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

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

Heroes BR&MSBAIMSwMSCN&V (4th Anniversary)

Leave a comment

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

Leave a comment

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.

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

Black Project Cipher

Leave a comment

Brewery: Black Project Spontaneous & Wild Ales
Country: USA
ABV: 7.1%
Style: Sour Ale

Brewer Description: (from can) Sour Ale with apricot and plum.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.79
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.7

Intro: A 473ml can, canned on 20th July 2021, poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: It was a lightly hazy copper orange colour with a just over one finger off white head that dissipated fairly quickly to a replenishing cap, while leaving some lacing.
Aroma: Tart, apricot, plum, raspberry, lemon zest, with notes of candied fruit.
Taste: Sour, tart, plum, lemon, and light apricot, with a slight candied element.
Mouthfeel: Medium to light bodied, with moderate carbonation.
Overall: The aroma was nice, but flavour wise, while not bad, there was not much complexity and a bit of a one dimensional sour.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Brown Ale - Imperial, Founders Brewing Company, USA

Founders Velvet Rush

Leave a comment

Brewery: Founders Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 11.1%
Style: Brown Ale – Imperial
Other Notes: Barrel aged series. 2021 release

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Borrowing elements from both high-end craft cocktails and moody jazz clubs, Velvet Rush takes the bourbon barrel-aged brown ale up an octave with free-flowing notes of coffee, chocolate and vanilla extract. Milk sugar aides in weaving together this complex tapestry of flavors to create a unique sipping experience that really ties the room together.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.86
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.8

Intro: A 12 fl. oz. bottle, bottled on 5th August 2021, poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: A clear dark brown colour with an almost one finger beige head that had decent retention and left some nice spotty lacing.
Aroma: Sweet, brown sugar, chocolate, vanilla, milk, caramel, roasty, coffee bean, espresso, oak, with light bourbon notes.
Taste: Moderate to high sweetness with slight bitter notes, caramel, brown sugar, chocolate, vanilla, coffee, bourbon.
Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Excellent aroma as the bourbon crept through as it warmed. The flavours were a bit sweet for me though, and didn’t make it as easy to drink as I would have liked.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Oxbow Brewing Company, USA, Wild Ale

Oxbow First Fruits

Leave a comment

Brewery: Oxbow Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 6%
Style: Wild Ale
Other Notes: Barrel-aged farmhouse ale with fruit. Production time: 12 months

Brewer Description: (from bottle) First Fruits is a mixed-fermentation farmhouse ale aged on cherries, raspberries, and strawberries.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.9
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.7

Intro: A 500ml bottle, bottled on 1st July 2021, poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A lightly hazy strawberry pinkish red colour with a very thin light pinkish head that dissipated quickly, while leaving only sparse lacing.
Aroma: Jammy, strawberry, raspberry, cherry, oak, tart, an acetone and vinegar zing, with light funky notes.
Taste: Light sweetness, sour, tart, sharp, strawberry, raspberry, cherry, fruit vinegar, light funk.
Mouthfeel: Sharp, medium bodied, with moderate to soft carbonation.
Overall: Nice fruitiness in the aroma and flavour, but the acidity was just a bit too sharp to be easily enjoyed.