Category Archives: USA

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Council Brewing Co., Farmhouse Saison, USA

Council Béatitude Raspberry Tart Saison

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Brewery: Council Brewing Co.
Country: USA
ABV: 4.5%
Style: Belgian Saison
Other Notes: Raspberry ale. Brewery closed in December 2018

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Béatitude is the French word for bliss which is what we float away on whenever we enjoy this specially brewed beer. This Tart Saison is brewed in the Belgian tradition of tart farmhouse ales. The magic happens when our house culture of Brettanomyces, Lactobacillus and Saison yeast throw an out-of-this world party in our fermenters. Aged on raspberries, this yields a beer with a lacto forward nose, an intensely tart raspberry fruit flavor, a doughy complexity, and takes the word “refreshing” to a whole new level.

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

Intro: A 750ml bottle with no clear bottled on or best before date. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A cloudy pink guava juice colour with a slightly more than one finger white head that dissipated quickly and left only sparse to no lacing.
Aroma: Lightly tart, mixed berry flavour hard candies, raspberry, and a light funkiness.
Taste: Sour, tart, raspberry, raspberry candy, lightly jammy and a touch of lemon juice.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied, with moderate to high carbonation.
Overall: Not complex, but very nice easy drinking raspberry flavours. A good mix of sour, sweet and fruitiness.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Council Brewing Co., Farmhouse Saison, USA

Council Béatitude Guava Tart Saison

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Brewery: Council Brewing Co.
Country: USA
ABV: 4.5%
Style: Belgian Saison
Other Notes: Ale brewed with guava. Brewery closed in December 2018

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Béatitude is the French word for bliss which is what we float away on whenever we enjoy this specially brewed beer. This Tart Saison is brewed in the Belgian tradition of tart farmhouse ales. The magic happens when our house culture of Brettanomyces, Lactobacillus and Saison yeast throw an out-of-this world party in our fermenters. Aged on guava, this yields a beer with a lacto forward nose, an intensely tart guava fruit flavor, a doughy complexity, and takes the word “refreshing” to a whole new level.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.04
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.9

Intro: A 750ml bottle with no clear bottled on or best before date. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A lightly hazy straw champagne gold colour with a one finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly to nothing, while leaving only some sparse spotty lacing.
Aroma: Tart, guava, citric, lemon juice, dough and a nice funk throughout.
Taste: Sour, tart, guava, lemon juice, passion fruit, and a light funk.
Mouthfeel: Acidic, light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Easy to drink with good guava flavours. A little bit acidic for my palate, but still enjoyable.

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

Epic Quadruple Barrel Big Bad Baptist

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Brewery: Epic Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 11.9%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: 2018 Rare Release. Imperial Stout aged in whiskey & rum barrels with roasted cacao nibs, almond flavor, barrel-aged coffee beans, barrel-aged coconut & barrel-aged almond

Brewer Description: (from bottle) We’ve taken barrel aging to a whole new level by aging shaved coconut, almonds, and Blue Copper’s Colombian coffee beans in whiskey barrels, while our Imperial Stout ages separately in both rum and whiskey barrels. Then our brewers hand-blend each batch creating the most complex and outrageous version of Big Bad Baptist we have ever made.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.35
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 22 fl. oz. bomber, 2018 release, release #9. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Black in colour with an almost one finger brown head that had decent retention, eventually dissipated to a thin layer and left some nice spotty lacing.
Aroma: Coffee, chocolate, cocoa nibs, brown sugar, vanilla, whiskey, rum, oak, light roast and a hint of toasted coconut.
Taste: Moderate sweetness, rich chocolate, coffee, brown sugar, cocoa nibs, nuttiness, almond, coconut, whiskey, rum, oak, with hints of dark fruit.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, full bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Enjoyable, but not quite as good as the original BBB or the Triple Barrel BBB.

5 - Excellent (must buy), Beer Reviews, Epic Brewing Company, Stout - Imperial, USA

Epic Triple Barrel Big Bad Baptist

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Brewery: Epic Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 11.4%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: 2017 Rare Release. Imperial Stout aged in whiskey & rum barrels with cacao nibs, barrel-aged coffee beans, and barrel-aged coconut added. Malts – Muntons Maris Otter Malt, Briess 2-Row Brewers Malt, Crystal Muntons, Weyermann Light Munich Malt I, 2-Row Chocolate, Malt 2-Row Black Malt and Roasted Barley. Hops – Nugget, Chinook and Cascade. Spices – Barrel Aged Coffee, Barrel Aged Coconut, and Cacao Nibs

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Three’s not a crowd in this limited edition Triple Barrel Big Bad Baptist. We aged coconut and Blue Copper’s Colombian coffee beans in fresh whiskey barrels, while our Imperial Stout aged separately in both rum and whiskey barrels. The trio was then hand-blended, creating our most over-the-top version of Big Bad Baptist yet. Best enjoyed slowly, three sips at a time.

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.57
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.5

Intro: A 22 fl. oz. bomber, release #6, bottled on 15th November 2017. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Black in colour with an almost one finger dark beige head that had decent retention and eventually settled to a thin layer and left some nice spotty lacing.
Aroma: Roasted malts, coffee, cacao nibs, chocolate, toasted coconut, vanilla, oak, with hints of whiskey and Malibu.
Taste: Toasted coconut, Malibu, rum, whiskey, light sweetness, chocolate, coffee, light bitterness, with hints of roasted malt and a touch of booze.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, medium to full bodied and soft carbonation.
Overall: Loved the aroma and great easy drinking flavours. Body was a little light, but other than that, everything was just so good, especially the coconut.

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

Epic Big Bad Baptista

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Brewery: Epic Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 11%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: 2017 Rare Release. Imperial Stout with Mexican coffee, cacao nibs, vanilla & cinnamon flavor added and 100% aged in whiskey barrels. Malts – Ultra Premium Maris Otter, Briess 2-Row Brewers Malts, Muntons Crystal, Weyermann Light Munich Malt I, 2-Row Chocolate Malt, 2-Row Black Malt and Roasted Barley. Hops – Nugget, Chinook and Cascade. Spices – Cinnamon, Vanilla, Blue Copper Mexican Coffee and Solstace Cacao Nibs

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Inspired by the spicy and bold flavors of a Café de Olla we added Vanilla and Cinnamon along with Mexican Coffee beans and cacao nibs to our 100% Barrel-aged Big Bad Baptist. The result is luxurious, complex, and the perfect after-dinner companion on chilly evenings.

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

Intro: A 22 fl. oz. bomber, release #8, bottled on 9th November 2017. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Dark dark brown in colour with a thin dark tanned head that had decent retention while leaving some nice spotty lacing.
Aroma: Roasted malts, coffee, almond, cinnamon, oak, with hints of chocolate and whiskey.
Taste: Roasted malts, chocolate, coffee, oak, moderate sweetness, whiskey, cinnamon and very light chili spice.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, moderate to full bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Nice and enjoyable. A good sipper, although spice could be stronger.