Category Archives: Anderson Valley Brewing Company

Anderson Valley Wild Turkey Bourbon Barrel Stout

Brewery: Anderson Valley Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 6.9%
Style: American Stout
Other Notes: Aged to perfection in bourbon barrels

Brewer Description: (from website) Aged for three months in Wild Turkey® Bourbon barrels, this luxurious stout has a deep ebony hue and a beautiful mahogany head. The woody, vanilla-like notes imparted by the barrels mingle with aromas of fresh baked bread, toffee, and espresso and envelop the rich chocolate and roasted barley flavors with a fine bourbon character.

Our exclusive partnership with Wild Turkey® gives us a world class, consistent source of barrelage, allowing our brewers to explore new frontiers in barrel-aged craft beer. Since its introduction, Wild Turkey® has maintained a distinctive distillation and aging process that gives it a smooth taste and a lingering flavor. They also use differentiated process whereby the bourbon is distilled at a low proof to seal in its flavors. Very little water is added to the bourbon, resulting in a full-flavored authentic taste similar to what one would get straight out of the barrel. Wild Turkey is a genuine drink with a sought after “burn” that comes from its high proof, an attribute fundamental to the brand and critical in maintaining its authentic bourbon characteristics.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.59
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.5

Intro: A 650ml bottle with no clear bottled on or best before date. Poured into an Anderson Valley ‘can’ glass.
Appearance: Dark brown to black in colour with a big almost four finger tanned head that had pretty good retention and left some lacing.
Aroma: Roasty, chocolate, bourbon, vanilla with hints of coffee and oak.
Taste: Bourbon sweetness and oak with only hints of any roast, chocolate or stout in the background. The roastiness comes out more as it warms, but in the end still not enough for me.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Too much bourbon and a lack of stout identity for me. For the amount of bourbon, body was also lower than I prefer.

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Anderson Valley Briney Melon Gose

Brewery: Anderson Valley Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 4.2%
Style: Gose – Fruit
Other Notes: Malt – Pale Two Row and Malted White Wheat. Hops – Bravo.

Brewer Description: (from website) Born from our passion for experimentation, our Briney Melon Gose boasts a thirst-quenching tartness that is perfectly balanced by subtle watermelon flavors and aromas. Gentle additions of sea salt create a refreshing harmony between the acidity and fruity sweetness leading to clean, dry finish.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.95
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.8

Intro: A 12 fl oz can with either a best before or canned on date that is not legible but should still be good. Poured into a Duvel tulip glass.
Appearance: It poured a slightly hazy golden colour with one finger white head that dissipated quickly but left some stringy lacing.
Aroma: Lightly sour, a bit tangy with a hint of honeydew melon.
Taste: Salty, definitely salty and lightly sour before a nice refreshing kick of honeydew melon and watermelon. The finish is a light lasting sourness.
Mouthfeel: Crisp, light bodied with moderate to high carbonation.
Overall: I wasn’t impressed with my first sip, but I think I grew to like it more and more. Refreshing and easy to drink.

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Anderson Valley Belk’s ESB

Brewery: Anderson Valley Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 6.8%
Style: English Extra Special Bitter
Other Notes: Formerly known as Boont’s ESB. BUT I’ve also heard that this has recently been discontinued… (and I can barely find any info on the Anderson Valley website)

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Burnished gold hue with a persistent, rocky white head. Floral, spicy aroma redolent of lilacs, white pepper and Bartlett pears with undertones of blueberry honey and roses. A pleasant balance of crisp bitterness with a clean malt profile adorned spicy, herbal hop flavors lasting into a dry, refreshing finish.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.46
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.5

Intro: A 12 fl oz bottle with no visible best by or bottled date and poured into a pint glass.
Appearance: Poured a slightly hazy orangey copper colour with a one finger off white head that dissipates within a minute leaving some stringy lacing.
Aroma: A bit weak but what little I do get is caramel malts, some fruitiness like plum, pear, apple sauce and orange plus hints of mineral notes.
Taste: Strong caramel sweetness beginning and citrus grapefruit bitterness finish with hints of pine, grass and pepper in between.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with low carbonation and dry finish.
Overall: This was decent but nothing special. I think I may prefer it more if it had a little less of the caramel sweetness.

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Anderson Valley Highway 128 Blood Orange Gose

Brewery: Anderson Valley Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 4.2%
Style: Gose – Fruit
Other Notes: Malt – Pale Two-Row, Malted White Wheat. Hops – Bravo.

Brewer Description: (from can) Copious additions of blood orange during fermentation impart tangy citrus notes and a slight sweetness to compliment the salinity and tartness typically found in a Gose style ale.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.93
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.8

Intro: A 12 fl oz can poured into a pint glass.
Appearance: The beer poured a slightly hazy golden orange colour with a two finger white head that dissipated quickly with no lacing.
Aroma: Strong tangy citrus and candy like orange and lemon.
Taste: Tart and tangy sour orange with a salty finish.
Mouthfeel: Light bodied with medium carbonation.
Overall: I enjoyed this. It’s a great drink for a hot summer day as it goes down easy and is very refreshing with its tart, tangy and salt finish. I prefer this over Anderson Valley’s regular Gose.

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Anderson Valley Highway 128 the Kimmie, the Yink and the Holy Gose

Brewery: Anderson Valley Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 4.2%
Style: German Gose
Other Notes: Malt – Pale Two-Row, Malted White Wheat. Hops – Bravo.

Brewer Description: (from can) The refreshing tartness in this devine, bright golden-colored ale gives way to earthy undertones and hints of citrus followed by a slight sea salt-like dryness and tangy, effervescent finish.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.03
My ratebeer.com rating: 3

Intro: A 12 fl oz can poured into a pint glass.
Appearance: The beer poured a clear golden straw colour with a one finger white head that dissipated quickly.
Aroma: Aromas are mainly bready, tart, sour, lemon. There is also a slight dank finish.
Taste: First a doughy malt flavour, followed by tart, lemon, sour and salt.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with medium to high carbonation.
Overall: This was not bad as the tartness is refreshing. It’s also easy to drink. However I tried the blood orange version first and easily prefer that over this one.

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