Category Archives: 4 – Good (buy)

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, BrewDog, Scotland, Stout - Imperial

BrewDog Dog F

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Brewery: BrewDog
Country: Scotland
ABV: 17.5%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: 10th Anniversary Imperial Stout

Brewer Description: (from bottle & box) Dog F is very special. Before you is our liquid anniversary marking 10 years of brewing. A Decade of Dog. To celebrate, we have done what we do best – brew an incredible beer and barrel-age it to the edge of existence. Dog F is a 17.5% imperial stout brewed with copious dark malts, pure cacao and coffee, balanced on a knife-edge of Habanero chili. Our hottest Dog to date also has layers of resonance from months spent in Cognac barrels. This beer will age with grace or be the centre of the party right now – it’s your call. Thank you for being part of our Decade of Dog. But you know we have a long way to go yet…

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

Intro: A 330ml boxed bottle, batch 170226, with a best before date of 1st April 2027. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Dark brown in colour with a thin beige head that dissipated quickly while leaving some sparse lacing.
Aroma: Light roast, cacao, dark chocolate, caramel, coffee, toffee, light boozy (maybe cognac), and a touch of herbal chili.
Taste: Chili spice, cognac booze, caramel, toffee, light roast, with touches of chocolate and hints of coffee.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, chili bite, full bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Smooth, chili spice forward. Cognac booze is there, but less than I expected considering this is 17.5% abv. The spiciness balanced the caramel and toffee sweetness. Although there was less roast and chocolate for an Imperial Stout, it wasn’t as boozy as I thought it would be, and the spiciness was prominent, but very good.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen, Lambic - Fruit

3 Fonteinen Oude Kriekenlambik

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Brewery: Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen
Country: Belgium
ABV: 5.4%
Style: Belgian Lambic (Fruit)
Other Notes: Oude Kriek but bottle fermentation did not occur

Brewer Description: (from bottle) (in French) 3 Fonteinen Oude Kriek est le résultat de la macération de griottes cueillis à la main dans du lambic traditionnel, pendant au moins quatre mois. La fermentation en bouteille n’a pas eu lieu… Du fruit naturel, sans jus, sirops ou sucres ajoutés. Non-filtré et non-pasteurisé.

(in Dutch) Deze kriekenlambik heft niet minder dan zes volle maanden fruitmaceratie gehad. Serveertips: in een Bourgogne wijnglas en op keldertemperatuur. Laat gerust rondwalsen in het glas om de aroma’s volop vrij te laten. Op uw gezondheid!

(translated to English) 3 Fonteinen Oude Kriek is the result of maceration of hand-picked sour cherries in traditional lambic for at least four months. The bottled fermentation did not take place … Natural fruit, without juice, syrups or added sugars. Unfiltered and unpasteurized.

This cherry lambic has had no less than six full months of fruit maceration. Serving tips: in a Burgundy wine glass and at cellar temperature. Feel free to roll around in the glass to fully release the aromas. Cheers!

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.34
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 375ml corked and caged bottle, blend n°32, season 16/17, bottled on 24th May 2017, with a best before date of 26th October 2037. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A deep ruby reddish purple colour with a thin pinkish head that dissipated quickly and left only sparse to no lacing.
Aroma: Tart, cherry, jammy, vanilla, cherry pie, with hints of marzipan.
Taste: Light sourness, tart, cherry, oak, with a touch of lemon juice.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Nice and enjoyable cherry notes, especially in the aroma which were dessert like and jammy. I think I’m leaning towards preferring more carbonation though.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen, Lambic - Fruit

3 Fonteinen Oude Kriek

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Brewery: Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen
Country: Belgium
ABV: 5.6%
Style: Belgian Lambic (Fruit)

Brewer Description: (from bottle) (in French) 3 Fonteinen Oude Kriek est le résultat de la macération de griottes cueillis à la main dans du lambic traditionnel, pendant au moins quatre mois et avec fermentation en bouteille. Du fruit naturel, sans jus, sirops ou sucres ajoutés. Non-filtré et non-pasteurisé.

