Monthly Archives: February 2024

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, IPA - New England / Hazy Double, Japan, West Coast Brewing

West Coast Freestyle Sandbox Vol.5

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Brewery: West Coast Brewing
Country: Japan
ABV: 8.5%
Style: IPA – New England / Hazy Double
Other Notes: Hops – Freestyle Nelson Sauvin, Freestyle Rakau and Freestyle Motueka

Brewer Description: (from website Google translated to English) Run to the sandy beach with excitement! Hop Dude and his friends were allowed to use a gift from New Zealand produced in 2023, and once again they began their creations on the vast Mochimune beach. There is only one rule I have with the Freestyle guys, and that is to only use hops from “Freestyle Hops.” Freely and grandly, it takes trial and error to combine them to your own perfection.

The 5th installment of the series, which continues to have fun no matter if it’s cold or has sand on your face, goes by in the blink of an eye. Recently at WCB, the lot of hops used (Freestyle Hops) was switched to a fresh new inventory of the 2023 edition, which made Hop Dude and others very happy.

Aromas of pineapple, mango, papaya, and tropical fruits. Similar flavors include peach and a hint of orange. A pleasant drink with a mellow sweetness and a slight bitterness.

No matter how cold the winter is, let’s still play! With ideas from Hop Dude and others, new combinations of Hazy will continue to be enshrined in Sunayama.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.28
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 500ml can, canned on 11th December 2023. Poured into a winebar glass.
Appearance: A hazy milky orange colour, with an almost two finger white head that had good retention and left nice lacing.
Aroma: Juicy, citrus peel, orange rind, tropical fruits, papaya, mango, with light melon and grassy notes.
Taste: Juicy, tropical, mango, papaya, citrus pith, orange rind, light melon, and a touch of grass.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Good juicy aroma and flavours. Enjoyed it as much as Freestyle Sandbox Vol.4. Still wish we could get these within 1 month of the canned on dates… 2 months is pushing it, and probably doesn’t do it justice, and also makes me reluctant to buy more than one can, just to give it a try, especially since I feel they’re currently doing some of the better IPAs in Asia.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Heroes Beer Co., Hong Kong, Stout - Milk / Sweet Imperial

Heroes BBAIMSwPBCN&V (5th Anniversary)

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Brewery: Heroes Beer Co.
Country: Hong Kong
ABV: 10.5%
Style: Stout – Milk / Sweet Imperial
Other Notes: Bottle 138 of 999

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Milk Stout with Peanut Butter Cacao Nibs and Vanilla. We’re turning 5 years old, so we’ve decided to throw all of our favourite ingredients into this! BBAIMSwPBCN&V starts with dessert-like aromas of bourbon vanilla, peanut butter, and milk chocolate. Follows through with a layered malt profile of dark chocolate, espresso beans, toffee, raisin, and maraschino cherry. Drinks with a firm bitterness that’s well balanced by the complex malt sweetness and velvety body. Subtle American oak characters add complexity to the long finish of this liquid dessert and keep you going for just a little sip more.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.33
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A boxed, black waxed, 650ml bomber, bottle 138 of 999, packaged on 4th November 2022, and with a best before date of 3rd November 2024. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Dark brown to black in colour, with a one finger tanned head that had pretty good retention and left some nice lacing.
Aroma: Light roast, milk chocolate, bourbon, wafer, peanut butter, with notes of caramel, toffee, and dried dark fruits.
Taste: Sweet, bourbon, caramel, toffee, moderate bitterness, dark chocolate, light roast, black coffee, biscuit, vanilla, and subtle nutty peanut butter.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, full bodied, with soft carbonation.
Overall: An enjoyable sipper as the sweetness is balanced by some bitterness, and it’s up there with the 2nd Anniversary beer as one of my favourites in their Anniversary lineup.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgian Strong Pale Ale, Belgium, De Dolle Brouwers

De Dolle Stille Nacht Reserva 2010

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Brewery: De Dolle Brouwers
Country: Belgium
ABV: 12%
Style: Belgian Strong Pale Ale
Other Notes: 2010 vintage

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Stille Nacht aged in Bordeaux wooden barrels for 25 months.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.27
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 750ml corked and capped bottle, produced in 2010, poured into a Tilquin stemmed glass.
Appearance: A very nice clear orange copper colour with a one finger beige head that dissipated fairly quickly to a ring around the glass while leaving some lacing.
Aroma: Fruit cake and blackcurrant oxidation, with sweet caramel, toasted oak, and candied citrus zest.
Taste: Sweet fruity, dried red berries, lightly red wine vinous, candi sugar, candied dried orange slices, honey, caramel, oak.
Mouthfeel: Full bodied with moderate to soft carbonation.
Overall: Despite the oxidation, this was an enjoyable sipper with nice balanced complexities within the flavour.

4 - Good (buy), Barleywine - English, Beer Reviews, H.K. Lovecraft, Hong Kong

H.K. Lovecraft The Enduring

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Brewery: H.K. Lovecraft
Country: Hong Kong
ABV: 10%
Style: Barleywine – English
Other Notes: 28 IBUs

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Lager wine oak aged with whisky infused. Dark fruit, chocolate, toffee.

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

Intro: A 330ml bottle with a best before date of 15th December 2024. Poured into a Tilquin stemmed glass.
Appearance: Clear dark brown in colour with a copper tinge, and a two finger tanned head that dissipated fairly quickly to a ring around the glass, while leaving sparse lacing.
Aroma: Dark fruit, raisins, cherry, chocolate, light roast, with notes of caramel.
Taste: Lightly sweet, dark fruit, raisins, dates, cherry, light roasty bitterness, chocolate, with a sweetish toffee finish.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Drinks really easy with good flavours. Doesn’t seem like 10% abv at all.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Germany, Kemker Kultuur, Wild Ale

Kemker Aoltbeer Blend 2021-06 (Kerner Grapes)

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Brewery: Kemker Kultuur
Country: Germany
ABV: 8%
Style: Wild Ale

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Aoltbeer is the historic beer of Münster. The base beer matured for 10 months in red wine barrels. For this small batch no. 06-2021 we harvested organically grown Kerner grapes from the Nahe valley. After 2 months of maceration in the beer, we pressed the concoction and let it mature in barrels for another 5 months. Vibrant fruits, acidity and mature base notes.

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

Intro: A 750ml bottle, with a best before date of 15th February 2031. Poured into a Tilquin stemmed glass.
Appearance: A lightly hazy golden colour with a one finger white head that had decent retention, eventually settled to a ring around the glass, and left some nice lacing.
Aroma: Vinous, grape must, grape skin, grapefruit zest, oak, and a touch of funk.
Taste: Restrained, light sour, grape skin, vinous, grapefruit zest, citrus rind, oak, and light funky notes.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Aroma was strong and enjoyable, while the taste was a bit restrained in comparison. It got a bit better as it warmed, but stronger flavours would have helped.