Category Archives: 4 – Good (buy)

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Brouwerij Oud Beersel, Lambic - Gueuze

Oud Beersel Oude Geuze Vieille Vandervelden 137 Years

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Brewery: Brouwerij Oud Beersel
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6.5%
Style: Belgian Lambic (Gueuze)
Other Notes: Aged 3 years in oak barrels. Bottled 20 years before best before date

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Oud Beersel Brewery was founded in 1882 by the Vandervelden family. Vandervelden 137 Oude Geuze was crafted in honor of our founder, and is an exclusive blend of 3 year old Lambic primarily aged in foeders previously used for the maturation of Brunello di Montalcino, the revered Italian red wine.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.01
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.9

Intro: A 375ml corked and caged bottle with a best before date of 15th February 2039. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen gueuze glass.
Appearance: A mostly clear golden colour with a two finger white head that dissipated quickly and left only sparse lacing.
Aroma: Funky, wet wood, musty, oak, green apple skin, white grapes, lime peel, and citrus zest.
Taste: Light funk, oak, musty, lightly sour, vinous, white grape, white wine, grass, hay, lime.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: I preferred Vandervelden 135 over this 137. This was still good and balanced though, and it is vinous, but I feel like I’m getting more white wine than red wine despite the barrel. Maybe some age on this would improve it even more.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Brouwerij Oud Beersel, Lambic - Gueuze

Oud Beersel Oude Geuze Vieille Barrel Selection Oude Pijpen

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Brewery: Brouwerij Oud Beersel
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6.5%
Style: Belgian Lambic (Gueuze)
Other Notes: 2017 vintage. Bottled 20 years before best before date

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Our “oude pijpen” are old barrels of 650 liters that are used for Lambic for generations. The barrels were used to transport port wine by boat to Belgium and were purchased by Lambic breweries. These barrels are between 60 and 120 years old and give a character of old wood combined with expressive flavors of traditional Lambic.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.45
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.4

Intro: A 375ml corked and caged bottle with a best before date of 20th November 2037. Poured into a Cantillon gueuze glass.
Appearance: A lightly hazy golden colour with a one finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly while leaving some curtain like lacing.
Aroma: Lemon and lime peel, citrus rind, funk, wet wood, straw, hay, and a touch of apple.
Taste: Sour, funky, musty, wet wood, oak, green apple, with a tart lemon lime finish.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Very nice easy drinking gueuze, with a good balance between the funk, oak, and tart citrus.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Garage Project, New Zealand, Wild Ale

Garage Project Oh What a Lovely Day Let’s Go Out and Pick Some… Elder

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Brewery: Garage Project
Country: New Zealand
ABV: 6.6%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: Foraged flowers, spontaneous ferment no.3

Brewer Description: (from bottle) The latest release in our Wild Workshop Wildflower series. The concept is simple. Freshly foraged wild flowers are plunged into a light golden base wort of pilsner, raw wheat and rye creating a spontaneous fermentation using only the wild yeast present on flowers. The beer is then allowed to age and develop in oak barrels. Fermented with wild foraged Elderflowers and conditioned in the barrel with Elderberry, the result of this brewery outing is a delightfully tart sparkling beer with a distinctly pink berry hue.

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

Intro: A 750ml bottle, bottled on 18th October 2018. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A hazy golden orange colour with a two finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly while leaving some sparse lacing.
Aroma: Tart, light funk, apricot, peach, oak, and a touch of lemon.
Taste: Tart, lightly sour, funk, apricot, peach, oak, with touches of lemon and vinegar.
Mouthfeel: Medium to light bodied with moderate to soft carbonation.
Overall: A nice easy drinking Wild Ale. Elderflower and elderberry were added but it was largely stone fruit forward, so I assume this comes from elderberry. On the other hand, the floral aspect from elderflower was just not there, or simply overpowered when compared to other elderflower beers.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Brekeriet, Flanders Red Ale, Sweden

Brekeriet Raudhetta

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Brewery: Brekeriet
Country: Sweden
ABV: 4.5%
Style: Belgian Flanders Red Ale
Other Notes: Brekeriet Raudhetta is a part of our collection known as the Specials, made as experimental batches in limited edition

Brewer Description: (from bottle) An elegant and complex red sour ale spontaneously fermented in ten different oak barrels for several months.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.15
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 750ml bottle, bottled in February 2017, with a best before date of 9th February 2022. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A lightly hazy dark amber, reddish brown colour with a one finger beige head that dissipated fairly quickly while leaving some sparse lacing.
Aroma: Tart, red fruit, berries, funk, vinegar and hints of oak.
Taste: Tart, lightly sour, red fruit, mixed berries, light sweetness, oak, light funk, and vinegar.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Easy drinking red sour ale. Fruity flavours were a little light, but still enjoyable.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Denmark, Mikkeller ApS, Stout - Imperial

Mikkeller George vs. Brian Calvados Barrel Aged

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Brewery: Mikkeller ApS
Country: Denmark
ABV: 15%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Brewed & bottled by Mikkeller at Lervig Aktiebryggeri, Norway

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Imperial Stout, Barrel Aged Calvados. A Mikkeller beer not to be missed.

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

Intro: A 330ml bottle with a best before date of 28th May 2024. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Black in colour with no head and no lacing.
Aroma: Roasty dark malts, chocolate, coffee, oak, alcohol, dark fruit, prunes, plum.
Taste: Light roasty dark malts, chocolate, coffee, oak, slight boozy, sweet, molasses, dark dried fruit, prunes, dried berries, and maybe a hint of apples.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, full bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: An excellent sipper with largely well hidden alcohol. I think I even preferred this slightly more than the Tequila barrel version as its not as sweet.