Category Archives: Country

5 - Excellent (must buy), American Double IPA, Beer Reviews, The Alchemist, USA

The Alchemist Heady Topper

Sunday, 7 February 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: The Alchemist
Country: USA
ABV: 8%
Style: American Double IPA
Other Notes: Drink from the can! Drink from the can! Drink from the can!

Brewer Description: (from can) Heady Topper is an American Double India Pale Ale. This beer is not intended to be the biggest or most bitter. It is meant to give you wave after wave of hoppy goodness on your palate. Tremendous amounts of American hops will creep up on you, and leave you with a dense hoppy finish in your mouth. So drinkable, it’s scary. Sometimes I wish I could crawl right into the can. Freshness and control have always been my main concern when it comes to our beer. We are committed to providing you with an unfiltered and unpasteurized hop experience. Why do I recommend that you drink it from the can? Quite simply, to ensure a delightful, hop experience. The act of pouring it in a glass smells nice, but it releases the essential hop aromas that we have worked so hard to retain. If you MUST pour it into a glass, you may find that some of the hop resins have settled to the bottom – leave them in the can when pouring. This beer is perishable, and at its best when it is young, fresh and hazy. Keep it cold, but not ice cold. Drink this beer immediately, we are always making more.

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.74
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.6

Intro: A 1 pint can canned on 15th December 2015 (I would have drank it earlier but was very sick for a long period of time) and tried from the can at first then poured into a Spiegelau IPA glass.
Appearance: It poured a hazy golden yellow orange colour with a two finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly but left nice sticky lacing.
Aroma: As soon as I opened the can the tropical aromas immediately came pouring out, but there was still a hint of the metal from the can. After pouring it into the glass, the aromas were not as strong but better with a mix of tropical pineapple, mango and citrus mandarin, orange peel and lemon zest. There was also a hint of pine.
Taste: Strong juicy citrus grapefruit and pine with a hint of tropical mango and pineapple. Nice front loaded bitterness which continues into the aftertaste. On the can it says “drink from the can” so I tried that as well. I have to say that taste is just as impressive from the can.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with medium carbonation.
Overall: An excellent DIPA. Must buy and taste fresh if possible. I only wish I wasn’t very sick when I received it… but I know I wouldn’t have been able to enjoy it as much if I drank it a month ago as I wouldn’t be able to taste or smell much. Although it says to drink from the can, which I did try, I still prefer to pour it into a glass to enjoy. It allows you to enjoy its look and gives a clearer aroma. Well worth the hype.

5 - Excellent (must buy), Beer Reviews, Goose Island Beer Co., Stout - Imperial, USA

Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Stout

Tuesday, 2 February 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Goose Island Beer Co.
Country: USA
ABV: 14.3%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: 2015 vintage. Stout aged in bourbon barrels.

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Intense aromas of charred oak, vanilla, caramel & smoke.

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.95
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.9

Intro: A 1 pint .9 fl oz (500ml) bottle with a bottled on date of 22nd October 2015, poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Poured an extremely dark dark brown colour with a reddish hue on the sides. Dark tanned head was very thin and did not last long and there was some thin spotty lacing.
Aroma: Rich rich aromas full of bourbon, oak, caramel, salted chocolate and vanilla.
Taste: Much like the aromas it was full of bourbon, oak, caramel, salted chocolate and vanilla. Stunning, heavenly goodness.
Mouthfeel: Full bodied, thick motor oil like richness. Low carbonation. Nice light burn as it goes down.
Overall: Wow, this was amazing… a brilliant sipper. Even drinking it 3 months in, aromas, taste and feel were already wonderful. It should develop more complexity with a year or two of aging, which is what I’m going to do with the rest of my bottles.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Australia, Beer Reviews, Mountain Goat Beer Pty. Ltd., Porter

Mountain Goat Cross Breed Seedy Goat Coffee Porter

Friday, 29 January 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Mountain Goat Beer Pty. Ltd.
Country: Australia
ABV: 6.2%
Style: American Porter
Other Notes: Crossbred Goats are LIMITED EDITION releases brewed in collaboration with like-minded folk from Australia and around the world.

