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

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Ca’ del Brado, Italy, Sour Ale

Ca’ del Brado Nessun Dorma

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Brewery: Ca’ del Brado
Country: Italy
ABV: 6.4%
Style: Sour Ale

Brewer Description: (from bottle in Italian) Nessun Dorma è una Vieille Saison, stile tradizionale dell’Hainaut, provincia della Vallonia. Il mosto, realizzato con buona percentuale di frumento non maltato e avena, riceve una luppolatura delicata di luppoli nobili. A seguito di una fermentazione in acciaio attraverso Saccharomyces, la birra affina da 6 a 8 mesi in tonneaux e barriques (che precedentemente contenevano vino), con contaminazione di brettanomiceti e batteri lattici. Il blend finale produce una bevuta rustica e dalla marcata presenza acidula. Note citriche, speziate e di frutta bianca sono ingentilite da sentori floreali e dalla complessità conferita dal legno. Nessun Dorma è una birra rinfrescante con una profondità selvaggia, che potrà certamente godere di un ulteriore invecchiamento nella vostra cantina.

(translated to English) Nessun Dorma is a Vieille Saison, a traditional style from Hainaut, a province of Wallonia. The must, made with a good percentage of unmalted wheat and oats, receives a delicate hopping of noble hops. Following a fermentation in steel with Saccharomyces, the beer ages from 6 to 8 months in tonneaux and barriques (which previously contained wine), with contamination of brettanomycetes and lactic bacteria. The final blend produces a rustic drink with a marked acidic presence. Citric, spicy and white fruit notes are softened by floral scents and the complexity given by the wood. Nessun Dorma is a refreshing beer with a wild depth, which will certainly enjoy further aging in your cellar.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.8
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.6

Intro: A 375ml bottle with a best before date of December 2024. Poured into a Holy Mountain tulip glass.
Appearance: A hazy pale orange colour with a thin white head that dissipated quickly, while leaving some decent lacing.
Aroma: Lightly tart, white wine grapes, light funk, lime peel, and slight wood notes.
Taste: Sour, tart, lemon, white wine grapes, green apple, oak, with light funkiness.
Mouthfeel: Medium to light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Balanced and easy to drink. Would love to try more from this brewery.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Denmark, Penyllan Brewery, Porter - Baltic

Penyllan The Mistress Bourbon

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Brewery: Penyllan Brewery
Country: Denmark
ABV: 13%
Style: Baltic Porter
Other Notes: At Penyllan we focus on brewing small batches of beer, aged slowly on wood with our house culture of wild yeast. We are inspired by the changing seasons and the wealth of ingredients available to us on our beautiful island

Brewer Description: (from bottle) The Mistress is inspired by the strong and dark baltic porters that, for centuries, has been brewed and consumed by people around the Baltic Sea. Among them the inhabitants of the island where our brewery is. Brewed traditionally with a mix of domesticated and wild yeast and then put to rest in freshly emptied bourbon barrels for a full four years.

Black and viscous with a small tan head. Aroma is dominated by tobacco, leather, dried fruit, smoke, and warm asphalt. Mellow carbonation and slick mouthfeel with complex flavors of dark chocolate, coffee, burned sugar and black cherries. The bourbon character is well integrated and manifests as vanilla, wood and a hint of warming alcohol. Long mouth coating aftertaste with sticky caramel sweetness and lingering roasted bitterness.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.02
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.8

Intro: A 750ml bottle, bottle 432 of 858, 2015 vintage, with a best before date of May 2030. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Dark dark brown to black in colour with a thin tanned head that dissipated quickly but left some sparse but spotty lacing.
Aroma: Leather, roasted malts, dark fruit, plum, prunes, bourbon, with light notes of chocolate.
Taste: Sweet, roasty, chocolate, coffee, brown sugar, molasses, dark fruit, plum, oak, bourbon, vanilla.
Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Flavours were nice and complex in little sips, but the sweetness was too intense for me to drink too much at a time. Was hoping for more roasty bitterness to help balance out the sweetness.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Sour Ale - Smoothie / Soda / Pastry, Totem

Totem Rhubarb Pastry Sour

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Brewery: Totem
Country: Belgium
ABV: 4%
Style: Sour Ale – Pastry
Other Notes: 40 IBUs. Malts – Golden Promise, Oat Malt, Wheat Malt and Dextrin Malt. Hops – Jaryllo. Bitter 3/10, Sour 6/10, Fruity 8/10, Sweet 2/10

Brewer Description: (from can) Rhubarb pastry sour.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.89
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.7

Intro: A 330ml can, with a best before date of September 2022. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: A hazy golden colour with a just over one finger white head that had decent retention while leaving some lacing.
Aroma: Rhubarb, vanilla, milk, candied lemon.
Taste: Sweet, tart, rhubarb, pineapple, lemon, vanilla, dried tropical fruit, slight wheat.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Nice aromas with interesting rhubarb sweet and tart flavours. Not something you usually associate coming from Belgium which in the past has been quite old school. But Totem is one of those progressive craft breweries that are popping up more and more in Belgium, and it’s interesting to see what they come up with.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, England, Sour Ale, Staggeringly Good Brewery

Staggeringly Good Souropod Papaya and Lychee Kettle Sour

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Brewery: Staggeringly Good Brewery
Country: England
ABV: 5.7%
Style: Sour Ale
Other Notes: Papaya and lychee

Brewer Description: (from website) Our latest Souropod with 300Kg of Papaya and 400Kg of Lychee is available now! This is without doubt our most complex sour with vibrant lychee and tropical fruits on the nose followed by flavours of sweetened sherbet, papaya and lychee finished with a light effervescent body.

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

Intro: A 440ml can, canned on 11th December 2020, with a best before date of 11th June 2021. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A hazy, slightly murky dark orange colour with a two finger white head that had decent retention but eventually settled to a thin cap, while leaving some nice lacing.
Aroma: Tart, papaya dominates, with mango and lychee notes, and a splash of lemon.
Taste: Sour, tart, sharp citrus, lemon juice, with notes of papaya and lychee.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: The sourness was a bit sharp to be easy drinking, and also hid the papaya and lychee flavours a bit. As a Souropod, I preferred the triple fruited Gose’s.

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

De Struise Black Albert Costa Rica Espresso

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Brewery: De Struise Brouwers
Country: Belgium
ABV: 13%
Style: Russian Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Belgian Espresso stout. Vintage 2015

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Experience de Tarrazu coffee in our Black Albert. Grown in the rich volcanic soils of Costa Rica’s famed Tarrazu region, these first choice Arabica coffee cherries are ripened evenly at 1,400 to 1,600 meters, hand-picked, sun dried and then dark roasted on Struise premises for a unique taste. It will surprise you with a flavor that hints of cacao and grapefruit and an aroma of aged wood and dark chocolate. Its intensity fills the palate, then fades cheerfully. Discover why we now roast our own coffee beans.

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

Intro: A 750ml bottle, bottled on 17th November 2016. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Black in colour with no head and no lacing.
Aroma: Roasty, coffee, chocolate, caramel, plum, dark fruit, licorice, boozy, and light smoky notes.
Taste: Roasted malts, chocolate, caramel, coffee, moderately sweet, dark fruit, plum, raisins, licorice, candi sugar, and a strong boozy finish.
Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: The booziness comes through quite strong in the aroma and taste, and maybe a bit too much. I was also hoping for more or stronger coffee notes. It’s interesting, but I easily prefer the original version of Black Albert more.