Monthly Archives: July 2018

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, New Belgium Brewing x Brouwerij Oud Beersel, USA, Wild Ale

New Belgium x Oud Beersel Transatlantique Kriek 2016

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Brewery: New Belgium Brewing x Brouwerij Oud Beersel
Country: USA
ABV: 7%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: 2016 vintage. Lips of Faith Series. Wood-Aged Sour Cherry Ale

Brewer Description: (from bottle) A Kriek of two continents. Behold the fruit of our collaboration with Oud Beersel of Lambic brewing fame. Their Kriek, a cherry-spiked Lambic travelled from Belgium to be united with New Belgium’s specially brewed Golden Ale, as well as Wood-Aged Sour beer pulled straight from our foeders, for a blend of sour cherry bliss. It’s a new legend waiting to be poured.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.18
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 22 fl. oz. bomber, 2016 vintage. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A lightly hazy ruby red colour with an almost two finger whitish pink head that had pretty good retention and left some nice curtain lacing.
Aroma: Lots of cherry, lifesaver cherry hard candy with perhaps a touch of oak.
Taste: Sweet and sour cherry, lightly candied, oak, but flavours overall were a bit soft.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with moderate to soft carbonation.
Overall: Aromas were great, but flavours while good, were a little too soft on the palate for me. Also, not a lot of funk in the aroma or flavours, which is not a problem for me, but just a comment since I was expecting some.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Jester King Brewery, USA, Wild Ale

Jester King Boxer’s Revenge

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Brewery: Jester King Brewery
Country: USA
ABV: 9.5%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: Sour Barrel-Aged Strong Ale. Native yeast and souring bacteria captured from the land and air at our brewery in the Texas Hill Country slowly imparted a sense of place in this dry, tart, highly attenuated ale during months of fermentation in oak barrels. Unfiltered, unpasteurized, and 100% bottle-conditioned

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Boxer worked himself nearly to death for the pigs and was repaid by being sent off to the glue factory. But what if Boxer escaped from the glue truck, got back to that farm and said, “It’s payback time!” (We imagine a Rambo-esque bloodbath of vigilante justice and vintage Arnold-quality one liners, with an obvious setup for “Boxer’s Revenge II: The Clydesdale Retribution.”) In the end, Boxer would find an old, abandoned farm, where he’d build a brewery and work even harder than before; only this time not for the pigs.

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

Intro: A 1 pint 9.4 fl. oz. bottle, blend #9, bottled on 22nd March 2017. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: A hazy golden copper colour with a two finger white head that had good retention and left some nice lacing.
Aroma: Funky, tart, oak, hay with some light tropical fruit, mostly apricot.
Taste: Tart, funky, tropical peach and apricot, citrus lemon, oak, hay and a light earthiness.
Mouthfeel: Dry, medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Nice funk and fruit aromas and flavours. Although ABV is quite high, it still goes down really easy.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Hong Kong, Wild Ale, Young Master Brewery

Young Master Days of Being Wild – Dried Cherry

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Brewery: Young Master Brewery
Country: Hong Kong
ABV: 7.5%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: Single foeder sour ale series

Brewer Description: (from tag on bottle) Days of Being Wild series draws inspiration from the Lambic traditions of Belgium. It is the first mixed fermentation program of its kind in Asia with a medley of wild yeast strains and lactic acid bacteria doing their work inside an oak foeder. End result is a series of beers that all share an underlying haunting complexity, farmhouse funk and refreshing fruitiness. This dried cherry edition takes it a step further with a second fermentation in Chardonnay barrels together with a generous addition of dried cherries. The combination of deep cherry flavour and vinous notes from the barrels with a touch of residual sweetness makes for a beautifully balanced and yet incredibly complex beer.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.01
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.9

Intro: A 750ml bottle, 2017 vintage, bottle 405 of 470. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A cloudy pinkish orange colour with a half finger off white head that disappeared almost immediately and left no lacing.
Aroma: Tart and sweet, cherry, red lifesaver hard candy, white wine, lemon peel and light funk.
Taste: Tart, cherry, red lifesaver hard candy, lightly sour, vinous, hints of oak and funk.
Mouthfeel: Medium to light bodied, with moderate to high carbonation.
Overall: Nice cherry aroma and flavours but seems closer to the American Wild Ale than Lambic even if it is inspired by Lambic. I think this is as good as or maybe just very slightly behind the mixed berries version.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Firestone Walker Brewing Co., USA, Wild Ale

Firestone Walker SLOambic

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Brewery: Firestone Walker Brewing Co.
Country: USA
ABV: 6%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: Wild Ale fermented with blackberries. Barrel ratio: 100% French

Brewer Description: (from bottle) We are fortunate to have great relationships with our local growers who provide us with superb fruit for our beers. Like last year, we had the opportunity to purchase fresh marionberries and boysenberries, both close cousins to the blackberry, so we pounced. For this vintage, fresh berries were added to Sour Opal, a beer matured up to 24 months in oak barrels, and then fermented using our proprietary blend of microflora for an additional three months. Bursting with ripe berries and brambles, as well as hints of jam, the fruit gives way to a rustic funk and soft oak flavours, finishing with a mouth-watering acidity. We humbly present 2016 SLOambic.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.34
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 375ml corked and caged bottle. Batch No. 003, bottled on 8th November 2016. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A clear ruby purple colour with a big two finger pinkish head that dissipated quickly while leaving only sparse to no lacing.
Aroma: Tart, blackberry, mixed berries, lightly jammy.
Taste: Sour, tart, blackberry, mixed berries, with a touch of oak and funk.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with moderate to high carbonation.
Overall: Very nice blackberry aroma and flavours. Enjoyable and easy to drink.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Lambic - Gueuze, The Bruery (Bruery Terreux), USA

Bruery Terreux Rueuze

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Brewery: The Bruery (Bruery Terreux)
Country: USA
ABV: 5.8%
Style: Belgian Lambic (Gueuze)
Other Notes: 2016 vintage

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Sour Blonde Ale aged in oak barrels. Earthy – complex – blend.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.17
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.9

Intro: A 750ml bottle, 2016 vintage, bottled on 10th October 2016. Poured into a Cantillon gueuze glass.
Appearance: Very lightly cloudy, still see through, golden blonde colour with a just under two finger white head that dissipated quickly to nothing and left behind no lacing.
Aroma: Funky, tart, grape, apple and hay, with hints of oak, vanilla and lemon.
Taste: Funky, barnyard, grape, white grape, apricots, lemon and hay.
Mouthfeel: Medium to light bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: An enjoyable Gueuze. The main thing though was that I was hoping that carbonation would have been much higher than what it was.