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

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Czech Republic, Métaphore, Wild Ale

Métaphore Vorrei Un Aperitivo

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Brewery: Métaphore
Country: Czech Republic
ABV: 4.6%
Style: Wild Ale

Brewer Description: (from bottle) The world around us serves as an endless inspiration to me. This appetizing beer is a nod to the classic bitter cocktails of Italy, all the while keeping its roots in local soil. It was brewed from local organic ingredients, rested for seasons in oak barrels, carefully blended and married with Zweigelt grapes, sour cherries and black currants. The magic touch comes from a dozen carefully selected botanicals which impart delightful, grown-up flavours of bitter, beyond the scope of hops. Best when enjoyed and shared in good company. Na zdravi!

My rating: 3+
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.02
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.9

Intro: A 750ml corked and capped bottle, with a best before date of 1st July 2032. Poured into a Tilquin stemmed glass.
Appearance: A very nice mostly clear reddish purple colour, with a one finger pinkish head, that had decent retention and settled to a ring around the glass, while leaving some lacing.
Aroma: Lightly tart, black currant, cherry, grapes, grape skin, a herbal botanical mix, slight funk, and a splash of wood.
Taste: Lightly sour, tart, mixed red berries, black currant, grapes, cherries, band aid, with a herbally bitter finish.
Mouthfeel: Light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Looks great, with good aromas. The black currant notes were nice, while the botanical herbal bitter bits added a different dimension to the beer.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Brasserie Ammonite, France, Wild Ale

Ammonite Vinifera XI – Gewurztraminer

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Brewery: Brasserie Ammonite
Country: France
ABV: 6.2%
Style: Wild Ale
Other Notes: 2021 vintage

Brewer Description: (from Untappd) Spontaneous fermented beer aged 1 year in pinot noir cask transferred in “Vinification intégrale” cask. Maceration of 7 months with “Gewurztraminer” grapes from Henri Klee Domaine. Concentration 300g/L.

My rating: 3+
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.93
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.8

Intro: A 750ml corked and capped bottle, 2021 vintage, poured into a Tilquin stemmed glass.
Appearance: A nice lightly hazy golden straw orange colour with a half finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly while leaving only sparse lacing.
Aroma: Tart, vinous, white wine grapes, yellow stone fruit, apricot seed, funk, oak, lime, and citrus zest.
Taste: Lightly sour, herbal, green vines, vinous, white wine grapes, grapefruit, lime, with a touch of funk and wood.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with moderate to soft carbonation.
Overall: It took some time for me to enjoy this, but it grew on me with each sip. I think it was the herbal element that caught me out a bit.

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

Publitasting Thais Lemongras Geuze

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Brewery: Publitasting
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6%
Style: Lambic – Gueuze
Other Notes: Limited edition (73 liter) – 2022

Brewer Description: (from bottle in Dutch) Ambachtelijk Belgisch bier van spontane gisting. Blend van traditionele lambiek uit de Zennevallei van Brouwerij De Troch (Wambeek) en Brouwerij Eylenbosch (Kobbegem).

(translated to English) Traditional Belgian beer from spontaneous fermentation. Blend of traditional lambic from the Zenne Valley from Brouwerij De Troch (Wambeek) and Brouwerij Eylenbosch (Kobbegem).

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

Intro: A 750ml corked and capped bottle, 2022 vintage, with a best before date of 31st December 2025. Poured into a Tilquin stemmed glass.
Appearance: A clear golden orange colour with a half finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly, while leaving some decent lacing.
Aroma: Rather weak, but there’s green apple, wood, apricot, and light notes of lemongrass.
Taste: Sour, tart, lime, lemon, green apple, peach, sour peach gummies, oak, funk, with light lemongrass notes.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Lemongrass was there, but not obvious as ‘lemongrass’, and in this case, the aroma on the whole was quite weak. However, lemongrass is an idea that I can get behind, and just need to find a way to incorporate it better, to be more noticeable.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Japan, Lager - Black / Schwarzbier, West Coast Brewing

West Coast The Schwartz

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Brewery: West Coast Brewing
Country: Japan
ABV: 5%
Style: Lager – Black / Schwarzbier

Brewer Description: (from website) Ladies and Gents, It’s officially dark lager time. Hop Dude lager aficionados are ringing in the fall with “The Schwartz” our first ever take on a dark classic, schwarzbier. Lightly roasted coffee feels with hints of milk chocolate and dark fruit in an easy to consume low ABV elixir format—helllll yes. We may not end up comparing the size of our Schwartz, but we will end up having a damn good time taking it down. If and when, the next iteration we will def aim for a touch more bitterness, but for now we’ll gladly take the roasty drinkability.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.57
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.5

Intro: A 500ml can, canned on 11th October 2023. Poured into a winebar glass.
Appearance: Black in colour with a two fingered tanned head that had pretty good retention, while leaving some lacing.
Aroma: Light roast, milk chocolate, a touch of coffee, and dark fruit notes.
Taste: As you’d expect from the aroma, light roast, malty, black coffee, milk chocolate, with light plum dark fruit notes.
Mouthfeel: Light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Aroma and flavours were a little light in that I was hoping for stronger and more bitter roasty notes.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, IPA - New England / Hazy Double, Japan, West Coast Brewing

West Coast Full Hop Alchemist v.32

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Brewery: West Coast Brewing
Country: Japan
ABV: 8.5%
Style: IPA – New England / Hazy Double
Other Notes: Hazy Double IPA. Hops – Enigma, Sultana & Sultana Lupulin

Brewer Description: (from website) Word on the street is that our Alchemist just sits in his hop closet juggling massive bags of Big Boi IPA hops all day—not (entirely) accurate. The combos gon’ get real Hop Dudes. V32 is about to hit taps and shelves (and your squeaky clean glass… fingers crossed) and is a bold blend of two hops that are not as familiar to modern IPA savants—Enigma and Sultana. Full disclosure: it’s a little sweeter than most of our FHA offerings, and a touch out of balance (missed the mark just a touch?), likely due to a lighter body and slightly warmer mash temp (the jury is out, but adjustments are in order). It is however also absolutely delicious, loaded with fantastic FLAVORS of the lychee / white grape and overripe mango persuasions, with a subtle yet solid strawberry candy-like component. In a word V32 is very tropical, but brings all kinds of fascinating sensory in a hazy quite unlike anything we have cooked up to date.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.94
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.8

Intro: A 500ml can, canned on 6th November 2023. Poured into a winebar glass.
Appearance: A hazy darkish orange colour with a two finger white head that had good retention and left nice lacing.
Aroma: Grassy, orange rind, citrus zest, mango, and a touch dank.
Taste: Sweet, maybe on the verge of being too much for me. Mango, mandarin, candied grapefruit zest, and notes of citrus bitterness that helps with the sweetness a bit.
Mouthfeel: Sticky, medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Generally, it was on the overly sweet side for me, but luckily there was some citrus rind and zesty bits that helped balance the sweetness.