Category Archives: 4 – Good (buy)

4 - Good (buy), American Double IPA, Beer Reviews, Stone Brewing Co., USA

Stone 22nd Anniversary Anni-Matter Double IPA

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Brewery: Stone Brewing Co.
Country: USA
ABV: 9.1%
Style: American Double IPA
Other Notes: 22nd Anniversary. The no haze Double IPA. 81 IBUs. Hops – Columbus, Denali, Hopsteiner #06297, Galaxy, Citra and Amarillo

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Stone 22nd Anniversary Double IPA is a clean, crisp perfectly filtered IPA that reinforces giant, juicy, hop forward IPAs are a bailiwick of ours. Every year we have a special recipe creation challenge with two-person teams from our brewing department we’ve called the Stone Spotlight Competition. This year’s winner “Anti-Matter” was brewed (and named) by Stone brewers Jason Smith and Jose Flores. We felt it was a perfect candidate for our 22nd Anniversary IPA, as it’s not only an amazing IPA, but a perfect way to showcase the deep bench that is our talented and dedicated brewing team. This light amber colored IPA features an incredible mouthfeel from the malted oats. Citrus rides in the forefront, with plenty of fruit character to back it up. All in all, we felt this was the perfect IPA with which to say: Here’s to me, to you and twenty-two too!

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.87
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.8

Intro: A 12 fl. oz. bottle, bottled on 24th July 2018, and with an enjoy by date of 6th November 2018. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: A clear light copper amber colour with an almost two finger white head that had excellent retention and left lots of nice lacing.
Aroma: Light biscuit, caramel malts, citrusy orange peel, grapefruit, citrus rind, hints of tropical melon, pineapple and pine.
Taste: Moderate bitterness, orange peel, mandarin, light caramel, pine and hints of melon.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation and a dry finish.
Overall: A good Stone styled Double IPA with nice aroma and flavours. The 9.1% ABV just drinks really easy.

4 - Good (buy), American Double IPA, Beer Reviews, Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, USA

Sierra Nevada Single Hop Mosaic Double IPA

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Brewery: Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 8%
Style: American Double IPA
Other Notes: 70 IBUs. Single Hop Pack

Brewer Description: (from box) Each hop varietal has its own distinct flavor and aroma, which our brewers use in various combinations to create different flavors in our beers. Sometimes, though, we prefer to strip away those layers and let the bold flavor of an individual hop shine through. Discover the flavors of these unique single hops in this all-new pack of four hop-heavy beers.

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

Intro: A 12 fl. oz. can, packaged on 5th September 2018. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A clear golden orange colour with a big three finger white head that had good retention and left lots of nice sticky lacing.
Aroma: Citrusy mandarin peel, orange rind, pine, melon, pineapple and a touch of papaya.
Taste: Light sweetness, melon, papaya, pineapple, mixed berries, light caramel, citrus rind and a lasting moderate bitterness.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: My favourite of the four from the Single Hop Pack and worth trying if you like Mosaic. A good easy drinking DIPA.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Prairie Artisan Ales, Stout - Imperial, USA

Prairie Christmas Bomb

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Brewery: Prairie Artisan Ales
Country: USA
ABV: 13%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Brewed and bottled by Krebs Brewing Co., Krebs, Oklahoma

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Imperial Stout brewed with spices.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.42
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.3

Intro: A 12 fl. oz. bottle with a Julian bottled on date that has mostly been smudged off, but I do know that this is a 2017 vintage. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Black in colour with a half finger mocha brown colour that dissipated quickly to a ring around the glass, while leaving only sparse lacing.
Aroma: Spice strong with cinnamon, anise, nutmeg, roasty coffee, chocolate and a hint of dark fruity cherry.
Taste: Milk chocolate, roasted coffee, cinnamon, anise and nutmeg.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, smooth, light booze, full bodied with low carbonation.
Overall: Christmas spices compliment the nice roasty coffee and chocolate with a very nice smooth and creamy feel.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Prairie Artisan Ales, Stout - Imperial, USA

Prairie Vanilla Noir

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Brewery: Prairie Artisan Ales
Country: USA
ABV: 11%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Brewed and bottled by Krebs Brewing Co., Krebs, Oklahoma

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Imperial Stout aged in oak whiskey barrels with vanilla beans.

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

Intro: A 12 fl. oz. bottle with a Julian bottled on date of 32117, meaning that it was bottled on 17th November 2017. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Black in colour with a thin mocha brown head that dissipated quickly to a ring around the glass while leaving some sparse lacing.
Aroma: Chocolate fudge, vanilla, marshmallow, whisky, brown sugar and caramel.
Taste: Chocolate, whisky, quite boozy (but not in a bad way), vanilla, marshmallow and caramel.
Mouthfeel: Smooth, full bodied with low carbonation.
Overall: A nice enjoyable sipper. Vanilla while there, seemed lighter than expected given the name, but not a big problem.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, De Struise Brouwers, Flanders Oud Bruin

De Struise Aardnon / Earthnun

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Brewery: De Struise Brouwers
Country: Belgium
ABV: 8%
Style: Belgian Flanders Oud Bruin
Other Notes: 17 IBUs. Flemish Sour Ale, FSA blend in barrel, Vlaams Oud Bruin

Brewer Description: (from bottle) First blend was mastered from existing bottles in 2007 at Ebenezers Pub USA by Christopher Lively and our team. This blend occurred in barrel and has aged for seven years on Margaux barrels from Château Haut Breton Larigaudière. Enjoy!

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.47
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.4

Intro: A 330ml bottle, bottled on 18th February 2016, with a best before date of 17th February 2021. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: Deep dark brown in colour with a ruby hue and a one fingered tanned head that had decent retention and faded to a ring but left only sparse to no lacing.
Aroma: Light roast, cherry, chocolate, coffee, lightly tart, grape gummy candy, fig and plum.
Taste: Sweet and tart, plum, cherry, fig, grape, blackcurrant, jammy berries, with hints of vinegar, wood, light roast and chocolate.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate to low carbonation.
Overall: Excellent, great aroma and flavours. Good complexity and extremely balanced.