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

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Denmark, Lambic - Fruit, Mikkeller ApS

Mikkeller Spontanlingonberry

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Brewery: Mikkeller ApS
Country: Denmark
ABV: 7.7%
Style: Belgian Lambic (Fruit)
Other Notes: Brewed by Mikkeller at De Proef Brouwerij, Belgium

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Sour ale brewed with lingonberries & aged in oak barrels.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.79
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.6

Intro: A 375ml bottle with a best before date of 26th February 2025. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A hazy rusty reddish brown colour with a one finger off white head that had pretty good retention and left some sparse spotty lacing.
Aroma: Only light aromas, lightly tart, some funk, light berries and maybe a touch of oak. It’s nice but just seems too light.
Taste: Tart, lightly sour, brett funk and oak. Berry fruitiness is there but again like the aroma, a bit muted.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: It’s not bad, there’s nice tartness, but I just think the fruit used was largely muted and wasn’t obvious. I haven’t tried lingonberry before, so I’m not sure if it’s flavours are just like that. Worth a try, but there are a lot more I prefer under the Spontan series.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, The Ale Apothecary, USA, Wild Ale

The Ale Apothecary Carpe Diem Mañana

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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.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Belgian Strong Pale Ale, Denmark, Mikkeller ApS

Mikkeller It’s Alive!

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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.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, de Garde Brewing, USA, Wild Ale

de Garde The Little Peach

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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.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Cream Ale, The Bruery x Funky Buddha Brewery, USA

The Bruery x Funky Buddha ¡Guava Libre!

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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.