Monthly Archives: April 2021

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Brasserie du Brabant, Lambic - Unblended

Du Brabant Lambic Magerat

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Brewery: Brasserie du Brabant
Country: Belgium
ABV: 5.8%
Style: Lambic – Unblended
Other Notes: 3 years old straight Lambic

Brewer Description: (from bottle) This beer has been brewed using the traditional turbid mash method, aged hops, cooled during an entire night in open vessels and was fermented and kept during 3 years in oak barrels prior to bottling. Our brewery being located at the boundaries of the Senne Valley, this beer qualify for the Lambic appellation. We released this beer as ‘Lambic Magerat’ our family name as it is traditional in Belgium.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.23
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.1

Intro: A 750ml corked and capped bottle, batch 1, production year of 2015, and with a best before year of 2040. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen gueuze glass.
Appearance: A slightly hazy golden colour with pretty much no head and no lacing.
Aroma: Quite subtle, but it’s funky, damp oak, citrusy lemon, earthy, with maybe some notes of vanilla.
Taste: Like the aroma, tastes is also quite subtle, but there’s funk, apple peel, lemon, slightly sour, oak, and notes of apricot.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with no carbonation.
Overall: Reminds me of GCB, which I’m not exactly fond of. Lack of carbonation is also not my thing, and both the aroma and flavour seemed to be overly subtle.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgian Strong Dark Ale, Belgium, Brouwerij De Dochter van de Korenaar

De Dochter van de Korenaar Embrasse

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Brewery: Brouwerij De Dochter van de Korenaar
Country: Belgium
ABV: 9%
Style: Belgian Strong Dark Ale
Other Notes: A beer to embrace. Belgian Strong Dark Ale / Stout

Brewer Description: (from website) An intense heavy dark beer with 9% vol. Embrasse is a heavy dark beer that is perfectly in between a heavy dark Abbey / Trappist beer and a Stout / Porter. The beer combines roasted malt and coffee / chocolate aspects with a pleasantly light fruitiness of dried subtropical fruits. Bittersweet flavors go together with a pronounced creamy mouthfeel and make drinking this beer to an exceptional delight for lovers of heavy dark beers. Pleasant with a traditional cheese & sausage board / selection of hard piquant cheese.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.99
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.9

Intro: A 330ml bottle with a notched best before date of August 2023. Poured into a Chimay goblet glass.
Appearance: Dark brown in colour with a half finger beige head that dissipated fairly quickly to a replenishing cap, while leaving some lacing.
Aroma: Roasted malts, coffee, chocolate, bread dough and perhaps a touch nutty.
Taste: Roasted malts, coffee, cocoa, dark chocolate, bittersweet, with very light notes of plum.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, medium to full bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Enjoyable, balanced and easy to drink.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Scotland, Sour Ale, Vault City Brewing

Vault City Double Crust Raspberry Pie

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Brewery: Vault City Brewing
Country: Scotland
ABV: 9%
Style: Sour Ale
Other Notes: Modern sour beer

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Ever feel like you can’t have your pastry treat and drink? We’ve taken direct inspiration from the culinary world for this Modern Sour Beer. A big biscuity base and a fruity filling so jammy, it’s juicy! Layering complex malt and squeezing in as many raspberries as we could for the fullest, richest pudding we could muster. Decadent and delightful, mixed-culture tartness and sharp fruit flavour balance the sweet pastry-like malt elements.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.42
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.3

Intro: A 375ml bottle with a best before date of 12th November 2022. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: A hazy deep reddish purple colour with a just over one finger pink head that had decent retention while leaving some lacing.
Aroma: Fruity dessert, jammy raspberry, strawberry and raspberry shortcake, with Digestive wheat biscuits.
Taste: Tart, lightly sour, sweet, jammy, raspberry, strawberry, biscuit, pie crust.
Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Aroma was near perfect and reminded me of strawberry shortcake. Taste was enjoyable, but didn’t match the perfectness of the aroma. Still, it was great overall, and hid the 9% booze well.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Scotland, Sour Ale, Vault City Brewing

Vault City Cherry Skies

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Brewery: Vault City Brewing
Country: Scotland
ABV: 8.5%
Style: Sour Ale
Other Notes: Modern sour beer

Brewer Description: (from bottle) The return of our notorious Skies series! For this variation we jumped at the chance to use late season sweet cherries for a ruby red addition to the range. Equal parts rich, smooth and delightfully tart, Cherry Skies is the epitome of the Modern Sour Beers we make. To honour the complex yet smashable versions which have come before it we added hibiscus flower and Madagascan vanilla to accompany the fruit for the fullest and juiciest cherry sour beer possible.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.8
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.6

Intro: A 375ml bottle with a best before date of 5th October 2022. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: A deep red colour with a slight purple hue and a big two finger pinkish head that dissipated fairly quickly while leaving some lacing.
Aroma: Juicy, lightly tart cherry, blackcurrant, red apple, and a touch floral.
Taste: Very lightly tart, moderately sweet, mixed berries, cherry, blackberry, blackcurrant, and floral (I’m guessing it’s the hibiscus).
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate to high carbonation.
Overall: Cherry and vanilla should be a match made in heaven, but I’m not getting any of the supposed vanilla aroma or flavours. It was also not quite the cherry bomb I was hoping for as the floral hibiscus notes were quite strong, along with a whole bunch of other mixed berry aroma and flavours that crept in. For a sour beer, the use of sweet cherries also appears to have turned it on the sweet side, which I’m not fond of.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Scotland, Sour Ale, Vault City Brewing

Vault City Blueberry Pumpkin Spice Latte

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Brewery: Vault City Brewing
Country: Scotland
ABV: 8.8%
Style: Sour Ale
Other Notes: Modern sour beer

Brewer Description: (from bottle) It’s that time of year, all the knitwear and pumpkin flavoured everything! We’re no exception and have created our own unique take on a ‘pumpkin beer’ but opted for the pumpkin spice approach. Befitting the time of year, and a fruit that we know works wonders in combination with our house mixed-culture, we settled for local blueberries as the base for our Autumn special. Cosy up for a seasonal sensation of tart blueberry, warming spices and sweet vanilla in texture smoother than crema. It’s not a trick, it’s a treat!

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.19
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 375ml bottle with a best before date of 2nd November 2022. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: A deep purple beetroot colour with a big three finger purple head that had good retention and left lots of lacing.
Aroma: Pumpkin spice dominates with cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg, along with notes of tart blueberry and pie crust in the background.
Taste: Tart, lightly sweet and sour, blueberry, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and some vanilla notes.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Balanced and enjoyable as long as you like pumpkin spice.