Category Archives: Country

4 - Good (buy), AleSmith Brewing Company, Beer Reviews, Stout - Imperial, USA

AleSmith Speedway Stout – Hawaiian

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Brewery: AleSmith Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 12%
Style: Stout – Imperial
Other Notes: Imperial Stout with Coconut, Vanilla, and Ka’u Coffee

Brewer Description: (from bottle) We often use Speedway Stout as a jet-black canvas for homages to things we hold dear, whether it’s artisan coffee, a favourite edible or sumptuous flavor combination. The most recent variation of our celebrated imperial stout honors the culinary character of the Hawaiian Islands by combining the lush sweetness of coconut with vanilla and Ka’u coffee. Named after the region of Hawaii from which it hails, Ka’u is produced from some of the world’s rarest coffee beans. Slow-grown beneficiaries of nutrient-rich volcanic soil and idyllic climate, Ka’u offers nuances of caramel and hazelnut plus a soft floral character, all of which marry seamlessly with natural sweetness from the vanilla and coconut as well as Speedway Stout’s inherently rich, chocolaty character. Say aloha to something truly exceptional and evocative of its namesake isles.

My rating: 4+
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.47
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.4

Intro: A 750ml foiled bottle, with no clear bottled on or best before date. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Black in colour with a half finger tanned head that dissipated fairly quickly, but left lots of nice spotty lacing.
Aroma: Roasty, milk chocolate, vanilla, coconut, coffee.
Taste: Roasted malts, lightly sweet, lightly bitter, coffee, vanilla, chocolate, molasses, with notes of coconut.
Mouthfeel: Smooth, creamy, medium to full bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Really enjoyable and an excellent sipper. I guess without pineapple, it doesn’t really feel ‘Hawaiian’ to me, especially since the coconut is not as strong as the vanilla. But still, nice aroma and flavours while being super smooth, and just a great variant.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Gueuzerie Tilquin, Lambic - Fruit

Tilquin Oude Quetsche À l’ancienne avec Prunes de Namur

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Brewery: Gueuzerie Tilquin
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6.4%
Style: Lambic – Fruit
Other Notes: 2016-2017

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Beer of spontaneous fermentation, the Old Quetsche Tilquin – with Prunes de Namur is made from the fermentation of a minimum of 250g of Prunes de Namur by liter of lambic. Unfiltered and unpasteurized, this beer is refermented in the bottle.

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

Intro: A 375ml corked and caged bottle, with a neck label of 2016-2017, and a best before date of 24th January 2027. Poured into a Tilquin stemmed glass.
Appearance: A hazy golden orange colour with a thin white head that dissipated quickly to a ring around the glass, while leaving only sparse spotty lacing.
Aroma: Sweet and tart, plum, oak, funk, and lemon zest.
Taste: Sour, tart, plum, oak, funk, lemon, citrus zest.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Another great plum lambic from Tilquin, although I did prefer the regular Quetsche over this one with Prunes de Namur. This was more sour, had softer carbonation, and didn’t have the sweet fruitiness that I got from the regular Quetsche. Still it had good balanced aroma and flavours that made it enjoyable and easy to drink.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Gueuzerie Tilquin, Lambic - Fruit

Tilquin Oude Quetsche À l’ancienne

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Brewery: Gueuzerie Tilquin
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6.4%
Style: Lambic – Fruit
Other Notes: 2020-2021

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Beer of spontaneous fermentation, the Old Quetsche Tilquin is made from the fermentation of 210g of purple plums by liter of lambic. Unfiltered and unpasteurized, this beer is refermented in the bottle.

My rating: 4+
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.49
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.4

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, with a neck label of 2020-2021, and a best before date of 23rd December 2030. Poured into a Tilquin stemmed glass.
Appearance: A hazy golden orange colour with a one finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly to a ring around the glass while leaving some lacing.
Aroma: Sweet and tart, plum, oak, funk, with notes of lemon zest.
Taste: Much like the aroma, tart, sweet and sour, plum, oak, funk, with notes of lemon and stone fruit.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with light to moderate carbonation.
Overall: This combination of fruit, sweet, tart and sour is candy like, and the excellent balanced aroma and flavours make this super enjoyable and easy to drink.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Gueuzerie Tilquin, Lambic - Fruit

Tilquin Oude Mûre À l’ancienne

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Brewery: Gueuzerie Tilquin
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6%
Style: Lambic – Fruit
Other Notes: 2019-2020

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Beer of spontaneous fermentation, the Oude Mûre Tilquin is made from the fermentation of 280g of blackberries by liter of lambic. Unfiltered and unpasteurized, this beer is refermented in the bottle.

My rating: 4+
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.5
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.4

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, with a neck label of 2019-2020, and a best before date of 28th January 2030. Poured into a Tilquin stemmed glass.
Appearance: A very nice orangey pink colour with a one finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly to a ring around the glass, while leaving only some sparse spotty lacing.
Aroma: Blackberries, oak, light funk and tangy spritzy lemon zest.
Taste: Lightly sour, blackberries, blackcurrant, oak, vanilla, lemon yoghurt, light funk, lemon zest.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with soft to moderate carbonation.
Overall: Really easy and enjoyable to drink. Aroma and flavours were smooth and light but extremely balanced, with good fruit, strong oak and light funk.

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

3 Fonteinen Speling van het Lot XVI.iii: Oude Kirsebær

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Brewery: Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen
Country: Belgium
ABV: 8.2%
Style: Lambic – Fruit
Other Notes: Blend°63, Season 19/20. Number of bottles – 1530

Brewer Description: (from bottle) … so it was in the summer of 2018, we had the honour of visiting Frederiksdal, the renowned Danish kirsebær orchard and cherry wine maker. Not long after, September 13th 2019, we received a few hundred kilos of their sour cherries and macerated them on a charred oak barrel. We used a gentle 3 Fonteinen lambik from one barrel and two different brew days and macerated the lot for almost seven and a half months. While blending, we added one- and two-year old lambikken from three different barrels and three different brews, and some lambikwort from three different brews. We bottled this on Thursday April 16th 2020. The final fruit intensity is 400 grams of kirsebær per litre of this special version of Kriek. Tak til de venlige mennesker i Frederiksdal! 100% 3 Fonteinen.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.34
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, blend°63, season 19/20, bottle 1253/1530, bottled on 16th April 2020. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: It was a clear ruby red colour with a slight purple hue, and a thin pinkish head that dissipated fairly quickly to a ring around the glass while leaving some lacing.
Aroma: Cherry, oak, funk, bandaid, almond notes, with a splash of lemon zest.
Taste: Sour, tart, cherry, funk, oak, vinegar, and lemon.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Great aroma, and a fruit lambic that is enjoyable and easy to drink.