Category Archives: 4 – Good (buy)

4 - Good (buy), Australia, Beer Reviews, La Sirène Brewing, Wild Ale

La Sirène Cuvée de Bois

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Brewery: La Sirène Brewing
Country: Australia
ABV: 6.2%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: Avant Garde Collection. 2018 vintage. Oak-aged Wild Ale with chardonnay – solera method. Funk 4/5, sour 2/5 and oak 2/5

Brewer Description: (from bottle) La Sirène 2018 Cuvée de Bois is a special wine hybrid mixed fermentation farmhouse ale blended with select French oak barriques of La Sirène Saison. Using our vintage basket press, Australian chardonnay free run juice was brewed into a specially designed farmhouse beer, then blended with our barrel-aged Saison. The 2018 Cuvée de Bois is a delightful blend of balanced wild farmhouse complexity and grape forward acidity crowned by the elegance & depth of toasted French oak.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.21
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 375ml bottle, batch no. 230230, and bottled in February 2019. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A clear golden straw colour with a big two finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly and left only some sparse spotty lacing.
Aroma: Light funk, sweet white wine, grapes, peach, apricot, with a hint of oak and citrus.
Taste: Sour, tart, funky, white wine, grapes, stone fruit, peach, apricot and lemon peel on the finish.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Nice enjoyable grape and stone fruit flavours.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, North Coast Brewing Co., Stout - Russian Imperial, USA

North Coast Old Rasputin Rye Whiskey Barrel Aged

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Brewery: North Coast Brewing Co.
Country: USA
ABV: 11.3%
Style: Russian Imperial Stout
Other Notes: XVIII release

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Barrel-aged Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout. Stout aged in rye whiskey barrels.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.12
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A corked and caged 500ml bottle, XVIII release. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Black in colour with a one finger dark tanned to brown head that had good retention and left lots of nice lacing.
Aroma: Light roast, chocolate, whiskey, oak and vanilla.
Taste: Rye whiskey forward providing sweetness, light roast, chocolate, coffee, oak and vanilla.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Body was lighter than I’d prefer for what it is. I get the whiskey booze forwardness, but I don’t get much of the usual spiciness from rye whiskey (maybe I’ve held on to this bottle for too long?). But nevertheless, it is still an enjoyable sipper.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Black Project Spontaneous & Wild Ales, USA, Wild Ale

Black Project Supercruise Cab Franc

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Brewery: Black Project Spontaneous & Wild Ales
Country: USA
ABV: Unsure as not on bottle (7.5% on RateBeer, 8% on Untappd, n/a on BeerAdvocate)
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: Sour Golden Ale refermented with grapes

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Supercruise starts with wine grapes from locally sourced, family-owned vineyards in Palisade, Co. Once the grapes have been destemmed and crushed, we allow the juice to rest for a few days – developing rich color and depth of flavor – before finally transferring the juice to neutral oak barrels along with our base Golden Sour. The beer then goes through a secondary fermentation while resting on the grapes, and after a few weeks is ready to bottle. Fruited at about half of what we do for Mach-Limit, the stonefruit character from the base beer is backed by bright fruit and soft tannins, yet the beer still shines through. This beer should age well with proper cellaring, however the grape character may diminish over time.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.05
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.9

Intro: A 750ml corked and capped bottle, bottled in April 2018. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A clear pinkish orange colour with a less than one finger white head that dissipated quickly and left only sparse lacing.
Aroma: Tart, mixed berries, red grapes, apricots, oak, acidic.
Taste: Sour, tart, vinous, red grapes, oak, light berries, acidic, and a hint of vinegar.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Nice flavours with a good grape, berry and oak mix. Slightly too acidic feel though.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, North Coast Brewing Co., Stout - Russian Imperial, USA

North Coast Old Rasputin Bourbon Barrel Aged

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Brewery: North Coast Brewing Co.
Country: USA
ABV: 12.2%
Style: Russian Imperial Stout
Other Notes: XXI release

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Barrel-aged Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout. Stout aged in bourbon barrels.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.3
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A wrapped cap 500ml bottle, XXI release. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Black in colour with a big two finger tanned to brown head that had excellent retention and left lots of nice lacing.
Aroma: Roasty, chocolate, bourbon sweetness, oak, caramel, and some raisins.
Taste: Moderately sweet, lightly roasty, chocolate, vanilla, bourbon, oak, light caramel and dark fruit, maybe raisin and plum, also boozy on the finish.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Nice enjoyable sipping. Bourbon may be a little strong versus other flavours, but it’s still good.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Farmhouse Saison, Hill Farmstead Brewery (Grassroots Brewing), USA

Grassroots Brewing Arctic Saison

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Brewery: Hill Farmstead Brewery (Grassroots Brewing)
Country: USA
ABV: 6%
Style: Belgian Saison
Other Notes: Ale fermented in oak tanks with brettanomyces. Collaboration – Hill Farmstead Brewery x Anchorage Brewing Company

Brewer Description: (from bottle) This ale embodies the spirit of perpetual creative collaboration in conjunction with disciplined brewing endeavour. We trekked to Alaska and helped craft this rustic Saison, bringing with us the essence and imagination of our Vermont Farmstead family. Share. Consider. Enjoy…

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

Intro: A corked and caged 750ml bottle, Batch #2, bottled in March 2014. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A slightly hazy golden orange colour with a one and a half finger off white head that had good retention and left some nice lacing.
Aroma: Funky, brett, grass, hay, green apple, apricot, lemon and oak.
Taste: Light sour, funky, brett, grass, hay, herbal, green apple, lemon peel and oak with hints of apricot.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: I kept this last bottle of Batch #2 in my cellar longer than expected, but it seems it is just as good as when I last tried it in 2016. Good funk and brett balanced with some nice fruit coming through.