Brewery: 55th Street Craft Brewery Country: Taiwan ABV: 6.5% Style: American IPA
Brewer Description: (from bottle) India Pale Ale brewed with 4 hop varieties.
My rating: 2 My beeradvocate.com rating: 2.98 My ratebeer.com rating: 3
Intro: A 330ml bottle bottled on 25th February 2016 and poured into a Spiegelau IPA glass. Appearance: It poured a slightly hazy golden orange colour with a two finger off white head that had decent retention and left nice streaky lacing. Aroma: Strong citrus lemon and pine with bready malt and a hint of tropical fruits. Taste: Citrus grapefruit and lemon, pine, strong bitterness in the middle and breadiness on the finish. Mouthfeel: Mid to light bodied with moderate carbonation. Overall: It was ok, probably a bit too malty for my liking in an IPA. I definitely preferred their Session IPA.
Brewery: Omnipollo Country: Sweden ABV: 7% Style: American IPA Other Notes: Brewed by Omnipollo at De Proef Brouwerij (Belgium)
Brewer Description: (from website) Part of Magic Numbers, a dreamy small-batch series: 90000 is an IPA brewed with bilberries, crushed pecans, almond flour, vanilla and lactose.
My rating: 2 My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.45 My ratebeer.com rating: 3.2
Intro: A 330ml bottle with a best before date of 5th August 2016 and poured into a Spiegelau IPA glass. Appearance: It poured a murky red purple colour with a one finger lightly pink head that dissipates quickly but leaves some nice lacing. Aroma: Guava, blueberry, raspberry, pineapple with hints of almond and orange. Taste: It starts off pretty good with some blueberry, Ribena and cranberry before some light grapefruit bitterness and then just falling off to nothing pretty fast. Mouthfeel: Medium to light bodied with moderate carbonation. Overall: I wasn’t a fan of its appearance and while the aromas were good, the quick fall off in the taste was a bit disappointing. Perhaps my hopes were too high to start since I really enjoyed Magic #4:21 but since then some of these ‘experimental’ Magic brews haven’t quite matched #4:21’s must buy status in my opinion.
Brewery: BrewDog Country: Scotland ABV: 7.4% Style: Rye Beer Other Notes: Red Rye IPA
Brewer Description: (from Brewdog webshop) This tentacled terminator packs a punch – ten punches to be precise. Each hop addition adds to the intense layers of depth in this red rye IPA. Toasty caramel & cinder toffee from crystal malts, cacao richness from intensely roasted malt and the spiciness of rye. Zesty pithiness from citra and the robust resin of chinook. This small batch exclusive brew is up-front intensity matched with twisted complexity.
My rating: 2 My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.11 My ratebeer.com rating: 3.1
Intro: A 330ml can with a best before date of 16th December 2016 and poured into a Spiegelau IPA glass. Appearance: It poured a very nice clear dark amber colour with a two finger beige head that had good retention and left nice lacing. Aroma: Nice tropical aromas of mango and pineapple with a hint of caramel, spice and alcohol. Taste: Some light but sweet mango mixed in with toasty bread graininess and a long lasting piney grapefruit pith bitter finish. Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with light carbonation. Overall: This was only ok for me. Looks and smells great but I thought that the taste was a bit light (cancelled each other out) with too much grain and pith and not enough fruit.
Brewery: Deschutes Brewery Country: USA ABV: 6.5% Style: American IPA Other Notes: 70 IBUs
Brewer Description: (from bottle) Hints of pine and spruce. Clean malt and a crisp finish.
My rating: 2 My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.15 My ratebeer.com rating: 3
Intro: A 12 fl oz bottle with a best by date of 14th July 2016 and poured into a Spiegelau IPA glass. Appearance: It poured a clear golden colour with a slightly less than three finger white head with decent retention and left nice lacing. Aroma: Strong piney aromas with some light lemon peel and grass in the background. Taste: Like the aroma, I get strong pine and lemon peel. Finish is lightly peppery with a lasting toasty bitterness. Mouthfeel: Crisp, medium bodied with light carbonation. Overall: This is a decent IPA with nice crispness, but its not my first choice IPA style.
Brewer Description: (from bottle) Abbey beer brewed with the approval of the Norbertins of Tongerlo. This beer was refermented in the bottle for a more refined aroma and a broader, richer taste palette. Contains barley malt.
My rating: 2 My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.04 My ratebeer.com rating: 3
Intro: A 330ml bottle with a best before date of 7th November 2016 and poured into a Chimay goblet glass. Appearance: It poured a reddish brown colour with a one finger beige head that had good retention and settled down to a creamy puffy layer with good lacing. Aroma: Light plum, banana and some metal mineral-ness. Taste: Started pretty decent with plum, brown sugar, raisin, caramel and banana. But for some reason, the finish is a little watery. Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with medium carbonation. Overall: Looks great, but the minerally aroma and the watery finish didn’t help the beer.
words of another dreamy traveller 