American Imperial Porter
Other Notes: 40 IBUs

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Here at Nøgne Ø we’ve always had a secret crush on Anders Kissmeyer. Our first fling with Anders resulted in the Double Knot Brown. Our very first collaboration brew! Now we’ve hooked up again, and this is the result. An imperial porter with lots of blackcurrant. And so the circle is completed. Enjoy with dessert. Or as dessert!

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.75
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.5

Intro: A 500ml bottle, batch #1273, brewed on 23rd September 2014. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: A dark dark brown colour with a half finger brown head that dissipated quickly and left next to no lacing.
Aroma: Blackcurrant comes through strongest supported with some lightly roasted malt and milk chocolate.
Taste: Much like the aroma, tart and lightly sour blackcurrant dominates. This is followed by milk chocolate with touches of caramel malt and char.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with low carbonation.
Overall: Not bad at all. It’s quite different from most other beers I’ve had and the blackcurrant and milk chocolate didn’t seem like it meshed as well as it could have, but still it’s an interesting sipper.