Category Archives: 2 – Maybe (likely wouldn’t buy, might drink)

2 - Maybe (likely wouldn't buy, might drink), American Pale Ale, Beer Reviews, Deschutes Brewery, USA

Deschutes Mirror Pond Pale Ale

Friday, 11 March 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Deschutes Brewery
Country: USA
ABV: 5%
Style: American Pale Ale
Other Notes: 40 IBUs. Malts – Pale, Crystal, Carapils and Munich. Hops – Cascade.

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Floral, citrus and caramel notes. Balanced with the beautiful simplicity of the Cascade hop.

My rating: 2
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.22
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.1

Intro: A 12 fl oz bottle with a best by date of 12th May 2016. Poured into a Moonzen teku glass.
Appearance: It poured a clear copper colour with a two finger off white head that dissipated quickly but left nice sticky lacing.
Aroma: Sweet caramel and bready malts with some pineapple, apple, grapefruit and pine.
Taste: Mainly pine with light biscuit malt and light caramel. Citrus is there but fairly restrained. Finish is lightly bitter and spicy.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with mid to high prickly carbonation.
Overall: This was just ok for me. Everything was just quite light and the flavours felt lacking.

2 - Maybe (likely wouldn't buy, might drink), American IPA, Beer Reviews, Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, USA

Sierra Nevada Celebration Fresh Hop IPA

Tuesday, 12 January 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 6.8%
Style: American IPA
Other Notes: 65 IBUs. Malts – Two-row Pale and Caramel. Hops – Chinook, Centennial and Cascade.

Brewer Description: (from bottle) We first brewed Celebration IPA in the winter of 1981. Each year, we use only the first fresh hops of the growing season to create this complex and robust ale. Layered pine and citrus hop aromas balance delicately against rich, malt sweetness to shape this bold wintertime classic.

My rating: 2
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.11
My ratebeer.com rating: 3

Intro: A 12 fl oz bottle with a packaged date of 19th October 2015. Poured into a Spiegelau IPA glass.
Appearance: It poured a clear dark copper colour with a two finger cream coloured head that had great retention and left lots of nice lacing.
Aroma: Citrusy lemon, apple, piney hops and sweet but slight biscuit malts. There was also some herbal and spice here and there.
Taste: Light citrus and hop bitterness before it kicks in with some strong maltiness and surprising booze but nice spice.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: This was definitely more malty and boozy than I expected (and not in a good way). However, I will retry this again to make sure, but at the moment, I definitely prefer Hop Hunter and Torpedo IPA over this.

2 - Maybe (likely wouldn't buy, might drink), Beer Reviews, England, Hawkshead Brewery, IPA - Black

Hawkshead Hop Black

Friday, 18 December 2015 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Hawkshead Brewery
Country: England
ABV: 5.6%
Style: American Black IPA
Other Notes: Hops – Chinook, Citra and Simcoe.

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Dark in colour but surprisingly light and refreshing on the palate, with aromas of tropical fruit and resinous pine from big flavoured American hops, Chinook, Citra and Simcoe.

My rating: 2
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.28
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.1

Intro: A 330ml bottle with a best before date of March 2016 and poured into an oversized wine glass.
Appearance: It poured a clear dark brown colour with a slightly less than one finger tanned head that dissipated quickly leaving spotty lacing.
Aroma: Pine, citrusy orange juice followed by cocoa and toffee.
Taste: Lightly bitter with citrus orange, cocoa, chocolate and pine.
Mouthfeel: Light bodied with low to medium carbonation but on the watery side.
Overall: Was hoping for more hoppy bitterness and it was definitely on the thin side. Too watery for my liking.

2 - Maybe (likely wouldn't buy, might drink), American Pale Wheat Ale, Beer Reviews, Bell’s Brewery Inc., USA

Bell’s Oarsman Ale

Tuesday, 15 December 2015 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Bell’s Brewery Inc.
Country: USA
ABV: 4%
Style: American Pale Wheat Ale

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Buoyant, tart and refreshing from using traditional sour mash methods. Great for you and your crew.

My rating: 2
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.18
My ratebeer.com rating: 2.9

Intro: A 12 fl oz bottle with a packaged date of 6th March 2015 and poured into a short stemmed wine glass.
Appearance: It poured a very cloudy light straw yellow colour with a one finger white head that dissipated quickly to nothing leaving minimal spotty lacing.
Aroma: Tangy, lemon honey mix with a hint of apple and pear.
Taste: Light sour lemon and sour green apple juice.
Mouthfeel: Light bodied with high carbonation.
Overall: This was a decent enough sour wheat ale. It is easy to drink and refreshing but not my favourite for the style.

2 - Maybe (likely wouldn't buy, might drink), Beer Reviews, Black Market Brewing Co., German Berliner Weisse, USA

Black Market Tradecraft Series Cherry Sour

Tuesday, 8 December 2015 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Black Market Brewing Co.
Country: USA
ABV: 3.8%
Style: German Berliner Weisse
Other Notes: 6.2 IBUs. Malt – Wheat and Pilsner. Hops – Czech Saaz.

Brewer Description: (from website) Based off of our wildly popular “1945” Berliner Weisse, this cherry flavored sour was created for both the crossover drinker and those who find few sessionable style sours can options. Our goal in creating this 6-pack can line was to give the craft beer drinker an alternative to the typical craft beer styles found in cans.

My rating: 2
My beeradvocate.com rating: 2.88
My ratebeer.com rating: 2.8

Intro: A 12 fl oz can with no visible best before date on the can. It was poured into short stemmed wine glass.
Appearance: It poured a hazy reddish pink colour with a one finger surprisingly white head that dissipated fairly quickly with almost no lacing.
Aroma: Tart cherries and cherry juice. There is also that buttery aroma that I got in the Blackberry Sour, but it is much less, which is a good thing.
Taste: Much like the aroma, it is of tart sour cherry and cherry juice.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with light carbonation.
Overall: This was definitely better than the Blackberry Sour in my opinion. Although my dislike of the buttery like aroma was still kind of there, it was not nearly as overpowering. The sour cherry taste was also more my thing although it is still overly juicy (juice like).

words of another dreamy traveller