Category Archives: 4 – Good (buy)

4 - Good (buy), 8 Wired Brewing Co., Beer Reviews, New Zealand, Stout - Imperial

8 Wired iStout Affogato Imperial Stout

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Brewery: 8 Wired Brewing Co.
Country: New Zealand
ABV: 10%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Brewed with lactose, coffee & vanilla

Brewer Description: (from can) The “i” might be in lower case, but beware – this is a capital beer. Brimming with luscious roasted coffee and chocolate malt flavors drizzled over a scoop of velvety ice cream. iStout Affogato is balanced by a brisk bitterness and bold hoppy freshness, remixed by the addition of lactose, coffee, and vanilla in the brew. As with all our beers, this beer is a very modern interpretation of this classic style.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.22
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 440ml can with a best before date of 7th November 2021. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Black in colour with a just over one finger tanned head that had decent retention while leaving some nice lacing.
Aroma: Coffee, roasted malts, cacao nibs, chocolate, vanilla and a touch earthy.
Taste: Bittersweet, roasted malts, coffee, chocolate and hints of vanilla and earthiness.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, full bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Good sipper with nice bittersweet coffee and chocolate flavours.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Cloudwater Brew Co., England, IPA - New England / Hazy Double

Cloudwater A•W18 Brewed All Season DIPA

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Brewery: Cloudwater Brew Co.
Country: England
ABV: 8.5%
Style: New England / Hazy Double IPA
Other Notes: Autumn-Winter 18. Aroma & Flavour – Ripe mango supported by peach and passion fruit, with a light, sweet malt profile. Body – Full-bodied, smooth and juicy. Aftertaste – Soft peach and mango sweetness, very low bitterness

Brewer Description: (from can) Double IPA is a style close to our hearts and one we’ve worked hard to continually refine. This beer is the result of two years’ experience in developing recipes that are deliciously drinkable at a higher ABV, delivering clean and precise flavours. Thick body and sweetness provide the platform to showcase juicy mango, peach and passion fruit.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.08
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 440ml can, canned on 29th January 2019. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: A hazy mango juice orange colour with an almost two finger white head that had decent retention, while leaving some spotty lacing.
Aroma: Super ripe mango juice with hints of peach and citrus zest.
Taste: Bittersweet, grapefruit zest, orange peel, orange, mango, peach and a light spicy peppery finish.
Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied with moderate to soft carbonation.
Overall: Great aroma full of juice while taste was more bitter citrus than juice. In the end the juice and bitterness were balanced, but my favourite haze’s are all juice.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgian Strong Dark Ale, Hong Kong, Moonzen Brewery

Moonzen Harvest Moon (Plum)

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Brewery: Moonzen Brewery
Country: Hong Kong
ABV: 9%
Style: Belgian Strong Dark Ale

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Harvest Moon (Plum) is a silky and full-bodied Belgian Strong Ale fermented with plums and cinnamon. With hints of tawny leaves and withered hedges, all perfectly balanced to enjoy on a cozy day.

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

Intro: A 330ml bottle with no clear bottled on or best before date. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A cloudy brown colour with an orange tint and a big four finger beige head that had excellent retention and left some nice sticky lacing.
Aroma: Cola, dark fruit, plum, raisins, cherry, roasted malt, smoked chocolate, floral, lemon, with hints of cinnamon.
Taste: Moderately sweet, dark fruit, plum, prunes, raisins, cola, cherry, herbal, floral, roasted malts in the middle, caramel, cinnamon, light bitter finish, lemon zest and grass.
Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied with moderate to soft carbonation.
Overall: Loved the aroma, while taste was nice. I easily preferred this plum version more than the cherry version.

4 - Good (buy), American Triple IPA, Beer Reviews, Grimm Artisanal Ales, USA

Grimm Tetraplex

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Brewery: Grimm Artisanal Ales
Country: USA
ABV: 10%
Style: American Triple IPA
Other Notes: Hops – Citra, Falconer’s Flight and Mosaic

Brewer Description: (from website) Tetraplex is the amped up Tesseract! At 10% abv, this triple IPA is deceptively easy drinking with even more hops and flavor than Tesseract. It’s bio-hopped and double dry-hopped with mosaic cryo and is exploding with flavors of pineapple, mango, gummy peach rings, mandarin oranges, and melon.

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

Intro: A 1 pint can, canned on 21st January 2019. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: A hazy golden colour with a two finger white head that had good retention and left lots of nice lacing.
Aroma: Pineapple, mango, tea, mandarin, citrus rind, orange peel, grass and maybe a touch of pine.
Taste: Bittersweet, peach, melon, pineapple, underripe mango, orange rind, slight onion and booze.
Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied with moderate to low carbonation.
Overall: I’m not a huge Triple IPA fan, but this was one of the better ones I’ve tried. Perhaps on the borderline of being too sweet for me, the balanced bitterness brought it back in line with my palate. Definitely worth a try.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, IPA - New England / Hazy, Toppling Goliath Brewing Company, USA

Toppling Goliath Fire, Skulls & Money

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Brewery: Toppling Goliath Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 7.2%
Style: New England / Hazy IPA
Other Notes: 50 IBUs

Brewer Description: (from can) Inspired by a trip to the west coast, designed to capture the wild spirit of adventure and brewed to be enjoyed with friends. This rich IPA is for those with wanderlust in their hearts and fire in their eyes. Join our Citra, Mosaic, Galaxy & Nelson hops on a journey to the bottom of your glass.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.44
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.3

Intro: A 1 pint can, canned on 3rd January 2019 and with a best by date of 3rd May 2019. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: A hazy golden orange colour with a two finger white head that had great retention and left nice sticky lacing.
Aroma: Citrus rind, grapefruit peel, pineapple, mango, peach, orange and a dash of onion.
Taste: Light to moderate bitterness, grapefruit, citrus zest, light sweetness, mango, peach, apricot and a touch of dank pine.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Very nice and balanced NEIPA with a touch of West Coast in it. Just really great and easy to drink.