Category Archives: Country

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, De Struise Brouwers, Stout - Russian Imperial

De Struise Black Damnation I – Blackberry Albert

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Brewery: De Struise Brouwers
Country: Belgium
ABV: 13%
Style: Stout – Russian Imperial
Other Notes: 72 IBUs

Brewer Description: (from bottle) A Belgian Royal Stout ale from Flanders matured on black currants & Red Port barrels.

My rating: 4+
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.46
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.4

Intro: A 330ml bottle, bottled on 9th November 2022, with a best before date of +5 years, poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Black in colour with a thin beige head that had pretty good retention and dissipated to a ring around the glass while leaving small spotty lacing.
Aroma: Light roasty, chocolate, sweet berries, blackberries, woody, nutty, with light caramel notes.
Taste: Sweet malty, light roast, berry sweetness, blackberries, blueberries, chocolate, coffee, boozy, a touch nutty, and some bitter notes.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: A very enjoyable sipper with restrained sweetness, and balanced aromas and flavours.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, De Struise Brouwers, Stout - Russian Imperial

De Struise Black Damnation X – Double Wood

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Brewery: De Struise Brouwers
Country: Belgium
ABV: 15%
Style: Stout – Russian Imperial
Other Notes: 72 IBUs

Brewer Description: (from bottle) A Belgian Royal Stout from Flanders aged for 2 yrs in Balvenie whisky barrels.

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

Intro: A 330ml bottle, bottled on 4th May 2021, with a best before date of +5 years, poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Black in colour with a thin beige head that dissipated into a ring around the glass, while leaving tiny spotty lacing.
Aroma: Roasted malts, chocolate, coffee grounds, dark fruit, raisin, fig, whisky, light notes of caramel and vanilla, and a touch nutty.
Taste: Caramel malt, roasty, chocolate, black coffee, whisky, dark fruit, plum, fig, wood, and some lingering char on the finish.
Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Despite the high ABV%, it wasn’t noticeable and it was just an enjoyable sipper with great aromas and flavours.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Brasserie Cantillon, Lambic - Fruit

Cantillon Racine

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Brewery: Brasserie Cantillon
Country: Belgium
ABV: 7%
Style: Lambic – Fruit

Brewer Description: (from bottle) A collaboration between Radikon & Cantillon. A blend with the pomace of Chardonnay, Tokay, Sauvignon Blanc grapes and 2 year old lambic.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.13
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 750ml corked and capped bottle, 2022 vintage, bottled on 7th February 2022. Poured into a Cantillon ballon glass.
Appearance: A slightly hazy golden straw yellow colour, with a thin half finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly, while leaving only sparse lacing.
Aroma: Fruity, tart, grape skin, rose apple, pear, lemon zest, with funky notes.
Taste: Sour, tart, fruity, grape skin, rose apple, pear, lemon zest, with light mineral notes and funk.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Definitely some interesting flavours coming through, but I think not one of my favourites among the Cantillon grape lambics.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Cerveza Granizo x The Rare Barrel, Chile, Farmhouse Saison

Granizo x The Rare Barrel Noble Alerce

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Brewery: Cerveza Granizo x The Rare Barrel
Country: Chile
ABV: 7%
Style: Farmhouse Saison
Other Notes: Collaboration with The Rare Barrel

Brewer Description: (from bottle in Spanish) El noble Alerce (Fitzroya cupressoides) es uno de los árboles más longevos del mundo, llegando a vivir sobre los 3.000 años, trascendiendo nuestra concepción del tiempo y espacio. Noble Alerce es una cerveza de fermentación mixta, elaborada en conjunto con The Rare Barrel (USA), y que maduró por pacientes 8 meses en barricas de Alerce de más de 100 años, que previamente fermentaron chicha de manzana y, anterior a eso, cerveza del sur de Chile. Más noble imposible!

(translated to English) The noble Alerce (Fitzroya cupressoides) is one of the longest-lived trees in the world, living for over 3,000 years, transcending our conception of time and space. Noble Alerce is a mixed fermentation beer, brewed in collaboration with The Rare Barrel (USA), that matured for eight months in Alerce barrels over 100 years old, which previously fermented apple chicha and, prior to that, beer from southern Chile. More noble impossible!

My rating: 3-
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.65
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.5

Intro: A 375ml bottle, with a best before date of June 2030. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A nice clear golden colour with a one finger white head that had pretty good retention, while leaving some nice lacing.
Aroma: Sweet and tart, fresh cut apple, funk, with some citrus zesty notes.
Taste: Lightly sour, tart, apple, citrusy, with some woody notes.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with light to moderate carbonation.
Overall: Good look and aroma, but the flavours didn’t quite match up.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen, Lambic - Fruit

3 Fonteinen Frambozenlambik

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Brewery: Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen
Country: Belgium
ABV: 5.7%
Style: Lambic – Fruit
Other Notes: Blend°22, Season 19/20

Brewer Description: (from bottle) For this small batch Frambozenlambik, we used raspberries from Ferme Framboos, located in beautiful Huldenberg, Flanders. These raspberries, hand-picked in the summer of 2019, macerated for three months on stainless steel. While macerating, we only used lambik originating from one brew and from one barrel; no lambik was added prior to bottling. The final fruit intensity is still 371 grams of raspberries per litre of Frambozenlambik.

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

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, blend°22, season 19/20, bottled on 14th January 2020. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A lightly hazy pinkish orange colour with a thin white head that disappeared quickly to a ring around the glass, while leaving only sparse lacing.
Aroma: Jammy raspberry, strawberry, oak, lemon zest, and a touch tart.
Taste: Sour, tart, raspberry, lemon juice, lemon zest, oak, with light funky notes.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Good enjoyable aroma and flavours with just the lack of carbonation limiting it a bit.