All posts by kitch

4 - Good (buy), American Pale Ale, Beer Reviews, Cloudwater Brew Co., England

Cloudwater DDH Simcoe Vic Secret Pale

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Brewery: Cloudwater Brew Co.
Country: England
ABV: 5.5%
Style: American Pale Ale
Other Notes: Spring-Summer 2017. Specialising in modern, seasonal beer. Malts – Golden Promise, Wheat, Dextrin Malt and Carapils. Yeast – WLP001. Hops – Simcoe, Vic Secret, Chinook and Pilgrim Alpha CO2 Extract

Brewer Description: (from can) Our second mid strength Pale, double dry hopped with Simcoe, Vic Secret and Chinook. We increased the Carapils and Dextrin malt for a richer mouthfeel and fermented with WLP001 for a neutral yeast profile.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.35
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 440ml can, canned on 28th April 2017 and with a best before date of end of August 2017. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: A cloudy golden orange colour with a one finger white head that had decent retention and left some lacing.
Aroma: Mango and passionfruit with hints of peach, orange and grapefruit.
Taste: Tastes similar to the aroma with mango, peach, apricot, mandarin and orange with a nice finish of bitter zesty citrus rind.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: A nice juicy Pale Ale that’s great to drink.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), American IPA, Beer Reviews, Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, USA

Sierra Nevada Beer Camp (2017): Golden IPA

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Brewery: Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 6.5%
Style: American IPA
Other Notes: Spring seasonal. A new beer every year

Brewer Description: (from bottle) At Beer Camp, no beer style is off limits, so we jumped at the idea of doing a Golden IPA using wheat malt for a light, dry body and bold American and experimental hops for intense citrus flavor. The perfect spring seasonal, we invite you to enjoy this year’s Beer Camp encore.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.79
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.7

Intro: A 12 fl oz bottle with a packaged on date of 10th February 2017. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: A lightly hazy golden straw yellow colour with a two finger white head that had good retention and left nice lacing.
Aroma: Bready, wheaty and pineapple with hints of sweet citrusy mandarin.
Taste: Candied pineapple, sweet candy lemon, lots of floralness with some light bitterness on the end.
Mouthfeel: Crisp, dry-ish, medium to light bodied with moderate to high carbonation.
Overall: Easy to drink but a bit too much floral characters for me to fully enjoy.

4 - Good (buy), American Double IPA, Beer Reviews, Hong Kong, Young Master Brewery

Young Master Yat Cheen

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Brewery: Young Master Brewery
Country: Hong Kong
ABV: 10%
Style: American Double IPA
Other Notes: 100 IBUs. Malts – All Malt (five variety blend). Hops – Citra and Mosaic

Brewer Description: (from website) When life (or your hop supplier) gives you €1,000 of free hops, you do the obvious. Make a single 1,000L batch with all the hops thrown in the same batch and of course you make it a punchy 10.00% DIPA. We genuinely thought this was going to be a one-off. Having (extensively) tasted it now though…

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.83
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.7

Intro: Young Master released 100 specially bottled versions of Yat Cheen on 24th May 2017. I am unsure of their reasons to hold back the release of these bottles though as I would definitely prefer this as fresh as possible, but it is what it is, and I was just glad to be able to try it as I missed the earlier opportunities. It was a 750ml corked and caged bottle, bottle number 46 of 100, and poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: A slightly cloudy golden orange colour with a two finger white head that had good retention and left lots of nice sticky lacing.
Aroma: Lots of citrusy grapefruit, grapefruit rind, pine and pineapple with hints of mango on the backend.
Taste: Grapefruit rind and peel with hints of pine, light malt sweetness and a nice long bitter finish.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate to light carbonation.
Overall: It was nice and easy to drink with the 10% ABV well hidden. From the description, it appears that YM have reconsidered the one-off decision and will brew this again, and I am excited as I definitely want to try this fresh.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), American IPA, Beavertown Brewery, Beer Reviews, England

Beavertown Bloody ‘Ell

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Brewery: Beavertown Brewery
Country: England
ABV: 7.2%
Style: American IPA
Other Notes: Blood Orange IPA. 55 IBUs. Malts – Extra Pale. Hops – Magnum, Citra, Simcoe and Amarillo

Brewer Description: (from website) A smack of citrus with hints of warm blood orange aromas brought on by refined malt bill and loads of juicy hops. All hail Bloody ‘Ell.

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

Intro: A 330ml can with a best before date of 17th July 2017. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: A lightly hazy golden yellow orange colour with a two finger white head that had pretty good retention and left nice lacing.
Aroma: Mandarin and orange rind with hints of pine and grapefruit.
Taste: Sweetish and zesty orange and mandarin with a hint of honeydew and pine. Finish is lightly lasting bitterness.
Mouthfeel: Lightly crisp, medium to light bodied with moderate to light carbonation.
Overall: Nicely refreshing for a hot summer day and surprised that it’s 7.2% ABV as it definitely doesn’t feel that high. For me, I would have preferred slightly more carbonation and a stronger bitterness though.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, German Lichtenhainer, Hong Kong, Young Master Brewery

Young Master Ich Bin Ein Lichtenhainer

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Brewery: Young Master Brewery
Country: Hong Kong
ABV: 4.7%
Style: German Lichtenhainer
Other Notes: Smokey Sour. 19 IBUs. Malts – Pilsner, Beechwood Smoked Barley and Wheat. Hops – Noble Style Hops

Brewer Description: (from website) Recreation of an ancient beer style that until recently was all but forgotten, “Ich Bin Ein Lichtenhainer” is savory yet refreshing. It starts off with a nose of charred beechwood with a backdrop of lactic tartness. This interplay between smoke and acidity continues on the palate and ultimately finishes dry. Despite big, complex flavors its surprisingly sessionable. It takes a few sips to get to know the unique personality of this beer, then it becomes moreish and the next day flavors haunt. It is a great food beer with acidity acting as a counter-balance to fat and sweetness while the smoke stands up to robust flavors and takes it up a notch. Pair it with pork belly, grilled meat, apple pie, maple donuts or over-ripe washed rind cheese.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.58
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.6

Intro: A 946ml crowler, filled on 25th May 2017. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: A clear golden yellow colour with a two finger white head that had pretty good retention and left nice lacing.
Aroma: Smokiness mixed in with hints of passionfruit like tartness.
Taste: Similar to the aroma but the other way around with fruity tartness mixed with hints of smoke and a light lemon finish.
Mouthfeel: Light bodied, moderate to high carbonation with a dry-ish finish.
Overall: If you aren’t familiar with this style, its aroma and taste of smoke and tartness is unique and takes a while to get used to. The more I drank, the more I grew to like this beer, to the point where I felt that the smoke and fruity tartness blended well together. Nice and easy to drink.