Category Archives: 4 – Good (buy)

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, IPA - New England / Hazy, Other Half Brewing, USA

Other Half Double Dry Hopped All Together

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Brewery: Other Half Brewing
Country: USA
ABV: 6.5%
Style: New England / Hazy IPA
Other Notes: Togetha 4eva. Double Dry Hopped India Pale Ale. Hops – Cascade, Citra, Mosaic, and Simcoe

Brewer Description: (from website) A world wide collaboration hosted by Other Half, Stout Collective and Craftpeak to support the enormous amount of hospitality workers laid off during this difficult time. We are donating 100% of our proceeds to the Restaurant Workers Community Foundation. We brewed this recipe with 2-row, oats and carapils and then hopped it with a beautiful blend of our hand selected Citra, Mosaic, Simcoe and Cascade. This second batch gets the addition of an additional dry hop with the same hops for those of you that think there are never enough hops in beer. We intentionally kept the recipe simple so that every brewer that wants to do it can do it. Keep an eye out for versions from over 700 breweries worldwide all working to help others in need. Visit alltogether.beer for all the details and a list of breweries involved. Collect them all 🙂

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.06
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 1 pint can, canned on 4th May 2020. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: A hazy golden orange colour with a big three finger white head that had excellent retention and left lots of nice lacing.
Aroma: Citrus rind and zest, dank, earthy, melon, with notes of tropical stone fruit.
Taste: Lightly bitter and lightly sweet, citrus rind, orange peel, citrus zest, melon, mango, pineapple and maybe a slightly herbal finish.
Mouthfeel: Moderate to full bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Good balance between sweet and bitter. Enjoyable and easy drinking.

4 - Good (buy), Barleywine - English, Beer Reviews, Lervig Aktiebryggeri, Norway

Lervig Paragon

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Brewery: Lervig Aktiebryggeri
Country: Norway
ABV: 13.5%
Style: English Barleywine
Other Notes: 2018 vintage

Brewer Description: (from bottle) 2018 vintage. Aged in bourbon barrels for 12 months.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.16
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 330ml pink waxed bottle, 2018 vintage, poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: A cloudy rusty dark orange brown colour with minimal head and no lacing.
Aroma: Syrupy sweet, caramel, bourbon, oak, vanilla, dark fruit, raisin, dates, fruit cake, toffee, brown sugar.
Taste: Sweet, syrupy, caramel, toffee, brown sugar, coconut, bourbon, vanilla, oak, dark fruit, raisin, dates and fig.
Mouthfeel: Smooth, full bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Great aroma, but approaching borderline too sweet for me. Still enjoyable as a sipper with its complex aroma and flavours.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Brouwerij Alvinne, Wild Ale

Alvinne Cuvée Sofie Schaarbeekse Kriek

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Brewery: Brouwerij Alvinne
Country: Belgium
ABV: 8%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: 2015 vintage. Alvinne limited edition, single cask, 350 bottles. 2012 French Oak from Chateau la Croizillé

Brewer Description: (from bottle in Dutch) Ons eerbetoon aan de traditionele kriek. 5 maand gerijpt op een St-Emilion vat. 100% schaarbeekse krieken, zelf geplukt in een oude boomgaard in Neerbeek-Brakel.

(translated to English) Our tribute to the traditional cherry. Aged for 5 months in a St-Emilion barrel. 100% cherries from Belgium, self-picked from an old orchard in Neerbeek-Brakel.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.4
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 500ml bottle, with a best before date of November 2025. Poured into an Alvinne teku glass.
Appearance: A hazy orange red rusty colour with a half finger beige head that had decent retention and left some nice lacing.
Aroma: Tart, sweet, cherry, cherry pip, grape skin, acetone, with hints of raspberry yoghurt.
Taste: Sour, tart, cherry, cherry pie, strawberries, wood, with notes of vinegar.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Nice cherry flavours that are well balanced. I can’t help but wonder what this tasted like fresh.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Carbon Brews, Hong Kong, Stout - Imperial

Carbon Brews Choco Rainforest

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Brewery: Carbon Brews
Country: Hong Kong
ABV: 10.1%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Bottle 85 of 300. 80 IBUs. Malts – Oats, Wheat, Marris Otter, Carafa 2, Carafa S3, Caramunich, Chocolate, Amber and Abbey. Hops – Chinook and EKG. Yeast – Chico. Experience – Rich, chocolate, vanilla

Brewer Description: (from bottle) b.a. imperial stout.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.92
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.8

Intro: A 650ml bottle, bottle 85 of 300, bottled on 9th July 2019 and with a best before date on 9th July 2021. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: It poured black in colour with a half finger brown head that dissipated fairly quickly and left spotty lacing.
Aroma: Vanilla, chocolate, bourbon, with notes of caramel.
Taste: Chocolate, bourbon, oak, vanilla, with light notes of licorice and raisin.
Mouthfeel: Surprisingly only medium to light bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Enjoyable Imperial Stout with good flavours, although body was much lighter than expected.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgian Quadrupel, Hong Kong, Young Master Brewery

Young Master Mio

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Brewery: Young Master Brewery
Country: Hong Kong
ABV: 9.5%
Style: Belgian Quadrupel
Other Notes: 2016 vintage. Bottle 702 of 940

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Whiskey barrel aged Belgian Quadrupel.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.07
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.9

Intro: A 750ml corked, caged and paper wrapped bottle. 2016 vintage. Bottle 702 of 940. Poured into a Chimay goblet glass.
Appearance: A cloudy dark brown colour with a one finger beige/tanned head that had good retention, but eventually settled to a creamy replenishing cap, while leaving some nice curtain like lacing.
Aroma: Sweet, whiskey, oak, vanilla, caramel, cream, with notes of dark fruit, berries, plum, raisin.
Taste: Sweet dark malt, lots of vanilla, oak, caramel, whiskey, with hints of dark fruit, berries, plum, raisin, and a boozy warming finish.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, full bodied with soft to moderate carbonation.
Overall: An enjoyable sipper. I think it’s aged well compared to when I last tried it two years ago. Good to open in winter with the warmth it provides, but I suppose an air conditioner works too. Perhaps would have preferred more dark fruit, but that was easily overpowered by the whiskey, vanilla and caramel.