All posts by kitch

2 - Maybe (likely wouldn't buy, might drink), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Brouwerij Girardin, Lambic - Gueuze

Girardin Gueuze White Label

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Brewery: Brouwerij Girardin
Country: Belgium
ABV: 5%
Style: Belgian Lambic (Gueuze)

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Filtered version.

My rating: 2
My beeradvocate.com rating: 2.99
My ratebeer.com rating: 2.8

Intro: A 375ml corked and caged bottle. The cork had the words Diam DX 2016 and the number 08 on it, which I think I’ve worked it out to mean Batch D, bottled in August 2016. Poured into a Cantillon Gueuze glass.
Appearance: A clear copper orange colour with a half finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly, but settles to a thin replenishing layer with sparse lacing.
Aroma: Sour-ish, raisins, green apple, pear, vinegar, oak and hints of cheese.
Taste: Tart and lightly sour, apple cider vinegar, apple core, lemon peel, grass and oak with a sweet-ish raisin, prune like finish.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate to low carbonation.
Overall: Aroma and taste was very different to all other Gueuze’s that I’ve tried and in this case, was just not really my thing, especially the dark fruit like sweetness and apple cider vinegar. I’d just stick with the Black Label version.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Brouwerij Lindemans, Lambic - Gueuze

Lindemans Oude Gueuze Cuvée René Special Blend 2010

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Brewery: Brouwerij Lindemans
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6%
Style: Belgian Lambic (Gueuze)
Other Notes: Grand Cru. Limited Edition

Brewer Description: (from bottle) This Old Gueuze produced by the Lindemans Brewery is an exclusive blend of 4 year old Lambic with young Lambic, fermented in oak barrels and refermented in the bottle. Golden colour, slightly sour, smooth Gueuze with a sherry-like aroma. The Gueuze for beer connoisseurs. Limited edition of 15,000 bottles.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.42
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.4

Intro: A 750ml bottle, bottled in June 2014 and a best before date of 2024. Poured into a Lindemans flute glass.
Appearance: A clear golden orange colour with a just over one finger white head that had pretty good retention and nice lacing.
Aroma: Citrusy lemon, lime, hints of orange, oak, pepper, damp hay, wet leather and a good amount of barnyard funk.
Taste: Lemon-lime, pear, apple peel, oak, lots of funk, barnyard, hay, lemon rind, vinegar bite and mustiness.
Mouthfeel: Crisp, medium to light bodied with high carbonation and a dry finish.
Overall: This surprised me in a good way. Very enjoyable with lots of funk, barnyard, wet hay and leather.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Brouwerij Lindemans, Lambic - Fruit

Lindemans Oude Kriek Cuvée René

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Brewery: Brouwerij Lindemans
Country: Belgium
ABV: 7%
Style: Belgian Lambic (Fruit)
Other Notes: 2016. No. 07578

Brewer Description: (from bottle) In Belgium brewing beer is considered a form of art. In our family this art has been passed down since 1822 from generation to generation. Our traditional Kriek Cuvée René Grand Cru is brewed with wild yeast from the surrounding air, water, malted barley, wheat, aged hop flowers and selected wild cherries. Deep cherry red clear body, tart taste with a moderate sourness and an authentic cherry skin presence. No added sugar.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.38
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 375ml bottle, bottled on 9th December 2016 and with a best before date of 9th December 2022. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A very nice deep ruby red colour with a two finger pinkish-purple coloured head that had good retention but pretty much no lacing.
Aroma: Sweetish tart cherry juice followed by some barnyard funk and damp hay with hints of vinegar and oak.
Taste: Crisp sour tart cherries and mixed berries and oak with only hints of barnyard funk.
Mouthfeel: Medium to light bodied with moderate to high carbonation.
Overall: Crisp, easy to drink, nice tart cherry and enjoyable.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Brasserie Fantôme, Farmhouse Saison

Fantôme Pissenlit

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Brewery: Brasserie Fantôme
Country: Belgium
ABV: 8%
Style: Belgian Saison

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Belgian Ale brewed with spices.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.7
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.5

Intro: A 750ml bottle with a best before end 2019 date. Poured into a d’Achouffe tulip glass.
Appearance: A lightly hazy amber-orange colour with a two finger light tan-orangey coloured head that had good retention and left nice lacing.
Aroma: Sweet Belgian yeast, breadiness, lots of fruit, plum, orange, apple with hints of clove and banana, lightly peppery, hay, grass and some spices.
Taste: Musty, apple juice, grass, orange, orange peel bitterness, some kind of floral herbal spice mix that’s not easy to describe and some pear and pepper lingering on the finish.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate to low carbonation.
Overall: This was interesting but perhaps that floral herbal spice mix threw me off a bit. I also felt the carbonation was too low. In the end I think I prefer their regular Saison a lot more.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, BrewDog x Beavertown Brewery, Scotland, Stout - Imperial

BrewDog x Beavertown BrewDog vs. Beavertown Coffee and Cigarettes

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Brewery: BrewDog x Beavertown Brewery
Country: Scotland
ABV: 12.1%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Hops – Chinook and Magnum

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Coffee and Cigarettes. A perfect percolation. Blacker than a Milan Espresso. This smoking gun of a stout gives you both barrels. Smoky peat, roasted coffee and bitter chocolate on the nose. Big espresso and molasses on the palate with subtle notes of coconut, vanilla and raisin. Coffee and Cigarettes – for those of us who want to stay up late and drink beer.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.94
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.8

Intro: A 330ml bottle with a best before date of 12th March 2022. Poured into a snifter.
Appearance: Black in colour with a half finger mocha head that dissipated quickly except for parts that clung around the glass and sparse spotty lacing.
Aroma: Chocolate and roasty coffee with hints of oak, charcoal, whisky and smoky peat.
Taste: Sweet, smoke, peaty whisky, plum and raisins with only hints of the roasty chocolate and coffee that I got in the aroma.
Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied with light carbonation.
Overall: This was not at all what I was expecting. The roasty chocolate and coffee that was so evident in the aroma was completely overpowered by the strong barrel character of peat and whisky such that in a way, it didn’t feel like an Imperial Stout. That’s not to say that it wasn’t good, but it would definitely help if you enjoy peat like I do. The result seemed like an easy to drink peated whisky minus the kick.