Category Archives: Brewer

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Against The Grain Brewery x Brouwerij De Molen, Beer Reviews, Stout - Imperial, USA

Against The Grain x De Molen Bo & Luke (Tequila Barrel)

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Brewery: Against The Grain Brewery x Brouwerij De Molen
Country: USA
ABV: 13%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: 2016 gold wax. Tequila barrel aged

Brewer Description: (from bottle) It beats all you ever saw! This barrel-aged ale uses the staple ingredients barley, rye and corn, plus cherry wood smoked malt to create a huge imperial stout. To top it all off, we barrel age the beer for three Kentucky months! The result is a rich and complex Imperial Smoked Stout with hints of caramel, vanilla and spice.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.76
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.6

Intro: A gold waxed 750ml bottle with no clear bottled on or best before date, but should be 2016 vintage. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Dark dark brown to black in colour with a one finger tanned head that had decent retention, and left spotty lacing.
Aroma: Roasty, chocolate, oak, soft sweet notes of tequila, and a touch of smoke.
Taste: Light roast, chocolate, cocoa, oak, and subtle notes of tequila and smoke.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Not as good as the other 2106 variants (red wine barrel and Islay scotch barrel) as the smoke and tequila were rather subtle, and the body was for some reason, lighter than I’d hope for.

4 - Good (buy), Against The Grain Brewery x Brouwerij De Molen, Beer Reviews, Stout - Imperial, USA

Against The Grain x De Molen Bo & Luke (Red Wine Barrel)

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Brewery: Against The Grain Brewery x Brouwerij De Molen
Country: USA
ABV: 13%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: 2016 purple wax. Red Wine barrel aged

Brewer Description: (from bottle) It beats all you ever saw! This barrel-aged ale uses the staple ingredients barley, rye and corn, plus cherry wood smoked malt to create a huge imperial stout. To top it all off, we barrel age the beer for three Kentucky months! The result is a rich and complex Imperial Smoked Stout with hints of caramel, vanilla and spice.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.29
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A purple waxed 750ml bottle with no clear bottled on or best before date, but should be 2016 vintage. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Dark dark brown to black in colour with a half finger tanned head that had decent retention and left nice spotty lacing.
Aroma: Light roast, chocolate, vinous, red grapes, kyoho grape jelly, with hints of bourbon sweetness.
Taste: Chocolate, cocoa, roast, sweet bourbon, grape jelly, red grape, red wine, vinous, and light booze.
Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: At times it felt a little sweet, but I love the kyoho grape aroma in this. Unfortunately, all the smoked malts from the original seems to have been lost in all the bourbon, grape and vinous characteristics, but this was still an enjoyable sipper on a cool night.

4 - Good (buy), Against The Grain Brewery x Brouwerij De Molen, Beer Reviews, Stout - Imperial, USA

Against The Grain x De Molen Bo & Luke (Islay Scotch Barrel)

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Brewery: Against The Grain Brewery x Brouwerij De Molen
Country: USA
ABV: 13%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: 2016 green wax. Islay Scotch barrel aged

Brewer Description: (from bottle) It beats all you ever saw! This barrel-aged ale uses the staple ingredients barley, rye and corn, plus cherry wood smoked malt to create a huge imperial stout. To top it all off, we barrel age the beer for three Kentucky months! The result is a rich and complex Imperial Smoked Stout with hints of caramel, vanilla and spice.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.09
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A green waxed 750ml bottle with no clear bottled on or best before date, but should be 2016 vintage. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Dark dark brown to black in colour with a one finger tanned head that had decent retention and left nice spotty lacing.
Aroma: Peat, whisky, bandaid, medicinal, smoked meat, with notes of chocolate and roast hidden in all that peat.
Taste: Scotch, peat, lots of peat, smoke, char, medicinal, with notes of chocolate and dried dark fruit.
Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: I knew before I opened it, that it was Scotch barrel aged, but little did I know, that it was an Islay barrel. Full on peat in the aroma and taste does overwhelm pretty much everything else, so for sure, this is only for those that like peat. Luckily, I love Islay whisky, so this is right up my alley.

4 - Good (buy), Against The Grain Brewery x Brouwerij De Molen, Beer Reviews, Stout - Imperial, USA

Against The Grain x De Molen Bo & Luke

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Brewery: Against The Grain Brewery x Brouwerij De Molen
Country: USA
ABV: 13%
Style: American Imperial Stout

Brewer Description: (from bottle) It beats all you ever saw! This barrel-aged ale uses the staple ingredients barley, rye and corn, plus cherry wood smoked malt to create a huge imperial stout. To top it all off, we barrel age the beer for three Kentucky months! The result is a rich and complex Imperial Smoked Stout with hints of caramel, vanilla and spice.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.25
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: An orange pinkish waxed 750ml bottle with no clear bottled on or best before date. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Dark dark brown to black in colour with a thin tanned head that dissipated quickly and left nice spotty lacing.
Aroma: Bourbon, chocolate, black coffee, light roast, oak, smoky, charred wood, caramel, vanilla, dried dark fruit, raisins, and prunes.
Taste: Roasty, sweet, bourbon, charred oak, light smoke, caramel, vanilla, with hints of rye spiciness and dried dark fruit.
Mouthfeel: Smooth, full bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: A very nice warming Imperial Stout for a cool night. The smoked malts added a nice touch and balanced the bourbon sweetness.

5 - Excellent (must buy), Beer Reviews, Evil Twin Brewing, Stout - Imperial, USA

Evil Twin Harlan’s Even More Jesus

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Brewery: Evil Twin Brewing
Country: USA
ABV: 12%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Imperial Stout aged in red wine barrels. Produced and bottled for Evil Twin Brewing by Westbrook Brewing Co., Mount Pleasant, SC

Brewer Description: (from bottle) A few times in the history of craft beer it has happened that a highly praised beer rises beyond mortal stardom into a higher godly league. Usually the recipe to make such heavenly drops is thick fudge-like body, pitch black color, amazingly overwhelming aromas of chocolate, coffee, dark fruits and muscovado sugar. We took this beer to the next level and barrel aged it on rare barrels from a cult winery in California.

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.5
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.4

Intro: A 22 fl. oz. bomber with no bottled on or best before date. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Black in colour with a thin brown head that dissipated fairly quickly, but left some nice spotty lacing.
Aroma: Roasty, ashy, chocolate, cocoa, coffee, dried dark fruit, vinous red wine, and cherry notes.
Taste: Roasty, ashy, burnt sugar, vinous red wine, chocolate, cocoa, caramel, dark fruit, with a lightly bitter finish.
Mouthfeel: Smooth, creamy, warming, full bodied, with soft carbonation.
Overall: Wow, this is easily my favourite Even More Jesus variant. The sweetness is very nicely balanced with the bitter smoky ash, roast and chocolate. So smooth and a very nice sipper that hides the ABV well.