Category Archives: USA

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Cascade Brewing, USA, Wild Ale

Cascade Noyaux

Tuesday, 7 June 2016 kitch Leave a comment

– Note: Apologies for the dark photos.
– 8th June 2016 edit: Found some much better and clearer photos on my phone.

Brewery: Cascade Brewing
Country: USA
ABV: 9.29%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: 2014 project

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Noyaux is a blend of sour Blond ales aged in oak wine barrels for up to 24 months with fresh raspberries and apricot noyaux.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.44
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.3

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle from 2014 project, poured into a To Øl teku glass.
Appearance: It poured a slightly hazy strawberry red colour with a half finger white head that dissipates fairly quickly but leaves nice lacing.
Aroma: Funk, oak, raspberries, lemon and a hint of apricot.
Taste: Sour, tart, oak, raspberry and strawberry.
Mouthfeel: Dry, medium bodied with high carbonation.
Overall: Very nice funk, easy to drink and definitely does not feel like 9.29% abv. I did not know what apricot noyaux was but apparently it is from apricot kernels. I guess this explained the lack of apricot I was expecting in the taste.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), American IPA, Beer Reviews, Firestone Walker Brewing Co., USA

Firestone Walker Easy Jack

Tuesday, 7 June 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Featured image taken from http://www.firestonebeer.com/beers/products/easy-jack.

Brewery: Firestone Walker Brewing Co.
Country: USA
ABV: 4.5%
Style: American IPA
Other Notes: 50 IBUs

Brewer Description: (from website) Easy Jack came about when Brewmaster Matt Brynildson went to the mountain top and returned with a vision for a different kind of Session IPA, one that would be brewed and dry hopped with a globetrotting selection of newer hop varieties from Germany, New Zealand and North America. He foresaw a beer that would deliver massive hop aromas, surprising dimension, a signature malt balance and an empty glass before you knew what hit you. And so the newest member of our Jack IPA family was born.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.58
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.6

Intro: On tap at Owl and Pussycat Taproom and Kitchen (Busan) into a Firestone pint glass.
Appearance: Clear straw gold colour with a one finger white puffy head that had good retention and good lacing.
Aroma: Citrus grapefruit, light lemon, lime, honey and biscuit malt.
Taste: Light citrus, candy grapefruit, biscuit malt, honey and light caramel.
Mouthfeel: Light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Easy to drink Session IPA, but perhaps the flavours are not quite my favourite.

4 - Good (buy), American Pale Ale, Beer Reviews, Founders Brewing Company, USA

Founders Mosaic Promise

Monday, 6 June 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Founders Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 5.5%
Style: American Pale Ale
Other Notes: 50 IBUs.

Brewer Description: (from website) Mosaic Promise showcases two unique ingredients: Mosaic hops and Golden Promise malt. The versatility of the hop’s pleasing aroma and flavor characteristics and the traditional barley’s depth of flavor comprise this clean, rich, golden beer. We can brew complex beers with the best of them, but we recognize that there is also beauty in simplicity.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.03
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.9

Intro: A 12 fl oz bottle with a best by date of 1st July 2017 and poured into a Duvel tulip glass.
Appearance: It poured a slightly hazy golden straw yellow with a two finger white head that had decent retention and left nice spotty lacing.
Aroma: Tropical pineapple, hint of mango, and a lot of citrus grapefruit, lemon zest, pine and grass.
Taste: Strong bitter citrus grapefruit and lemon, pine and a hint of tropical mango and light bready malt.
Mouthfeel: Crisp, medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Very crisp and refreshing with nice bitter citrus notes.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, German Hefeweizen, Live Oak Brewing Company, USA

Live Oak HefeWeizen

Wednesday, 1 June 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Live Oak Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 5.3%
Style: German Hefeweizen
Other Notes: 10 IBUs. Bavarian-style weissbier

Brewer Description: (from website) Modeled after the classic wheat beers of Bavaria, Hefeweizen is cloudy and straw-coloured with a meringue-like head that lingers to the bottom of the glass. Brewed with an ample volume of wheat malt and few hops, this beer features a unique yeast strain that produces harmonious notes of clove, banana, and vanilla throughout this effervescent brew. A traditional interpretation of a classic style, this idiosyncratic Bavarian beer is perfectly at home here in Texas.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.33
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 12 fl oz. can with no canned on or best before date. Poured into a Riedel weizen glass.
Appearance: It poured a hazy straw yellow colour with a three finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly and left almost no lacing.
Aroma: Sweet overripe bananas, clove, banana bread and some light wheat.
Taste: Much like the aromas, there is sweet overripe banana, light clove and peach, pear, banana bread and a hint of wheat.
Mouthfeel: Crisp, mid to light bodied with moderate to high carbonation.
Overall: Wow, this was an amazing Hefeweizen. Probably one of the best in this style.

4 - Good (buy), American Double IPA, Beer Reviews, Stone Brewing Co., USA

Stone Enjoy By 05.30.16 Tangerine IPA

Sunday, 29 May 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Stone Brewing Co.
Country: USA
ABV: 9.4%
Style: American Double IPA
Other Notes: Enjoy by 30th May 2016. Brewed to be enjoyed within 37 days.

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Our all-important , hop-driven quest to deliver the most devastatingly fresh IPA on the planet facilitated a paradigm shift in 2012 with the launch of Stone Enjoy By IPA. Not only did we brew this beer with more than 10 different hops, we brewed it specifically NOT to last. Acclaimed for its groundbreakingly short shelf life, this intense double IPA brought forth a whole new concept of what constitutes “fresh” – guaranteeing fans the ultimate level of hoppiness. For Stone Enjoy By Tangerine IPA, we added the tangy zeal of a mandarin fruit’s juicy nectar. The result… freshness has never tasted as ripe for the picking as this does right now.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.19
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 22 fl oz bomber bottled on 23rd April 2016 and to be enjoy by 30th May 2016. Poured into a Spiegelau IPA glass.
Appearance: It poured a clear golden orange colour with a two finger off white head that had decent retention and left nice lacing.
Aroma: Sweet zesty and juicy mandarin and a hint of grapefruit zest and pith.
Taste: Very citrusy with sweet mandarin and bitter grapefruit pith and zest. There’s a hint of pine and caramel malt with the bitterness nice and lasting.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: For some reason I thought I had a bit more time to drink this. But in any case, I did manage to drink it within its limit. It was a great Double IPA with nice mandarin sweetness and grapefruit bitterness that lasts.

words of another dreamy traveller