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

The Ale Apothecary Carpe Diem Mañana

Brewery: The Ale Apothecary
Country: USA
ABV: 9%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: Wild fermentation ale brewed in wine barrels with lots of hops

Brewer Description: (from tag on bottle) Carpe Diem Mañana – change the world with imagination – idle time is necessary for creative thinking. (* wild & open fermented in oak barrels. * dry-hopped with whole flower hops. * drink fresh for hops, age for an experiment. * 100% naturally carbonated in this bottle.)

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

Intro: A 750ml bottle, batch bottled on July 22nd 2017. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A hazy copper orange colour with a big almost three finger off white head that had pretty good retention while leaving some nice lacing.
Aroma: Tart, citrus orange, orange rind, funk, with hints of tropical mango, pineapple, grassy and floral.
Taste: Tart, sour, citrusy orange peel, orange, funk, oak with some light floral and grass and maybe some apricots.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Quite nice, but not quite as good as the other Ale Apothecary beers that I’ve tried so far.

Mikkeller It’s Alive!

Brewery: Mikkeller ApS
Country: Denmark
ABV: 8%
Style: Belgian Strong Pale Ale
Other Notes: Brewed and bottled by Mikkeller at De Proef Brouwerij, Belgium. Malts – Pale and Cara. Hops – Hallertauer and Styrian Goldings

Brewer Description: (from Mikkeller webshop) It’s Alive! is Mikkellers answer and tribute to the trappist beer Orval. It’s Alive is an easy-to-drink beer, with a lot of hops. The color is amber, the foam is high, white and dense. The potent Brettanomyces culture makes It’s Alive continue to develop in the bottle.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.44
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.3

Intro: A 750ml bottle with a best before date of 31st July 2018. I’m thinking that this has been aged for about 5 years. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: A clear copper amber colour with a big three finger off white head that had pretty good retention and left lots of lacing.
Aroma: Sweetish caramel, brett funk, candied fruit, green apple.
Taste: Light caramel malt sweetness, grass, earthy, brett, funk and apple. Flavours felt a little weak at times though.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with soft to moderate carbonation.
Overall: Quite nice, but I’m not sure why at times, the flavours felt quite weak and just kind of disappeared. Not quite the Orval that it’s tributed to be.

de Garde The Little Peach

Brewery: de Garde Brewing
Country: USA
ABV: 5%
Style: American Wild Ale

Brewer Description: (from bottle) A spontaneous Wild Ale aged in oak barrels with Oregon peaches.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.98
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.8

Intro: A 1 pint 9.4 fl. oz. bottle, bottled in January 2018. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A cloudy straw yellow colour with a two finger white head that dissipated quickly and left sparse to no lacing.
Aroma: Tart and sweet, ripe peach, apricot, oak and light funk.
Taste: Tart, sour, unripe peach, lemon juice, oak and funk.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with moderate prickly carbonation.
Overall: Aroma was amazing but taste didn’t quite match the aroma. Still quite nice though, and easy to drink.

The Bruery x Funky Buddha ¡Guava Libre!

Brewery: The Bruery x Funky Buddha Brewery
Country: USA
ABV: 7.5%
Style: Cream Ale
Other Notes: This collaborative brew with our Floridian friends takes a page out of both of our books – a bold, experimental beer with culinary inspiration. Specifically, a Cuban guava pastry

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Imperial Cream Ale brewed with lactose with guava and vanilla added. This sensory getaway transports you to a corner bodega with our friends at Funky Buddha in South Florida to recreate the flavors you’d find in a “pastelito de guayaba.” Championing the big, bold flavors that both of our breweries are known for, we brewed an imperial cream ale, adding lactose and vanilla to impart sweet, custard-like ribbons, and guava for filling its conceptual authenticity. It’s a collaboration that’s equal parts inspiration and admiration.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.35
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.2

Intro: A 750ml bottle, batch #430, bottled on 11th April 2017. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: Very cloudy, dark orange murkiness with a one finger off white head that had decent retention while leaving some nice lacing.
Aroma: Heavy vanilla, condensed milk, caramelising sugar and guava with perhaps hints of caramel.
Taste: Sweetish, toasted malts, vanilla, sugar, milk with hints of guava and other mixed tropical fruits.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, medium to full bodied with moderate to low carbonation.
Overall: Not entirely what I expected as there was a lot less fruit and/or guava than expected, whereas the vanilla, milk, lactose were really dominant and perhaps overly so in my opinion.

J. Wakefield That’s The Ticket

Brewery: J. Wakefield Brewing
Country: USA
ABV: 13%
Style: American Imperial Stout

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Imperial Stout with chocolate, coconut, caramel & sea salt added

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

Intro: A 750ml bottle with no clear bottled on or best before date. Poured into a MBCC 2018 stemmed tasting glass.
Appearance: Black in colour with only a very thin mocha brown head that stuck around throughout while leaving some nice lacing.
Aroma: Chocolate, caramel and vanilla dominate with hints of coconut and roastiness. A bit like chocolate ice cream with chocolate sauce.
Taste: Chocolate and sea salt are strong, cacao, vanilla, lightly bitter dark chocolate, and hints of coconut, caramel and alcohol poking through.
Mouthfeel: Extremely creamy, full bodied, with low carbonation.
Overall: I thought that the sea salt was too strong. Normally I love caramel salted chocolate, but in this case, the strong sea salt combined with the booze and maybe even the light bitterness just didn’t work together as well as it could have for me.