All posts by kitch

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Stone Brewing Co., Stout - Russian Imperial, USA

Stone Espresso Totalitarian

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Brewery: Stone Brewing Co.
Country: USA
ABV: 10.6%
Style: Russian Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Imperial Stout brewed w/ Espresso

Brewer Description: (from can) Bespoke totalitarianism for the proletariat diaspora. Imperial Russian stouts don’t actually get their name from being brewed in Russia. In fact, the style originated in England, initially brewed to suit the discerning tastes fo the nobles of the mid-18th century Russian court. Flash forward about 250 years, and here we find ourselves in a world populated by the diaspora of craft beer enthusiasts that also have a finely tuned palate for this richly intense style. Fortunately, you neither need to be Russian nor of noble birth to enjoy this intensely rich, deeply complex stout. To further bespoke the bejesus out of this, we brewed with a beautiful espresso roast coffee. It’s as fit for savouring fresh on a warm spring afternoon as it is for aging deep in a Muscovite cellar.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.37
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 12 fl. oz. can, canned on 23rd February 2019. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: It poured black in colour with a two finger brown head that had pretty good retention and left nice lacing.
Aroma: Roasted malts, espresso, coffee bean and dark chocolate.
Taste: Bittersweet, roasty, dark chocolate, cacao, espresso and coffee beans.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, rich, smooth, full bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Really nice and smooth with great roast, chocolate and espresso notes.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Fruit Beer, Gweilo Brewery x Culmination Brewing, Hong Kong

Gweilo x Culmination Fruitburst

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Brewery: Gweilo Brewery x Culmination Brewing
Country: Hong Kong
ABV: 5.8%
Style: Fruit Beer
Other Notes: 15 IBUs. Collaboration with Culmination

Brewer Description: (from can) Brewed with our friends at Culmination Brewing, Fruitburst is a beer erupting with tart tropical fruits. We’ve used a light wheat base and pumped it full of guava, peach and passionfruit purees shipped over from Culmination’s home state of Oregon. The result is a juicy burst of fruit with a tangy kick.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.65
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.5

Intro: A 330ml can with a best before date of 20th August 2020. Poured into a Holy Mountain tulip glass.
Appearance: A cloudy peachy orange colour with quite a bit of sediment. A big three finger white head that dissipated quite quickly and only left some sparse lacing.
Aroma: Fruity, guava, unripe banana, peach, apricot, and passionfruit.
Taste: Fruity, moderate to light sweetness, guava, passionfruit, tangy.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate to light carbonation.
Overall: Enjoyable aroma, and the simple fruity flavours were pretty good.

2 - Maybe (likely wouldn't buy, might drink), Beer Reviews, Gweilo Brewery, Hong Kong, IPA - New England / Hazy

Gweilo Hopfensaft

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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) Hopfensaft NEIPA pays hommage to three German hops: Ariana, Mandarina Bavaria and Huell Melon. This medley of hops creates a juicy beer bursting with flavours of grapefruit, gooseberry, blackcurrant, orange, melon and vanilla. At 4.9%, it’s scarily sessionable!

My rating: 2
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.13
My ratebeer.com rating: 2.9

Intro: A 330ml can with a best before date of 3rd September 2020. Poured into a Holy Mountain tulip glass.
Appearance: A slightly murky dark orange colour with a two finger white head that had decent retention while leaving some nice lacing.
Aroma: Bready, citrus zest, grapefruit rind, melon and orange.
Taste: Bready malt base, melon, moderate bitterness, grapefruit zest and rind, citrus peel, orange, and tea.
Mouthfeel: Medium+ bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Aside from its hazy appearance, it doesn’t have the characteristics of a good NEIPA for me. There is fruit, but the juiciness seems restrained and the strong bready malt character takes over. I can only say that this one is not really for me.

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

Gweilo x Mikkeller Skyline IPA

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Brewery: Gweilo Brewery x Mikkeller ApS
Country: Hong Kong
ABV: 5.5%
Style: New England / Hazy IPA
Other Notes: 25 IBUs. Collaboration with Mikkeller. Collectively redefining

Brewer Description: (from can) Brewed with our friends at Mikkeller, Skyline IPA delivers a huge hit of citrus, backed up by subtle notes of pineapple and mango. These intense flavours are the result of a 25g/L dry hop of Amarillo, Azacca and Galena. We use wheat, oats and London Ale yeast to give Skyline a juicy mouthfeel.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.7
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.4

Intro: A 330ml can with a best before date of 4th September 2020. Poured into a Holy Mountain tulip glass.
Appearance: Poured a hazy golden orange colour with a two finger white head that had decent retention and left some nice lacing.
Aroma: Tropical and citrusy fruit forward. Mango, pineapple, orange juice and grapefruit zest.
Taste: Fruity, unripe mango, moderate bitterness, citrusy orange rind, grapefruit zest, spicy hop burn on the finish.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied, moderate carbonation, rather uncomfortable spicy hop burn finish.
Overall: Great aroma, but taste and mouthfeel were affected by a rather uncomfortable hop burn, which is quite strange for me since I’m usually ok with hop burn and don’t necessarily consider it a problem. In this case though, the spiciness definitely affected my enjoyment.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Magpie Brewing Company, Sour Ale, South Korea

Magpie Juicybox – Blueberry & Yuja

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Brewery: Magpie Brewing Company
Country: South Korea
ABV: 4.5%
Style: Sour Ale
Other Notes: 5 IBUs

Brewer Description: (from can) Sour Ale w/ blueberry & yuja

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.99
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.8

Intro: A 500ml can, canned on 1st July 2019. Poured into a Holy Mountain tulip glass.
Appearance: A hazy candy red colour mixed with a bit of purple and an almost two finger pinkish head that dissipated quickly while leaving only sparse to no lacing.
Aroma: Juicy, blueberry, yoghurt, with light citrus notes in the background.
Taste: Lightly sour, juicy, blueberry, mixed berries, and citrusy yuzu (which I just found out is the same as Yuja).
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation. The thickish sediment towards the end was not a good feeling though.
Overall: Very juicy and tasty. The berry and citrus flavours complemented each other and made for easy drinking. It may not be a complex beer, but minus the bottom of the bottle, I do enjoy drinking it.