Monthly Archives: December 2018

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Gweilo Brewery, Hong Kong, Lager - IPL (India Pale)

Gweilo Tropical Pilsner

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Brewery: Gweilo Brewery
Country: Hong Kong
ABV: 4.2%
Style: American IPL
Other Notes: 25 IBUs. Collaboration with Potato Head (restaurant)

Brewer Description: (from can) Crafted with our friends at Potato Head, Tropical Pilsner will have you kicking back in no time. Our crisp Pilsen malt base showcases the explosion of citrus, melon and papaya hop notes. The tropical fruit flavours and dry finish deliver a hit of refreshment and are the perfect partner for Indonesian cuisine.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.08
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 330ml can with a best before date of 1st November 2019. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: A clear golden straw yellow colour with an almost three finger white head that had great retention and left some nice lacing.
Aroma: Light grains, grapefruit rind, melon, passionfruit, papaya, floral, lemon zest and grass.
Taste: Light sweet grain pils malt, grapefruit, melon, papaya, passionfruit, lemon zest, floral, tea.
Mouthfeel: Crisp, light bodied with moderate to high carbonation.
Overall: Self described as a tropical Pilsner, I believe its probably closer to an IPL, but regardless, the resulting aroma and flavours were right up my alley. Nice crispness makes it very easy to drink.

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3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Gweilo Brewery, Hong Kong, New England / Hazy IPA

Gweilo Nebulous DDH NEIPA

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Brewery: Gweilo Brewery
Country: Hong Kong
ABV: 4.9%
Style: New England / Hazy IPA
Other Notes: 25 IBUs. Limited Batch

Brewer Description: (from can) Nebulous is our first ever NEIPA. We’ve loaded it with Amarillo and Citra, followed up with a secondary dry hop of Citra cyro, to create a tropical juice bomb. A relatively low bitterness accentuates the explosion of pineapple and citrus.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.51
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.4

Intro: A 330ml can, with a best before date of 16th November 2019. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: A hazy straw yellow colour with a big three finger white head that had good retention and left some nice lacing.
Aroma: Citrusy mandarin and orange rind, mandarin peel, lime and pineapple.
Taste: Citrusy, light to moderate bitterness, grapefruit, pineapple juice, orange with hints of herbal, pine and grass.
Mouthfeel: Light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Although its quite citrusy, it’s not really ‘juicy’ when compared to some of the top NEIPAs that I’ve tried. The bitterness is not strong, but it does come through noticeably. This was just a bit too session like, and for their first NEIPA I was hoping for something with more body and with a stronger ABV.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Boundary Brewing Cooperative x Ulster Exile Brewers x Brick Brewery x Bullfinch Brewery, Fruit Beer, Northern Ireland

Boundary x Ulster Exile x Brick x Bullfinch Screwball

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Brewery: Boundary Brewing Cooperative x Ulster Exile Brewers x Brick Brewery x Bullfinch Brewery
Country: Northern Ireland
ABV: 5.5%
Style: Fruit Beer

Brewer Description: (from can) Once upon a time there was a group of brewers called the ‘Ulster Exiles’. And they came and brewed a beer with us. A raspberry & vanilla ice cream IPA.

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

Intro: A 440ml can, with a best before date of 1st March 2019. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: A hazy dark reddish pink colour with a slight orange hue, that had a just more than one finger off white head that dissipated quickly and left pretty much no lacing.
Aroma: Raspberry, vanilla, lemon peel, berry fruit tea.
Taste: Raspberry puree, lemon zest, berry fruit tea and a hint of vanilla.
Mouthfeel: Light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Described as a raspberry & vanilla ice cream IPA, I think it is actually more like a Fruit Beer than an IPA. Secondly, I’d naturally compare it to something similar and the Omnipollo x Buxton Original Raspberry Meringue Ice Cream Pie comes to mind since that was really good. In this case, it didn’t match up to that version as I felt it definitely lacked the creamy, milky vanilla presence, especially since that it is mentioned in the description. Aside from that though, treat it as a Fruit Beer, and it is ok.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Boundary Brewing Cooperative, New England / Hazy IPA, Northern Ireland

Boundary Forever Ago

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Brewery: Boundary Brewing Cooperative
Country: Northern Ireland
ABV: 6%
Style: New England / Hazy IPA

Brewer Description: (from can) Our take on a NE IPA. Murky, hazy, low bitterness and absolutely delicious.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.42
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.3

Intro: A 440ml can, with a best before date of 26th March 2019. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: A hazy orange colour with a one finger off white head that dissipated fairly quickly and left only sparse to no lacing.
Aroma: Very citrusy, grapefruit rind, orange zest, melon, pine and hints of mango.
Taste: Bitter, citrusy, grapefruit rind, orange peel, pine, straw and grass with a hint of mango and a lasting citrus rind finish.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: It’s fruity, largely citrus, but I wouldn’t say that it was juicy, and the bitterness was also definitely stronger than I’d prefer in an NEIPA. It was still drinkable, but not what I’d expect from the top NEIPAs.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), American Brut IPA, Beer Reviews, England, Magic Rock Brewing x Wylam

Magic Rock x Wylam Yeah Yeah Yeah

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Brewery: Magic Rock Brewing x Wylam
Country: England
ABV: 6.5%
Style: American Brut IPA
Other Notes: Malts – Golden Promise and Maris Otter. Hops – T90-Lemon Drop and Mandarina Bavaria / Cyro-Loral and Citra

Brewer Description: (from can) DDH Brut IPA.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.64
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.6

Intro: A 500ml can with a best before date of 14th October 2019. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: A lightly hazy golden orange colour with a slightly less than two finger white head that had decent retention and left only sparse to no lacing.
Aroma: Grapefruit rind, lemon, melon, pine resin and herbal notes.
Taste: Light sweetness, citrusy, lemon zest, grapefruit rind, white grape, pear, floral and a touch herbal.
Mouthfeel: Crisp, light to medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Nice crispness and overall drinkable. But maybe I don’t really understand this style, as I’ve yet to try one that I really enjoy.