Monthly Archives: April 2018

2 - Maybe (likely wouldn't buy, might drink), Beer Reviews, Birra del Borgo, Flanders Oud Bruin, Italy

Birra del Borgo Vecchia Ducale

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Brewery: Birra del Borgo
Country: Italy
ABV: 8.5%
Style: Belgian Flanders Oud Bruin

Brewer Description: (from website) Inspired by the Oud Bruin, we left our Ducale rest in barrel for over a year and then we bottled it with extra young beer. The result is a sweet and bitter beer, with wine hints and an astringent finish.

My rating: 2
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.12
My ratebeer.com rating: 2.9

Intro: A 330ml bottle with a best before date of February 2020. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: Dark brown in colour with a bronze ruby hue and pretty much no head or lacing.
Aroma: Tart-ish, balsamic vinegar, cherry, prunes, vinous and lightly woody.
Taste: Oak, woody, sour, balsamic, cherry, vinous with hints of light toffee and astringency.
Mouthfeel: Acetic harshness, light to medium bodied with extremely low carbonation.
Overall: This was on and off for me. At times it seemed ok, but perhaps it was the combination of acetic harshness and the lack of carbonation that ultimately led me to lean on the lower end. Just didn’t work for me when compared to the classic Oud Bruin’s.

4 - Good (buy), American Solera, Beer Reviews, Flanders Oud Bruin, USA

American Solera The Ground Is Shaking!

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Brewery: American Solera
Country: USA
ABV: 6%
Style: Belgian Flanders Oud Bruin

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Sour Brown Ale aged in oak barrels.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.16
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 1 pint 9.4 fl. oz. bottle, with surprisingly no vintage year printed on the label. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: A clear dark brown amber colour with about a half finger off white head that dissipated fairly quickly while leaving only sparse lacing.
Aroma: Vinous red wine, fruity cherry, mixed berries with a light touch of balsamic vinegar and maybe oak.
Taste: Sour, tart, cherry, mixed berries, sharp acidic citrus zest, vinegar, light oak, with vinous wine notes at the end.
Mouthfeel: Dry, acidic, medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: A solid and enjoyable Oud Bruin with good aroma and flavours.

4 - Good (buy), Abbaye Notre-Dame de Saint Remy Rochefort, Beer Reviews, Belgian Dubbel, Belgium

Trappistes Rochefort 6

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Brewery: Abbaye Notre-Dame de Saint Remy Rochefort
Country: Belgium
ABV: 7.5%
Style: Belgian Dubbel
Other Notes: Red cap

Brewer Description: (from the Trappist website) This beer begins with a density of 16.5º Plato is 7.5% ABV. It’s fine aroma provides a delicate taste for the palate! “Rochefort 6” is the oldest Rochefort Trappist beer and was brewed empirically until the end of the Second World War. Until 1958, this was the only Rochefort beer that was bottled in both 33 cc bottles and 75 cc bottles. It has a strong malt taste and is slightly bitter.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.84
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.8

Intro: A 330ml bottle with a best before date of 8th August 2018. Poured into a mini Rochefort goblet glass.
Appearance: A light-ish orange brown colour with a one finger beige coloured head that dissipated fairly quickly while leaving some sparse lacing.
Aroma: Dark fruit plum, prunes and raisins with a hint of caramel.
Taste: Like the aroma, there’s lots of dark fruit raisins, prunes and plum with hints of honey, caramel and toffee.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, medium bodied with moderate to high carbonation.
Overall: Nice but not as complex as the other beers in their small but wonderful lineup.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgian Pale Ale, Belgium, S.A. Bières de Chimay

Chimay Dorée (Gold)

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Brewery: S.A. Bières de Chimay
Country: Belgium
ABV: 4.8%
Style: Belgian Pale Ale
Other Notes: Trappist beer. Ale is brewed at Scourmont Abbey

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Brewed at the heart of Scourmont Abbey, Chimay Dorée, a beer previously reserved for the monastic community, their guest and their colleagues, is now yours to savour, with its refreshing aromas of hops and spices.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.86
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.8

Intro: A 330ml bottle with a best before end date of December 2018. Poured into a Chimay goblet.
Appearance: A clear dark golden colour with a one finger white head that had great retention and left nice curtain like lacing.
Aroma: Lemon peel, clove, honey, tea, coriander and floral.
Taste: What you’d expect from the aroma with clove, banana, honey, tea, lemon peel, coriander, biscuit malt and floral.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Nice and easy to drink. Not as complex as their other regulars, but its not meant to be.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), American IPA, Beer Reviews, Beerbliotek, Sweden

Beerbliotek Colonial Hipster

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Brewery: Beerbliotek
Country: Sweden
ABV: 6.6%
Style: American IPA
Other Notes: IPA. #192

Brewer Description: (from can) In the early days, there was no place for haze, but without delay, it became all the rage. No filters get used, no palates abused, a beer for all, not just colonial hipster dudes.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.63
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.5

Intro: A 330ml can with a best before date of 5th June 2018. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: A hazy dark orange colour with a just over one finger white head that dissipated moderately, while leaving some nice lacing.
Aroma: A little bit light, but there’s pineapple, mango, grapefruit pith, grass and pine resin.
Taste: Mild bitter and sweet, tea, peach, pine, dank, grass, citrusy, grapefruit pith and orange rind.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: This was ok. Perhaps slightly too sweet for me though.