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

Verzet Oud Bruin Strawberry

Brewery: Brouwerij ‘t Verzet
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6%
Style: Belgian Flanders Oud Bruin
Other Notes: Harvest 2018

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Oud Bruin Strawberry is created by adding whole strawberries to beer, aged on oak barrels for at least one year. This Elsanta variety is carefully grown by a family business in Olsene, Zulte. Due to the extreme sunny weather the little fruits were ripe very fast this year. To avoid an oversupply, Verzet came to the rescue. We used 300kg to put on the beer. The result is a fruity and sour beer, missing the stickiness you experience when eating the fruits. The mellow sourness makes it an ideal summer beer. Strawberry daiquiri is so passé, t’ Verzet Strawberry is here to stay!

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.61
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.4

Intro: A 330ml bottle with an expiry date that was mostly rubbed off, but from the 2018 harvest. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A clear amber orange copper colour with a thin off white head that dissipated quickly while leaving sparse lacing.
Aroma: Lightly tart, strawberry, sweet jammy, and a touch of oak.
Taste: Sour, tart, acidic, strawberry, oak, and vinegar.
Mouthfeel: Acidic, dry, light bodied, with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Aroma and taste seem like opposites as the aroma was nice with lots of sweet jammy strawberry, while on the other hand, taste was acidic with a sharp sourness mixed with vinegar that overpowered much of the strawberry. As it warmed, the sharpness mellowed a bit and the strawberry made a better showing.

Verzet Oud Bruin

Brewery: Brouwerij ‘t Verzet
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6%
Style: Belgian Flanders Oud Bruin
Other Notes: Editie 2014

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Flemish Red Brown Ale.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.43
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.3

Intro: A 12.7 fl. oz. bottle with an expiry date of 19th December 2025. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A clear amber orange copper colour with a nice two finger beige head, that had good retention and eventually settled to a thin replenishing cap, while leaving nice lacing.
Aroma: Sour, strawberry, balsamic vinegar, cherry, and light oak.
Taste: Tart, sour, balsamic vinegar, oak, with fruity notes of strawberry, cherry and blackberry.
Mouthfeel: Dry, medium to light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: The balsamic notes were strong, and along with wood notes, overpowered the berry fruitiness that I prefer.

Carbon Brews Zesty Feelings

Brewery: Carbon Brews
Country: Hong Kong
ABV: 4.9%
Style: American Pale Wheat Ale
Other Notes: 15 IBUs. Malts – Pilsner, Wheat, Oats and Carapils. Hops – Citra and Cryo loral. Yeast – Chico. Fruit – Grapefruit and Lemon Zest. Experience – Fruity, citrus, smashable

Brewer Description: (from can) Citrus wheat.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.2
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.1

Intro: A 330ml can, with a best before date of 5th September 2020. Poured into a Spiegelau wheat glass.
Appearance: A hazy straw blonde colour with an uncontrollable more than five finger white head that had fairly good retention, while leaving some lacing.
Aroma: Citrusy, lemon zest, lemon rind, and a floral character.
Taste: Light citrusy lemon zest, lemon rind, bready malt, wheat, and a splash of lime.
Mouthfeel: Light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Very light and crushable, but didn’t leave any sort of impression on me.

Lervig Saskatoon Cheesecake Stout

Brewery: Lervig Aktiebryggeri
Country: Norway
ABV: 12%
Style: Milk / Sweet Stout

Brewer Description: (from can) Imperial Stout with Saskatoon berry & cheesecake.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.87
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.6

Intro: A 330ml can, with a best before date of 25th September 2024. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Dark brown in colour with a thin brown head that dissipated quickly and left only sparse spotty lacing.
Aroma: Sweet, blueberry, mixed berries, vanilla, cream cheese, chessecake, with hints of chocolate.
Taste: Moderate sweetness, light roast, chocolate, mixed berries, vanilla, with hints of caramel.
Mouthfeel: Slightly boozy, full bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: On the borderline of being too sweet for me. Nice cheesecake and berriness in the aroma, but unfortunately I felt that the cheesecake didn’t translate into the taste, and it was mostly just sweet berries and booze.

Against The Grain London Balling

Brewery: Against The Grain Brewery
Country: USA
ABV: 12.5%
Style: English Barleywine

Brewer Description: (from can) Balls Deep! Big, ballsym barmy and barrel aged. London balling is not typical. It’s a skirmish of flavor. The barrel imparts oak and vanilla, mixed with the caramel sweetness from a malt bill with brick, that’ll knock your bloody bollocks around. Hey bloke?… fancy that, and you’ll be gobsmacked.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.72
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.5

Intro: A 1 pint can, with no clear canned on or best before date. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: A rusty orange brown colour with some floating sediment and a thin beige head that dissipated fairly quickly, but left some spotty lacing.
Aroma: Sweet malt, caramel, toffee, oak, vanilla, and grapefruit hard candy.
Taste: Sweet, sweet malt, caramel, toffee, vanilla, bourbon, dried dark fruit, raisin, dates, brown sugar, slightly bitter and a touch boozy.
Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Not my favourite English Barleywine as sweet and boozy doesn’t really work for me. It’s ok to sip, but a whole 1 pint can, took me a good while to finish.