Category Archives: 4 – Good (buy)

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Evil Twin Brewing, Stout - Imperial, USA

Evil Twin Imperial Biscotti Chili Hazelnut Break

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Brewery: Evil Twin Brewing
Country: USA
ABV: 11.5%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Imperial Stout brewed with coffee and chili with hazelnut and vanilla extracts added

Brewer Description: (from can) Italy has a certain ‘Je ne sais quoi’ – fab food culture, highly decadent history of art and cool countryside. Some might argue the people are loud and flamboyant, they steal our women, the soccer players melodramatically flop on the pitch. Listen – that’s all part of the secret Italian ingredient – keep it cool, confident, arrogant and extravagant. Forza Italia.

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

Intro: A 1 pint can, batch #001, but with no clear canned on or best before date. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Black in colour with a one finger brown head that dissipated fairly quickly but left some spotty lacing.
Aroma: Chocolate, cocoa, roasted malts, coffee, hazelnut and vanilla.
Taste: Moderate sweetness, chocolate, vanilla, coffee, brown sugar, with a touch of hazelnuts and a hint of chili on the finish.
Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Nice chocolate and coffee aromas. Taste has a nice chili kick but perhaps slightly on the sweet side for me.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Burley Oak Brewing Company, Sour Ale, USA

Burley Oak J.R.E.A.M. Apple Pie

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Brewery: Burley Oak Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 4.8%
Style: Sour Ale
Other Notes: Due to the use of natural fruit this beer must be kept cold

Brewer Description: (from can) Sour Ale brewed with apples, apple pie spice, and lactose.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.46
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.3

Intro: A 1 pint can with some kind of date that is smudged out except for the year 2019. ‘Just like warm apple pie’. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: A cloudy dark orange colour with a big three finger white head that had good retention and left some nice lacing.
Aroma: Apple pie filling.
Taste: Lightly sour, tart, baked apple, cinnamon, nutmeg.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: I didn’t think that this would work, but it did, and I like it. Apple pie filling in liquid form with a nice light sourness that goes well with the apple pie spice flavours.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Jester King Brewery, USA, Wild Ale

Jester King Omniscience & Proselytism

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Brewery: Jester King Brewery
Country: USA
ABV: 5.3%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: Barrel-aged beer refermented with strawberries

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Strawberries from Fredericksburg, Texas were added to mature, barrel-aged sour beer and refermented to dryness. Unfiltered, unpasteurized, and 100% bottle-conditioned. The name Omniscience & Proselytism does not refer to any claims of inducing omniscience.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.38
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 1 pint 0.9 fl. oz. bottle, Blend 5, bottled in May 2018. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A clear golden orange colour (from a careful pour) with a one finger white head that dissipated quite quickly while leaving some nice lacing.
Aroma: Tart, strawberry, oak, with some light funk and a splash of lemon.
Taste: Sour, tart, strawberry, vanilla cream, oak, with a touch of lemon and funk.
Mouthfeel: Dry, light to medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: I love strawberries, but strawberries in beer hasn’t really worked for me at all. This is the one exception so far though as the strawberries come through nicely and provide a nice balance with the sourness and light funk.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Firestone Walker Brewing Co., USA, Wild Ale

Firestone Walker UnderCurrants

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Brewery: Firestone Walker Brewing Co.
Country: USA
ABV: 6.3%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: Wild Ale fermented with black currants. Barrel ratio: 95% French Oak

Brewer Description: (from bottle) In 2018 we challenged ourselves to using an array of fruit new to our palates and practices. When offered a high quality, freshly picked Black Currant sample, we couldn’t resist. We present to you a metamorphosis for your senses. Using 12-36 month aged Agrestic Ale as a base, to which we add 1.5lbs/gal Black Currants, the beer undergoes the final maturation in our French Oak “Fruiders” for an additional four months. A convergence of supple tannin and deep purple pigments, gooseberry jam, a mouth-watering acidity and earthy leather elicit notes of a beer having vinous roots. A new variant to one of the Barrelworks pioneers is born. Santé!

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.24
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 375ml corked and caged bottle. Batch No. 001, bottled on 28th February 2018. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A dark reddish purple colour with a two finger pinkish head that had excellent retention and left lots of nice lacing.
Aroma: Black currant, plum, cherry, grape, with a hint of oak and funk.
Taste: Very lightly sour and tart, black currant, blackberry, Ribena, red currant, with hints of oak and funk.
Mouthfeel: Dry, medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Nice black currant aroma and flavours that comes with a very stunning appearance. Very easy to drink and enjoy.

4 - Good (buy), Abnormal Beer Company, Beer Reviews, Stout - Imperial, USA

Abnormal Makaveli

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Brewery: Abnormal Beer Company
Country: USA
ABV: 10.8%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Imperial Stout with vanilla, coconut & coffee

Brewer Description: (from bottle) East Coast, West Coast… Pastry stout, lager beer… Can’t we all just get along? This was originally a bi-coastal collaboration that we decided to make as a seasonal delight; released to celebrate the life of the hip-hop superstar Tupac Shakur. This beer is dark, rich, sweet, and downright delicious. A gang of coconut ran through every part of the process with a couple of reinforcements like whole Tahitian vanilla beans, and a custom coffee blend from Mostra Coffee coming in after fermentation. The result is a dessert-like beer that is great for sharing. R.I.P Tupac.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.02
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.8

Intro: A 500ml bottle with no clear bottled on or best before date. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Dark brown in colour with pretty much no head and no lacing.
Aroma: Light roast, coffee, chocolate, and vanilla with hints of coconut and licorice.
Taste: Much like the aroma, light sweetness, light roast, chocolate, coffee, licorice, vanilla and hints of coconut.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, medium bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Nice easy drinking Imperial Stout, but body was a bit on the light side and coconut was not really coming through strong enough versus the other flavours.