Category Archives: 4 – Good (buy)

4 - Good (buy), Against The Grain Brewery, Beer Reviews, Stout - Milk / Sweet, USA

Against The Grain 70K

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Brewery: Against The Grain Brewery
Country: USA
ABV: 13%
Style: Milk / Sweet Stout
Other Notes: Bourbon Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout. Angel’s Envy barrels

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Double Down! Taking 35K to the next level and ratcheting up our disdain all in one shot! Imagine a silky smooth milk stout worth $35K. Imagine what it takes to double it. We did that. Bourbon barrel aged and big, this one is worth all the money.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.35
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 750ml tightly foiled bottle, with no bottled on or best before date. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Black in colour with a thin half finger brown head that dissipated fairly quickly but left nice spotty lacing.
Aroma: Dark roasty malt, chocolate, bourbon, molasses, oak, vanilla, boozy.
Taste: Sweet, light roast, bourbon, molasses, brown sugar, chocolate, oak, vanilla, marshmallow, with dried dark fruit and boozy notes.
Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: A very nice sipper with the sweetness balanced by good roast and chocolate notes.

4 - Good (buy), Against The Grain Brewery x Morada Cia Etílica, Beer Reviews, German Doppelbock, USA

Against The Grain x Morada Maple Bockin’ Pastries

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Brewery: Against The Grain Brewery x Morada Cia Etílica
Country: USA
ABV: 10%
Style: German Doppelbock
Other Notes: Stave It For Later Barrel Series

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Pastry style Dopplebock brewed with West Virginia maple syrup.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.25
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 750ml bottle with no bottled on or best before date. Poured into a Holy Mountain tulip glass.
Appearance: A dark brown almost black colour with a nice two finger tanned head that had decent retention, eventually settling to a ring around that glass, but left only sparse lacing.
Aroma: Sweet, chocolate fudge, roasty, coffee, toffee, oak, vanilla, brown sugar, and maple syrup.
Taste: Light to moderate sweetness, doughy, roasty, chocolate, coffee, oak, vanilla, maple syrup, bourbon, lightly boozy.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: A really enjoyable Dopplebock. Based on the description and the aroma, I half expected it to be too sweet, but actually the sweetness is balanced with good roasty notes, and flavours that work well together.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Denmark, Lambic - Fruit, Mikkeller ApS x Three Floyds Brewing Co.

Mikkeller x Three Floyds Blå Spøgelse

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Brewery: Mikkeller ApS x Three Floyds Brewing Co.
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 blueberries and aged in oak barrels. Blueberry Bluebic.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.22
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 750ml bottle, with a best before date of sometime in 2026 (since the month was not legible). I suspect this bottle is a 2016 vintage. Poured into a Mikkeller stemmed tasting glass.
Appearance: A hazy reddish purple orange colour with a one finger pinkish head that had decent retention but left only sparse lacing.
Aroma: Tart, Spontan like funk, oak, blueberry skin, blueberries, Ribena, with notes of zingy lemon zest, pepper, and hay.
Taste: Sour, tart, funky, blueberry skin, blueberry, oak, plum, Ribena, lemon zest, with herbal, yoghurt and jammy notes.
Mouthfeel: Dry-ish, medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Enjoyable and easy to drink with nice berry notes. I’ve tried it a few times, and admittedly, despite a best before of 2026, I think it may have just past it’s prime.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Carbon Brews, Hong Kong, IPA - New England / Hazy Double

Carbon Brews Crazy Rich Lupulins

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Brewery: Carbon Brews
Country: Hong Kong
ABV: 8.2%
Style: New England / Hazy Double IPA
Other Notes: 23 IBUs. Malts – Pilsner, Wheat, Oats, Carahell and Vienna. Hops – Mosaic, Cascade, Citra, Galaxy and Simcoe. Yeast – London Ale III. Drink – Fresh. Experience – Smooth, juicy, mango, papaya

Brewer Description: (from can) Double Hazy IPA.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.11
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.9

Intro: A 330ml can, with a best before date of 8th January 2021, but should be less than a month in the can. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: A hazy mango orange colour with a one finger white head that had good retention and nice lacing.
Aroma: Fruity, papaya, melon, mango, and orange juice.
Taste: Lightly bitter, juicy, orange juice, papaya, mango, and mandarin zest.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Nice, enjoyable and juicy, the citrusy orange juice flavour stands out among the fruits.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Lambic - Fruit, Lambiek Fabriek

Lambiek Fabriek Juicy & Wild Muscar-Elle

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Brewery: Lambiek Fabriek
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6.8%
Style: Belgian Lambic (Fruit)

Brewer Description: (from bottle in Dutch) Unieke blend van zelf gebrouwen lambieken met hergisting op de fles, die een maceratie kende met de nobele Muscaris druif, geteeld in Belgie. Dit product is puur, ongefilterd en niet gepasteuriseerd.

(translated from Dutch to English) Unique blend of self-brewed lambics with refermentation in the bottle, which was macerated with the noble Muscaris grape, grown in Belgium. This product is pure, unfiltered and unpasteurized.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.38
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.3

Intro: A 750ml corked and capped bottle, bottled in January 2020. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A clear golden colour with a two finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly but eventually settled to a thin replenishing fluffy cap.
Aroma: Sweet, grapes, Gewürztraminer, honey, apple peel, lemon zest, funky, oak, with peppery notes.
Taste: Lightly sweet and sour, grapes, lemon, green apple, and a light funkiness.
Mouthfeel: Crisp, dry, light bodied with moderate to high carbonation.
Overall: Second time trying, and this bottle seems even better than the first. Reminds me of sweet white wine, but not the dessert kind and it’s also got a light sour tang to balance out the sweetness. As far as lambics go, it doesn’t feel too complex, but the taste is my thing and it drinks really easy. This would be an interesting one to age.