Category Archives: 3 – Indifferent (might buy, probably drink)

Mountain Goat Cross Breed Seedy Goat Coffee Porter

Brewery: Mountain Goat Beer Pty. Ltd.
Country: Australia
ABV: 6.2%
Style: American Porter
Other Notes: Crossbred Goats are LIMITED EDITION releases brewed in collaboration with like-minded folk from Australia and around the world.

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Ale, Vienna, Crystal, Chocolate and Roasted Wheat malt are mashed to produce a rich, smooth chocolatey palate – a perfect pairing to the coffee. This coffee is from the El Desarrollo farmers’ group in Huila, Colombia. It’s sourced from 82 small growers who work to produce super premium micro-lots. It displays brown sugar and orange character.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.56
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.4

Intro: A 640ml bottle with a best before date of 13th July 2016. Poured into a Duvel tulip glass.
Appearance: It poured a clear dark brown with a reddish hue and a one finger beige head that dissipated quickly without leaving much lacing.
Aroma: Roasted black coffee dominates with some nuttiness and malts.
Taste: Creamy/milky coffee with notes of brown sugar and vanilla.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied but maybe slightly overcarbonated for this style.
Overall: This was a decent beer with nice aromas. However it was a little too creamy/milky for my liking and the body definitely on the light side.

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Victory HopDevil IPA

Brewery: Victory Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 6.7%
Style: American IPA
Other Notes: Malts – Imported 2 row German malts. Hops – Whole flower American hops.

Brewer Description: (from bottle) The mythical HopDevil resides in the lore of farmers. Our HopDevil is the real deal. Bold, spicy and menacingly delicious. He’s the product of distinctive American hops and meticulous craftsmanship. Arising from the heady wilds of our hopback and gently tamed with time, this Devil makes a great companion.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.78
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.6

Intro: A 12 fl oz bottle with an enjoy by date of 14th January 2016, poured into a Spiegelau IPA glass.
Appearance: It poured a clear copper orange colour with an off white one finger head that dissipated quickly but left nice stringy lacing.
Aroma: Citrus orange and lemon, pine with hints of tropical fruits and light caramel malt.
Taste: Grapefruit and pine bitterness with quite a strong malt sweetness backbone. The finish is a nice lingering bitterness.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with medium carbonation.
Overall: A nice IPA with good bitterness but maybe slightly too much malt sweetness.

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BrewDog Born To Die 27.11.15

Brewery: BrewDog
Country: Scotland
ABV: 8.5%
Style: American Double IPA
Other Notes: 100 IBUs. Malts – Extra Pale, Marris Otter and Pale. Hops – Amarillo, Citra, Mosaic and Simcoe.

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Imagine knowing how long you have to live. What would you do? Spend some time alone gathering your thoughts, before bowing out quietly, into the night? Or would you spend every last minute rocking out, burning your way through your last days on earth, then go out with a bang?

This savage IPA was born to die. Its mayfly existence has a solitary purpose – to be a kick-ass celebration of the power of hops. Born To Die is bitter as hell, super dry, and at its best as soon as you pick it up. If our existence truly is but a brief crack of light between two immensities of darkness, you should spend it drinking beer as awesome as this.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.62
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.6

Intro: A 660ml bottle born to die on 27th November 2015 and hence poured into a Duvel tulip glass and drank on such day.
Appearance: It poured an extremely clear golden colour with a frothy one finger white head. Retention is not so good but there is some minimal stringy and dotty lacing.
Aroma: Strong tropical aromas of pineapple and mango with hints of citrus lemon, orange and pine at the finish.
Taste: Starts out with some lemon, grapefruit and pine bitterness but the finish was sweet honey with hints of bready and caramel malts. It was perhaps a bit too sweet for me at the end.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with medium carbonation.
Overall: Maybe my expectation was too high to begin with? But actually, it poured fantastically clear and the aromas were stunning. But tasting was where it started to go down. It just wasn’t as bitter as I hoped for a DIPA and the finish was just overly sweet for my liking.

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Weihenstephaner Kristall Weissbier

Brewery: Bayerische Staatsbrauerei Weihenstephan
Country: Germany
ABV: 5.4%
Style: German Kristallweizen
Other Notes: 16 IBUs.

Brewer Description: (from website) In our golden-yellow crystal-clear wheat beer the fresh citrus flavour harmonises very well with spicy banana notes. The fine sparkling gives it a tangy and animated appearance. Throughout summer and winter, it’s a prickling experience. It goes well with fish, seafood, white meat or it can be enjoyed as an aperitif. Brewed according to our centuries-old brewing tradition on the Weihenstephan hill.

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

Intro: A 500ml bottle with a best before date of 25th February 2016, poured into a Riedel weizen glass.
Appearance: It poured a crystal clear golden straw colour with a big three finger white head that dissipated slowly leaving sticky lacing.
Aroma: Light aromas of wheat and banana with hints of clove and honey.
Taste: Starts grassy with some citrus lemon followed by banana and some wheat.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with medium to high carbonation.
Overall: This was not a bad beer but I definitely prefer the unfiltered version which has stronger aromas and taste.

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Stone Smoked Porter

Brewery: Stone Brewing Co.
Country: USA
ABV: 5.9%
Style: Smoked Beer
Other Notes: 53 IBUs. Hops – Magnum and Mt. Hood.

Brewer Description: (from bottle) So you want something dark do you? We’ve got you pegged. You are the type who saddles up to the bar, scanning the tap handles for something beyond the pale, fizzy pabulum whose all too familiar neon advertisements garishly adorn the windows of taverns and bottle shops across the land. Or perchance you are one of those forlorn souls who think they don’t like dark beer. Either way, prepare to be enchanted. Deep mahogany around the edges and approaching pitch black in the center, Stone Smoked Porter is mysterious, smoky and verging on utterly decadent. Connivingly complex, this polished ebony gem is excellent with BBQ’d meats; amazing with fine chocolates, cheesecake and other rich desserts; and even pretty damn good with a well-crafted PB&J sandwich. With each sip you’ll discover a seamless meld of subtle chocolate overtones, subdued coffee and light smoky licorice, dark fruit, roastiness and perhaps even caramel.

Our Philosophy: We at Stone Brewing Co. pride ourselves in creating ales of world-class distinction and innovative character. We feel that every beer we make should reflect the honesty, integrity and craftsmanship with which we joyfully approach our work. We also feel that it’s OK to brew styles of beer that not everyone appreciates – yet that some people absolutely LOVE – because if you make it your goal to try and please everyone all of the time, you’ve got a sure-fire formula for ordinariness and mediocrity. That’s not who we are. Oh, and for all you devoted lovers of Stone Smoked Porter, don’t worry if you turn somebody new on to this beer. We’ll keep brewing enough of it. After all, WE love it too.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.52
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.4

Intro: A 22 fl oz bomber with a bottled on date of 17th July 2015 and an enjoy by date of 14th November 2015. Poured into a Spiegelau stout glass.
Appearance: Poured a dark dark brown colour with a light amber hue and a nice two fingered tan head that dissipates slowly leaving stringy lacing.
Aroma: Smokey, roasted malts with some light chocolate and cream.
Taste: Roasted malts and bittersweet chocolate. There is also some light smoke which is ashy and hints of licorice and milk coffee.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, smooth, medium bodied with light to medium carbonation.
Overall: The smoke taste was a bit ashy for me, but otherwise this was a nice smoked porter.

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