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

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, FrauGruber Brewing, Germany, IPA - New England / Hazy Triple

FrauGruber Super Sonic

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Brewery: FrauGruber Brewing
Country: Germany
ABV: 9.8%
Style: New England / Hazy Triple IPA
Other Notes: Hops – Select, Galaxy, Citra BBC and BRU-1

Brewer Description: (from can) Double dry hopped Triple India Pale Ale.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.91
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.7

Intro: A 440ml can, with a fresh before date of 1st June 2022. Poured into a winebar glass.
Appearance: A hazy orange colour with a one finger off white head that dissipated quickly, while leaving only sparse to no lacing.
Aroma: Tropical, sweaty, mango, papaya, pineapple, with notes of citrus orange zest and maybe pine.
Taste: Light to moderate sweet beginning, tropical, papaya, mango, pineapple, light bitterness, orange, citrus rind and zest, light onion notes.
Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: The flavour profile was not my favourite, but it was still quite good, just not ‘wow’. There was a good balance of sweet and bitter, and despite nearly 10% abv, any alcohol was well hidden.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Equilibrium Brewery, IPA - New England / Hazy, USA

Equilibrium Fractal Eclipse

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Brewery: Equilibrium Brewery
Country: USA
ABV: 6.8%
Style: New England / Hazy IPA

Brewer Description: (from Untappd) A fractal is something simple at the core yet can produce wonderful and amazingly complex results. Fractal Eclipse only has pale malt and a brand-new Australian hop called Eclipse (Previously called HPA-016). Investigating how different hops manifest through our processes allows us to optimize both our use of hops and our hopping techniques. Fractal Eclipse pours a resinous-hazy-yellow releasing dramatic aromas of Five Alive fruit drink, Sat AM cartoons, mimosas, pineapple, and spring grass. Its flavors are citrus cocktails and Australian grass blades all with a melon twist. Delicate, juicy, and balanced this is the perfect beverage to watch the sun fade into party light.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.7
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.6

Intro: A 1 pint can, canned on 14th April 2022, poured into a winebar glass.
Appearance: A nice hazy orange colour with an almost two finger white head that had good retention and left nice lacing.
Aroma: Melon, strawberry, pineapple, grapefruit peel, orange rind, leafy, grass.
Taste: Citrus zest, unripe mangoes, melon, pineapple, grapefruit, orange, grass, lightly bitter finish.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: There was a lot of fruit flavours here, but it just didn’t seem to come together as well as it sounded. Not sure if it was the hop, since it was my first time trying Eclipse, but Equilibrium have a lot more beers that I prefer.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Belgium, De Struise Brouwers, Stout - Russian Imperial

De Struise Black Damnation XXI – Black Mes Senior

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Brewery: De Struise Brouwers
Country: Belgium
ABV: 13%
Style: Russian Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Bottle 1313/2000, 2012 vintage

Brewer Description: (from bottle) A massive stout from Flanders, matured in Caol Ila and Lagavulin barrels.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.85
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.6

Intro: A 750ml bottle, number 1313/2000, 2012 vintage, bottled on 25th March 2017. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Black in colour with a very thin brown head that dissipated quickly while leaving only sparse spotty lacing.
Aroma: Roasted malts, dark chocolate, chocolate cake, whisky, light peaty notes, brown sugar, molasses, and prunes.
Taste: Bitter, roasty, dark chocolate, burnt brown sugar, whisky.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: This was surprisingly thin compared to all the other Black Damnation that I’ve tried, and considering the Lagavulin barrel, there was a lot less peat than expected, especially in the flavour. It just didn’t work as well as the other variations in my opinion.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Heroes Beer Co., Hong Kong, Stout - Milk / Sweet Imperial

Heroes BR&MSBAIMSwMSCN&V (4th Anniversary)

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Brewery: Heroes Beer Co.
Country: Hong Kong
ABV: 10.4%
Style: Stout – Milk / Sweet Imperial
Other Notes: Bottle 307 of 720

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Bourbon, Rye, and Maple Syrup Barrel Aged Imperial Milk Stout with Maple Syrup, Cacao Nibs and Vanilla. Imagine eating a chocolate pancake with maple syrup while drinking an Americano. Starts off with dessert-like aromas of maple syrup, vanilla, and dark chocolate notes. Follows through with a complex but smooth malt profile with dark chocolate, espresso beans, raisins, dark caramel and toasted bread. Bitterness is medium but enough to support the sweetness. Medium oak character from bourbon, rye whisky, and maple syrup barrels comes through to help add structure to palate.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.9

Intro: A boxed, black waxed, 650ml bomber, bottle 307 of 720, packaged on 4th October 2021, and with a best before date of 4th October 2024. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Dark brown to black in colour with pretty much no head and no lacing.
Aroma: Maple syrup, dried dark fruit, raisins, prunes, vanilla, bourbon, light roast, chocolate, caramel.
Taste: Sweet, bourbon, dried dark fruit, raisins, prunes, maple syrup, caramel, vanilla, chocolate, light roast.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, velvety, full bodied with no carbonation.
Overall: Great aroma, but it was too sweet for me. I don’t get the bitterness that the description talks about, which would definitely help it along. It’s okay as a sipper, but usually when I think sipper, it’s due to the apparent alcohol or alcohol strength rather than because of it’s sweetness, and I easily preferred both the 2nd and 3rd anniversary beers.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Black Project Spontaneous & Wild Ales, Sour Ale, USA

Black Project Mallow

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Brewery: Black Project Spontaneous & Wild Ales
Country: USA
ABV: 7.4%
Style: Sour Ale

Brewer Description: (from can) Sour Ale with blueberry and vanilla.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.75
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.6

Intro: A 473ml can, canned on 21st July 2021, poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A lightly hazy copper orange with a pinkish hue, and a two finger lightly pinkish head that dissipated quickly while leaving some lacing.
Aroma: A bit weak but what’s there is nice, tart, blueberry, lemon zest, vanilla.
Taste: Sour, tart, bubbly, blueberry, vanilla, lemon zest.
Mouthfeel: Medium to light bodied with overly high carbonation.
Overall: This sounded good, but in the end I was a bit disappointed. The vanilla definitely saved this beer, and without it, I don’t think I would’ve like it at all. Other than that, it was also overly carbonated as each sip just coated my gums with bubbles.