Category Archives: USA

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Oxbow Brewing Company, USA, Wild Ale

Oxbow First Fruits

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Brewery: Oxbow Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 6%
Style: Wild Ale
Other Notes: Barrel-aged farmhouse ale with fruit. Production time: 12 months

Brewer Description: (from bottle) First Fruits is a mixed-fermentation farmhouse ale aged on cherries, raspberries, and strawberries.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.9
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.7

Intro: A 500ml bottle, bottled on 1st July 2021, poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A lightly hazy strawberry pinkish red colour with a very thin light pinkish head that dissipated quickly, while leaving only sparse lacing.
Aroma: Jammy, strawberry, raspberry, cherry, oak, tart, an acetone and vinegar zing, with light funky notes.
Taste: Light sweetness, sour, tart, sharp, strawberry, raspberry, cherry, fruit vinegar, light funk.
Mouthfeel: Sharp, medium bodied, with moderate to soft carbonation.
Overall: Nice fruitiness in the aroma and flavour, but the acidity was just a bit too sharp to be easily enjoyed.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Farmhouse Grissette, Oxbow Brewing Company, USA

Oxbow Past Tense

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Brewery: Oxbow Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 4.5%
Style: Farmhouse Grissette
Other Notes: Dry-hopped stainless-aged farmhouse ale with sea salt and lime

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Past Tense is a farmhouse ale brewed with wheat, sea salt and lime juice, dry-hopped with whole leaf American hops and conditioned with Brettanomyces.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.71
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.6

Intro: A 500ml bottle, bottled on 17th December 2020, and poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A nice hazy golden straw yellow colour with an almost two finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly, while leaving only sparse to no lacing.
Aroma: Strong citrus zest and rind, lemon, lime, brett, funk, leather, hay.
Taste: Citrusy, lime zest, lime soda, floral, lavender, dishwashing soap, funk.
Mouthfeel: Crisp, light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: The aroma was great and the citrusy part of the flavour was enjoyable, but there was also this floral and soapy flavour on the back end that just wasn’t my thing.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Black Project Spontaneous & Wild Ales, Sour Ale, USA

Black Project Alkali

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Brewery: Black Project Spontaneous & Wild Ales
Country: USA
ABV: 7.3%
Style: Sour Ale

Brewer Description: (from can) Dry-hopped Sour Ale with white grapes and peach.

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

Intro: A 473ml can, canned on 20th July 2021, poured into a winebar glass.
Appearance: A cloudy deep orange colour with slight pinkish notes, and a one finger white head that had decent retention, but settled to a ring around the glass while leaving some nice lacing.
Aroma: Sweet fruity, peach, muscat grape, passion fruit and mango.
Taste: Lightly sour, white grape, peach, with hints of grapefruit peel for a light bitter finish.
Mouthfeel: Medium to light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Not too complex, but the aroma and flavours work well together, and it’s easy to drink.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Black Project Spontaneous & Wild Ales, Sour Ale, USA

Black Project Butcher

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Brewery: Black Project Spontaneous & Wild Ales
Country: USA
ABV: 7.1%
Style: Sour Ale

Brewer Description: (from can) Sour Ale with cherry and raspberry.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.92
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.7

Intro: A 473ml can, canned on 20th July 2021, poured into a winebar glass.
Appearance: A cloudy deep red colour with a slight purple hue, and a one finger purplish head that dissipated almost immediately and left no lacing.
Aroma: Slightly tart, raspberry, cherry, with notes of lemon.
Taste: Sour, tart, lemon zest, lemon juice, balanced with raspberry and cherry.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: It’s refreshing, aroma is great and flavours are solid, but it’s not complex and a bit one dimensional.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Equilibrium Brewery x The Eighth State Brewing Company, IPA - New England / Hazy Triple, USA

Equilibrium x The Eighth State Super Fractal Phoenix Set

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Brewery: Equilibrium Brewery x The Eighth State Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 10.5%
Style: New England / Hazy Triple IPA

Brewer Description: Super Fractal Phoenix Set uses a simple grain bill of 2row and our specific fractal fermentation profile. For Phoenix Set we used our hand selected Citra and Idaho 7 in the whirlpool and a dry hop of hand selected Citra and Galaxy along with Sabro and Strata at an even higher hopping rate than Batch 1. Super Fractal Phoenix Set pours an opaque yellow tangerine and has a big citrus nose. The flavors are a unique blend of tropical fruits, big peach, citrus, “our melon thing”, passionfruit, coconut and an underlying dankness. This beer is extremely aromatic, crushable and smooth with an BIG #EQjuice profile that might just leave you seeing beautiful shapes and spirals.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.33
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 1 pint can, canned on 20th January 2022, poured into a winebar glass.
Appearance: A hazy murky slightly dark orange colour, with a one finger white head that had good retention, and left lots of nice lacing.
Aroma: Citrus pithy, candied orange, mandarin, melon, with light mango notes.
Taste: Juicy, citrus, zesty, pithy, tangy, lightly bitter, orange juice, melon, mango.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, smooth, full bodied with moderate to soft carbonation.
Overall: Very easy to drink with wonderful aroma and flavours, and the alcohol is well hidden that it does not seem like 10.5% ABV at all. Also love that it’s not too sweet and has good balance.