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Ale, Vienna, Crystal, Chocolate and Roasted Wheat malt are mashed to produce a rich, smooth chocolatey palate – a perfect pairing to the coffee. This coffee is from the El Desarrollo farmers’ group in Huila, Colombia. It’s sourced from 82 small growers who work to produce super premium micro-lots. It displays brown sugar and orange character.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.56
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.4

Intro: A 640ml bottle with a best before date of 13th July 2016. Poured into a Duvel tulip glass.
Appearance: It poured a clear dark brown with a reddish hue and a one finger beige head that dissipated quickly without leaving much lacing.
Aroma: Roasted black coffee dominates with some nuttiness and malts.
Taste: Creamy/milky coffee with notes of brown sugar and vanilla.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied but maybe slightly overcarbonated for this style.
Overall: This was a decent beer with nice aromas. However it was a little too creamy/milky for my liking and the body definitely on the light side.

1 - Poor (never again), Beer Reviews, Denmark, Euro Sour Ale, Mikkeller ApS

Mikkeller MAD4 Refshaleøen Sour

Wednesday, 27 January 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Mikkeller ApS
Country: Denmark
ABV: 6.2%
Style: Euro Sour Ale
Other Notes: Brewed and bottled by Mikkeller at De Proef Brouwerij

Brewer Description: (from website) Beer brewed with blackthorn berries.

My rating: 1
My beeradvocate.com rating: 2.62
My ratebeer.com rating: 2.3

Intro: A 330ml bottle with a best before date of 7th February 2016, poured into a Duvel tulip glass.
Appearance: It poured a rather unappealing murky light mud brown colour. Looks like a cloudy thick apple juice. There was a one finger frothy and thick off white head that settles down to a thin but puffy layer with some thick sticky lacing.
Aroma: Somewhat sour funkiness with a fruity element leaning towards apple juice and cider. There is also an acidic vinegary touch.
Taste: Tart and sour at the beginning but there is no distinct lasting flavour but some bitterness. Its like as soon you get the sourness, something just cancels out all taste and its weird. Hint of vinegar, blueberry and apple, but at the same time, not really.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with mid to high carbonation.
Overall: Sour beers are good, but this was just a mess. The aromas were fine, but its taste and especially its appearance left something to be desired. I believe this was brewed once only, and that’s probably a good thing. Definitely not going for this again.

2 - Maybe (likely wouldn't buy, might drink), American IPA, Beer Reviews, Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, USA

Sierra Nevada Celebration Fresh Hop IPA

Tuesday, 12 January 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 6.8%
Style: American IPA
Other Notes: 65 IBUs. Malts – Two-row Pale and Caramel. Hops – Chinook, Centennial and Cascade.

Brewer Description: (from bottle) We first brewed Celebration IPA in the winter of 1981. Each year, we use only the first fresh hops of the growing season to create this complex and robust ale. Layered pine and citrus hop aromas balance delicately against rich, malt sweetness to shape this bold wintertime classic.

My rating: 2
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.11
My ratebeer.com rating: 3

Intro: A 12 fl oz bottle with a packaged date of 19th October 2015. Poured into a Spiegelau IPA glass.
Appearance: It poured a clear dark copper colour with a two finger cream coloured head that had great retention and left lots of nice lacing.
Aroma: Citrusy lemon, apple, piney hops and sweet but slight biscuit malts. There was also some herbal and spice here and there.
Taste: Light citrus and hop bitterness before it kicks in with some strong maltiness and surprising booze but nice spice.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: This was definitely more malty and boozy than I expected (and not in a good way). However, I will retry this again to make sure, but at the moment, I definitely prefer Hop Hunter and Torpedo IPA over this.

words of another dreamy traveller