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

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Scotland, Sour Ale, Vault City Brewing

Vault City Cherry Skies

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Brewery: Vault City Brewing
Country: Scotland
ABV: 8.5%
Style: Sour Ale
Other Notes: Modern sour beer

Brewer Description: (from bottle) The return of our notorious Skies series! For this variation we jumped at the chance to use late season sweet cherries for a ruby red addition to the range. Equal parts rich, smooth and delightfully tart, Cherry Skies is the epitome of the Modern Sour Beers we make. To honour the complex yet smashable versions which have come before it we added hibiscus flower and Madagascan vanilla to accompany the fruit for the fullest and juiciest cherry sour beer possible.

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 5th October 2022. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: A deep red colour with a slight purple hue and a big two finger pinkish head that dissipated fairly quickly while leaving some lacing.
Aroma: Juicy, lightly tart cherry, blackcurrant, red apple, and a touch floral.
Taste: Very lightly tart, moderately sweet, mixed berries, cherry, blackberry, blackcurrant, and floral (I’m guessing it’s the hibiscus).
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate to high carbonation.
Overall: Cherry and vanilla should be a match made in heaven, but I’m not getting any of the supposed vanilla aroma or flavours. It was also not quite the cherry bomb I was hoping for as the floral hibiscus notes were quite strong, along with a whole bunch of other mixed berry aroma and flavours that crept in. For a sour beer, the use of sweet cherries also appears to have turned it on the sweet side, which I’m not fond of.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Lambic - Gueuze, Lambiek Fabriek

Lambiek Fabriek Young & Wild Fontan-Elle

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Brewery: Lambiek Fabriek
Country: Belgium
ABV: 5.5%
Style: Lambic – Gueuze

Brewer Description: (from bottle in Dutch) Gelimiteerde blend van zelf gebrouwen lambieken van spontane gisting. Ongefilterde blend van twee jaargangen, niet gepasteuriseerd.

(translated to English) Limited blend of self-brewed lambics of spontaneous fermentation. Unfiltered blend of two year lambics, not pasteurized.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.83
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.7

Intro: A 750ml corked and capped bottle, bottled in May 2018. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen gueuze glass.
Appearance: A slightly hazy golden orange colour with an almost two finger white head that had good retention and eventually settled to a fluffy cap while leaving nice lacing.
Aroma: Funky, oak, lightly tart, apple peel, white grape, brett, musty damp wood, with grapefruit notes.
Taste: Sour, oak, funky, brett, green apple, white wine grape, damp wood, with notes of lemon and grapefruit.
Mouthfeel: Medium to light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Easy drinking, but I prefer the regular Oude Geuze Brett-Elle more.

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.