All posts by kitch

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Bell’s Brewery Inc., Stout - Russian Imperial, USA

Bell’s Expedition Stout

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A friend helped me bring back two 12oz bottles of this to Hong Kong for me from the US. They were packaged on 9 October 2014, so around 6 months now.

Brewery: Bell’s Brewery, Inc.
Country: USA
ABV: 10.5%
Style: Russian Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Available in winter. Brewery states unlimited shelf life.

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Here’s a beer that thirsts for travel, holding up impressively under the rigors of any journey. At the same time, it’s perfectly content to sit quietly in your cellar, aging and improving while you wait for the moment that seems perfectly appropriate for its consumption.

(from brewery website) One of the earliest examples of the Russian Imperial Stout in the United States, Expedition Stout offers immensely complex flavors crafted specifically with vintage aging in mind, as its profile will continue to mature and develop over the years. A huge malt body is matched to a heady blend of chocolate, dark fruits, and other aromas. Intensely bitter in its early months, the flavors will slowly meld and grow in depth as the beer ages.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.16
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Appearance: Poured pitch black into a snifter with a one finger brown head that dissipates in less than a minute leaving some spotty lacing.
Aroma: Strong chocolate smells first followed by sherry, malt and pine. The alcohol also does come through at times.
Taste: Begins sweet with chocolate and malt, then turns bitter dark chocolate, pine, herbal-ey lasting finish. Like the nose, the alcohol is there but leaves a warm feeling.
Mouthfeel: Full bodied, light to medium carbonation, warm, sticky.
Overall: I only got 2 bottles of this… and this was the second bottle. As per the description on the bottle and brewery website, I wish I had more so that I could age it and compare the differences it would make. Having said that, 6 months in, and this was nice.

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2 - Maybe (likely wouldn't buy, might drink), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Brouwerij Huyghe, Fruit Beer

Delirium Red

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Let me preface this by saying that I like everything about cough syrup. I like the smell, I love the taste. Now having said that, knowing the Delirium brand, I had high hopes for this beer. This 330ml bottle has a best before date of the end of November 2016.

Brewery: Brouwerij Huyghe
Country: Belgium
ABV: 8%
Style: Fruit Beer

Brewer Description: (from website) Sweet and fruity, with a nice balance between sweet and sour. An excellent dessert beer.

My rating: 2
My beeradvocate.com rating: 2.73
My ratebeer.com rating: 2.8

Appearance: Poured into a tulip glass a deep cloudy ruby red with a less than one finger light pink head that dissipates quickly leaving some streaky lacing.
Aroma: Sweet bubblegum cherry, candy cane, almond.
Taste: Sweet sweet cherry, then sour cherry, then a lasting bitter cherry. I’m fine with medicinal tastes and cherry, but this was just odd… maybe a bit artificial, and the balance was not really there. But there’s absolutely no hint of the 8% alcohol.
Mouthfeel: Light with low carbonation.
Overall: Like I said, I like the medicinal/cough syrup tastes and the colour and the smell of the beer after the pour were great. However the taste was just a mix bag of all over the place. I think that there are better beers out there for this style. If it was in front of me, I would drink it, but I’m not sure that I would buy this beer again.

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3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Brouwerij De Molen, Netherlands, Stout - Imperial

De Molen Mout & Mocca

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Brewery: Brouwerij De Molen
Country: Netherlands
ABV: 11.6%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Brewery suggests to enjoy within 5 years

Brewer Description: Could not find any information on the website or the bottle other than to enjoy within 5 years and its name self description of malt and mocha.

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

Intro: Apparently there are two versions of this beer pre-2011 and the 2011 onwards. The pre-2011 version is 9.5% ABV while the 2011 and onwards version is 11.6% ABV. This beer was bottled on 31 January 2013 along with a note saying to enjoy it within 5 years. So currently this is still well within their suggested limits. However normally with coffee flavoured beers, I prefer to drink them fresher when the coffee flavour is usually more pronounced.
Appearance: A 330ml bottle poured into a snifter glass pitch black with minimal head that disappears quickly leaving some spotty lacing.
Aroma: Smelled of biscuit malt, some chocolate, leather and light coffee and toffee/caramel.
Taste: Similar to the smell, it leads with coffee and dark chocolate with a bitter finish. For such high ABV, there is almost no alcohol to taste.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied, minimal carbonation and slightly sticky.
Overall: The lack of alcohol taste and nice coffee and bitter chocolate flavours make it easy to drink. But perhaps there is a lack of depth in flavours and also would prefer a bit more carbonation in it too.

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4 - Good (buy), Australia, Beer Reviews, Farmhouse Saison, La Sirène Brewing

La Sirène Saison

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Brewery: La Sirène Brewing
Country: Australia
ABV: 6.5%
Style: Saison

Brewer Description: (from La Sirène website) La Sirène Saison is a beer that is special to our hearts and is a tribute to the style born in the Wallonia region of Southern Belgium where these Farmhouse styles were brewed to quench the thirst of field workers. Our classic award-winning Saison pours a deep golden ornage with aromas of wild fruits. Complex rustic flavours of spice and a little funk (courtesy of our yeast) combine deliciously to finally deliver a dry crisp finish. Santé!

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.3
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: Don’t really like it when a beer doesn’t have a bottled date or even a best before date, and there were none here. Poured from a 375ml bottle into a tulip glass.
Appearance: The beer poured a very hazy golden orange colour with a thick fluffy two and half finger head that had pretty good retention leaving a quite thick lace ring. There was also quite a bit of sediment at the bottom of the bottle.
Aroma: Crisp funk with citrus orange, lemon and pear
Taste: Tart sourness, funk, orange, lemon, apple then leaves a lasting pear aftertaste.
Mouthfeel: Crisp, light with good carbonation.
Overall: A nice crisp saison that I would probably buy again. Very refreshing.

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4 - Good (buy), Anderson Valley Brewing Company, Beer Reviews, USA, Winter Warmer

Anderson Valley Winter Solstice Seasonal Ale

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Brewery: Anderson Valley Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 6.9%
Style: Winter Warmer
Other Notes: Only available in winter (September to February)

Brewer Description: (from Anderson Valley website) Winter Solstice® is our take on the classic style of “winter warmer.” Boasting a deep amber hue and rich mouthfeel, its creamy finish will lift your spirits. Hints of toffee, spice, and caramel tease the senses making this the perfect ale to share with friends and family during the cold days and long nights of winter.

(from bottle) Brilliantly clear dark copper color with a dense tan head. Caramelized malty and spicy aromas redolent of cinnamon, allspice, black currant, and black licorice. Pleasantly creamy, with a silky body, sweet caramel flavor, hints of seasonal spices and a clean, malty finish.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.77
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.7

Intro: 12oz bottle which has a best before 10 June 2016 sticker on it (seems a bit long too me…).
Appearance: Poured into a pint glass a slightly hazy deep amber colour. One finger tan head which disappears slowly.
Aroma: Strong vanilla, caramel and malt in that order followed by some light toffee.
Taste: Very much like the nose. Prominent vanilla and toffee followed by caramel. Not too sweet which I like.
Mouthfeel: Full bodied, creamy with some light carbonation.
Overall: This one surprised me in a good way. Although the aroma was a bit weak, the taste was nice as the vanilla, toffee and caramel tastes mixed well together. I would buy this again, but definitely for the winter while its cold and not during the warm spring as it is now.

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