Category Archives: USA

4 - Good (buy), AleSmith Brewing Company, American Imperial Red Ale, Beer Reviews, USA

AleSmith Double Red IPA

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Brewery: AleSmith Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 8.5%
Style: American Imperial Red Ale
Other Notes: Limited Edition, Seasonal

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Previously known as Winter YuleSmith, this warming, hoppy ale used to be available exclusively during the holiday season. But the popularity of this red-hued India Pale Ale grew to the point where sharing a limited run of the beer with our fans seemed insufficient. Our answer was to convert this crimson IPA into a seasonal offering to be enjoyed from fall through the winter months. Caramel malt sweetness combines with citrusy highlights to bring forth a dry, highly drinkable beer that’s simultaneously hearty and thirst-quenching. The holidays are too brief to contain this much flavor.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.96
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.9

Intro: A 12 fl. oz. bottle, bottled on 19th September 2017. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: A clear dark amber copper colour with a big two finger light beige head that had great retention and left nice lacing.
Aroma: Caramel malts, grapefruit zest, citrus rind and pine.
Taste: Similar to the aroma with sweet caramel malts, grapefruit flesh, zest and rind, grass and pine. Finish was nice with moderate bitterness.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Solid tasting Red IPA with good balance of malt and hops.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Evil Twin Brewing, Porter - Imperial, USA

Evil Twin Imperial Biscotti Bourbon Maple Syrup Barrel Aged

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Brewery: Evil Twin Brewing
Country: USA
ABV: 11.5%
Style: American Imperial Porter
Other Notes: Produced and bottled for Evil Twin Brewing by Westbrook Brewing Co., Mount Pleasant, SC

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Imperial Porter aged in bourbon flavored maple syrup barrels. BLiS Because Life Is Short

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.11
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.9

Intro: A 22 fl. oz. bomber with no bottled on or best before date. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Black in colour with a thin brown head that dissipated quickly to a ring around the glass and left only sparse to no lacing.
Aroma: Bourbon, chocolate, pancake batter, molasses and maple.
Taste: Sweet maple, oak, bourbon, chocolate, caramel and coffee with hints of vanilla and soy.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, full to medium bodied with low carbonation.
Overall: It’s sweet, but luckily only on the borderline of being too sweet for me. I also get some maple flavours, but prefer it to be even more distinct. But despite this, it was still a nice an enjoyable dessert beer.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Evil Twin Brewing, Stout - Imperial, USA

Evil Twin Michigan Maple Jesus

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Brewery: Evil Twin Brewing
Country: USA
ABV: 12%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Produced and bottled for Evil Twin Brewing at Dark Horse Brewing Co, Marshall, MI.

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Imperial Stout aged in maple syrup bourbon barrels.

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

Intro: A 12 fl. oz. bottle with no bottled on or best before date. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Black in colour with a minimal brown head and sparse lacing.
Aroma: Molasses, raisins, bourbon, brown sugar and chocolate with only hints of maple.
Taste: Sweet, dark fruit, raisins, char, light smoke, roasty malts, milk chocolate, vanilla, bourbon and booze with touches of maple (more so as it warms).
Mouthfeel: Creamy, smooth, full bodied with low carbonation.
Overall: Probably too sweet and boozy for me while not having enough maple flavours.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Midnight Sun Brewing Co., Stout - Imperial, USA

Midnight Sun Berserker

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Brewery: Midnight Sun Brewing Co.
Country: USA
ABV: 12.7%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: 30 IBUs. Imperial Stout ale brewed with maple syrup & molasses and aged in oak bourbon barrels

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Vicious and viscous, this menacing brew pours opaque black with a dark maduro-colored head. Its aroma offers seductive bourbon, chewy wine, dark fruit and lavish tobacco. This imperial stout invades your taste buds with in-your-face flavor. Berserker is out-of-control. Give it a good fight.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.24
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 22 fl. oz. bomber with no clear bottled on or best before date. Poured into a snifter.
Appearance: Black in colour with a one finger brown head that dissipated fairly quickly to a ring around the glass while leaving some sparse lacing.
Aroma: Molasses, brown sugar, maple, chocolate, banana bread and bourbon with hints of coffee and oak.
Taste: Sweet molasses, milk chocolate, maple, dark fruit and bourbon with hints of oak, bitter char, smoke and coffee.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, smooth, medium to full bodied with low carbonation.
Overall: Nice aromas and taste but perhaps just slightly too sweet for me. The molasses were also a bit overpowering and I would have preferred more maple coming through.

5 - Excellent (must buy), American Double IPA, Beer Reviews, Equilibrium Brewery, USA

Equilibrium mc²

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Brewery: Equilibrium Brewery
Country: USA
ABV: 8%
Style: American Double IPA
Other Notes: Photon . Squared . DIPA

Brewer Description: (from website) mc² is Photon’s big brother. We literally took Photon’s hopping rate and squared it. This DIPA is our tribute to the amazing relationship that energy and mass are balanced, proportional to the speed of a photon squared. It pours a hazy tangerine color, releasing bright tropical notes of mango, pineapple, and apricot. mc² tastes like succulent mango juice loaded with chewy hop resins. It’s very drinkable for 8.0%; be careful, this one can sneak up on you.

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.5
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.4

Intro: A 1 pint can, with no canned on or best before date. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: A hazy dark orange colour with a two finger fluffy pillowy white head that had excellent retention and left lots of nice sticky lacing.
Aroma: Every time I give it a swirl, it gives me a blast of this wonderful fresh mango juice aroma. As it settles, hints of grapefruit, mandarin peel and pine appear.
Taste: Tropical and citrusy fruits with mango, papaya, melon, grapefruit and citrus rind juiciness at the beginning followed by a nice light lingering bitterness and spice on the finish.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Taste doesn’t quite live up to the stunning aromas that I experienced, but nonetheless, its juicy, refreshing and easy to drink.