Category Archives: 4 – Good (buy)

Cascade Sang Noir

Brewery: Cascade Brewing
Country: USA
ABV: 9.9%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: Northwest sour ale. Ale aged in bourbon and wine barrels with cherries. 2015 project

Brewer Description: (from bottle) House of Sour. Sang Noir is a blend of select red ales aged in bourbon and wine barrels with Bing cherries for up to two years.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.39
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.3

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, 2015 project. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A cloudy dark maroon colour with a one finger tanned head that dissipated quickly and left only sparse lacing.
Aroma: Cherry, mixed berries, acetone, oak, wood, with slight balsamic notes.
Taste: Sour, tart, cherry, caramel, oak, wood, mixed berries, grape-y vinous, with very light notes of bourbon.
Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied with moderate to soft carbonation.
Overall: Not getting much bourbon, but there was an enjoyable complexity about this beer with a good blend of fruit and wood. At 9.9% abv, the alcohol was well hidden. This was definitely one of the better Cascade beers I’ve tried.

Casey Funky Blender Raspberry + Cherry

Brewery: Casey Brewing & Blending
Country: USA
ABV: 6.5%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: Heritage / 4 Cherry blend

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Ale aged in oak barrels with raspberries + cherries.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.33
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.3

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, Heritage raspberries and 4 cherry blend, bottled in 5th May 2020. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A very nice slightly hazy ruby red colour with a two finger pinkish head that dissipated fairly quickly but eventually settled to a thin replenishing cap, while leaving some nice lacing.
Aroma: Sweet candy like raspberry and cherry, oak, with a hint of funk and acetone.
Taste: Sour, tart, raspberry, cherry, oak, acidic, with slight notes of lemon and funk.
Mouthfeel: Medium to light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Loved the look and the aroma. Flavours were good, but perhaps slightly too acidic towards the finish, but still, it was enjoyable.

Olde Hickory The Event Horizon

Brewery: Olde Hickory Brewery
Country: USA
ABV: 8.5%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Ale brewed with honey & aged in bourbon barrels

Brewer Description: (from bottle) The Event Horizon is the point of no return. Once you have entered the realm of this supermassive imperial stout you are there for good. The cosmically heavy body sucks you in. It’s unfathomably deep and black, tasting of rich coffee and chocolate. The faint twinkle of honey is the last sensation you experience before the taste of bourbon washes over you with notes of cracked nuts and vanilla bean. Prepare to have your tongue spaghettified.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.14
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.9

Intro: A 22 fl. oz. bomber, bottled on 28th September 2016. Poured into a snifter.
Appearance: Black in colour with minimal brown head, with some spotty lacing.
Aroma: Bourbon, dark fruit, raisin, prunes, light roast, chocolate, and vanilla.
Taste: Similar to the aroma, it’s bourbon forward, prunes, raisin, followed by a roasty finish that includes chocolate, cocoa powder, vanilla, and bitterish coffee.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, smooth, medium bodied, with soft carbonation.
Overall: Body is lighter than I prefer, but then the ABV is also pretty low for a BA Imperial Stout. All that is just a minor hiccup in what is still a great and enjoyable Imperial Stout with big bold flavours.

Omnipollo Bianca Raspberry Maple Pancake Lassi Gose

Brewery: Omnipollo
Country: Sweden
ABV: 7%
Style: Gose – Fruit
Other Notes: Brewed by Omnipollo at De Proef Brouwerij (Belgium)

Brewer Description: (from can) Raspberry Maple Pancake Lassi Gose.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.41
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.3

Intro: A 500ml can, with a best before date of 14th November 2020. Poured into a Holy Mountain tulip glass.
Appearance: A hazy murky dark beetroot purplish red colour with a one finger pinkish head that had good retention and left lots of nice lacing.
Aroma: Intense raspberry jammy, maple, vanilla, milkshake.
Taste: Sweet, raspberry jam, maple, pancake, vanilla, with a sour, tart, raspberry and lightly salty finish.
Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied with moderate to soft carbonation.
Overall: The aroma was intense and near perfect, but the combination of sweetness and thick body made it a sipper. I note that there is maple in this, but still, I would prefer it to be less sweet. Despite all this, it was good.

Crooked Stave L’Brett d’Blueberry

Brewery: Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project
Country: USA
ABV: 6%
Style: American Wild Ale

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Golden Sour Ale aged in oak barrels with blueberries.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.23
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 375ml bottle, bottled in December 2015. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A hazy reddish orange colour with a slight purple hue, and a near two finger off-white head that dissipated fairly quickly but settled to a nice thin replenishing cap while leaving some lacing.
Aroma: Lightly tart, blueberry skin, lemon, blackcurrant, slightly herbal, with notes of oak and funk.
Taste: Sour, tart, blueberry, blueberry skin, lemon, blackcurrant, oak, funk, with light leather.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Enjoyable blueberry and blackcurrant flavours, with good oak and funk.