(translated to English) 3 Fonteinen Oude Kriek is the result of maceration of hand-picked sour cherries in traditional lambic for at least four months and with fermentation in the bottle. Natural fruit, without juice, syrups or added sugars. Unfiltered and unpasteurized.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.36
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 375ml corked and caged bottle, blend n°31, season 16/17, bottled on 20th April 2017, with a best before date of 26th October 2037. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A clear ruby red colour with a one finger white, but maybe slightly pinkish head that had decent retention and left only sparse spotty lacing.
Aroma: Lightly tart, cherry, oak, slight jammyness, and maybe a touch of vanilla, almond and citrus.
Taste: Sour, tart, cherry, oak with a splash of citrus/vinegar acidity.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: A nice Kriek Lambic, especially the aroma which just draws me in.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Bellwoods Brewery, Canada, Farmhouse Saison

Bellwoods White Picket Fence Batch 3

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– aka Bellwoods White Picket Fence Foeder Blended Saison OR White Picket Fence Peach? (ratebeer)

Brewery: Bellwoods Brewery
Country: Canada
ABV: 6.1%
Style: Belgian Saison
Other Notes: Batch 3, Blended Foeder Saison. (although the bottle says that this is batch 3, there is not much else to go on, and it seems there are some contradicting information online, and to be honest, I cannot really tell if this is the regular White Picket Fence, or a variant with peach added to it. As there isn’t really anything to indicate ‘peach’ on the bottle, for Ratebeer, I went with the White Picket Fence Foeder Blended Saison)

Brewer Description: (from website) A symbol synonymous with Bellwoods Brewery; our White Picket Fence has undergone a complete overhaul and its re-envisioned form much better reflects the direction of our brewery. This foeder fermented saison is the result of a unique blending regimen, before being gently dry-hopped and bottle conditioned. Labour intensive in process, but rewarding in result. What it smells and tastes like: A complex, layered beer with perfect champagne-like carbonation to carry the lemon meringue aromatics, bright hop character, and rich brett notes. Refined and balanced acidity with lots of complimentary citrus.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.43
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.3

Intro: A 500ml bottle, Batch 3. Poured into a Holy Mountain tulip glass.
Appearance: A hazy golden straw yellow colour with a big four finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly and left only sparse lacing.
Aroma: Juicy, lightly tart, funky, brett, peach, apricot, mango, citrusy, lemon peel and lemon.
Taste: Sour, tart, funky, brett, light leather, fruity, peach, apricot, mango, lemon peel, lemon, oak and a hint of pepper.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate to high carbonation.
Overall: Very enjoyable with a good balance between the sour, tartness and funk. Fruitiness was also strong, with a nice mix of tropical stone fruit and citrus. I could easily drink more of this.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Bellwoods Brewery, Canada, Wild Ale

Bellwoods Farmageddon California Zinfandel Grapes

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Brewery: Bellwoods Brewery
Country: Canada
ABV: 8.5%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: 2019 vintage, Barrel aged Wild Ale with California Zinfandel Grapes

Brewer Description: (from website) Farmageddon is our wild farmhouse ale that we’ve been brewing, blending, and aging for almost as many years as we’ve been open. The blending process allows us to maintain a common thread across batches, the aging adds nuanced layers, while the brett and bacteria work hard to create small idiosyncrasies in each release. It’s a refined, effervescent, and delicious beer worthy of special occasions and idle weeknights.

We transferred the beer onto whole Zinfandel grapes from California, letting it age for just over a month before undergoing an extensive bottle conditioning period.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.12
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 500ml bottle, 2019 vintage. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A hazy reddish purple colour with a big three finger pinkish white head that dissipated fairly quickly while leaving some sparse lacing.
Aroma: Light tartness, grape, cherry, lemon and hints of funk.
Taste: Sour, tart, funky, grape, vinous, oak, red wine barrels, cherry and a touch of lemon and pepperiness.
Mouthfeel: Medium to light bodied with moderate to high carbonation.
Overall: Nice and enjoyable vinous notes with good fruit and barrel character.