Category Archives: 4 – Good (buy)

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Funk Factory Geuzeria, Lambic - Fruit, USA

Funk Factory Meerts – Cherry

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Brewery: Funk Factory Geuzeria
Country: USA
ABV: 4.5%
Style: Belgian Lambic (Fruit)

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Cherry Meerts is our take on the low alcohol style traditionally derived from the second runnings of Lambic. Our modern interpretation begins with Pilsner malt, raw wheat, and Saaz hops which is brewed using a turbid mash, long boil, and low hopping rate, and finally fermented in foeders with our wild yeast. This version was then refermented on tart cherries.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.25
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 750ml bottle with no bottled on or best before date. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A very nice clear reddish orange pink colour with a thin white head that disappeared almost immediately and left no lacing.
Aroma: Tart, candy sweetness, cherry and oak with a very light hint of lemon zest and funk.
Taste: Sour, tart, cherry, vinegar, light candy sweetness, light funk, a hint of oak and a sprinkle of salt on the finish.
Mouthfeel: Light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Nice balanced flavours of sweet and sour cherries, and the vinegary bite was there but not overdone. Funk was on the low side but didn’t take away from how enjoyable it was.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Canada, Outcast Brewing, Stout

Outcast Last Minute Stout

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Brewery: Outcast Brewing
Country: Canada
ABV: 7.5%
Style: American Stout
Other Notes: Stout with vanilla, hazelnut and chocolate added. Brewed at Coulee Brew Co. for Outcast Brewing

Brewer Description: (from can) We do our best work under stress. So with this brew, we knew we wanted to brew a bold stout but had no idea what we wanted to add to it… until four days after it went into the fermenter. This stout is bold and flavourful, with a nice smooth and roasty character that lets the additives shine. There’s no minute, like the last minute.

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

Intro: A 473ml can, with a canned on date that really isn’t too visible, but I would guess 1st November 2017, ‘nearly didn’t happen’. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: A dark dark brown to black colour with a one finger tanned head that dissipated fairly quickly but left some nice spotty lacing.
Aroma: Vanilla, chocolate, cocoa, hazelnut, cream, honey with light roastiness and a touch of coffee.
Taste: Sweet-ish, light roast, vanilla, creamy coffee, hazelnut, caramel malt, biscuit, coffee and chocolate with a lightly earthy herbal finish.
Mouthfeel: Smooth, medium bodied with moderate to light carbonation.
Overall: Nice and tasty with good vanilla, creamy and nutty flavours.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, The Ale Apothecary, USA, Wild Ale

The Ale Apothecary La Tache – Fresh Hop

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Brewery: The Ale Apothecary
Country: USA
ABV: 7.09%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: Fresh Hop version. Mixed fermentation ale aged in wine barrels

Brewer Description: (from tag on bottle) the beer formerly known as La Tache. (* wild & open fermented in the woods of OR. * Mecca Grade Estate Malt + wheat + Goshie Farms hops. * barrel-aged over a year & dry-hopped in oak. * OR honey + sour wort + our yeast = 100% natural carbonation from bottle fermentation.)

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.13
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 750ml bottle, batch bottled on 20th November 2017. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A hazy golden colour with a two finger white head that had pretty good retention and left some nice lacing.
Aroma: Tart, citrusy, lemon zest, orange rind, grass, funk, with hints of peach in the background.
Taste: Sour, tart, sour, yup I said it twice. Lemon juice and lemon with a hint of oak.
Mouthfeel: Dry, medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Refreshingly sour, and I could imagine it being way too sour for some, but I like it. This fresh hop version seems to have lost some of the tropical peach, apricot and grape flavours I was getting in the original La Tache. The result is pure citrusy lemon which I found to be very refreshing, especially on hot days.

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

8 Wired Once Upon A Time In Blenheim

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Brewery: 8 Wired Brewing Co.
Country: New Zealand
ABV: 8.5%
Style: Belgian Lambic (Fruit)
Other Notes: Barrel aged for 3 years. Ale brewed with wild Sauvignon Blanc grape juice. 100% spontaneously fermented lambic style. 2014 vintage

Brewer Description: (from bottle) This is the last barrel aged beer we brewed in Blenheim, before uprooting and setting up a new brewery in the North. A 100% spontaneous fermented and barrel aged lambic inspired beer, co-fermented with the equally spontaneous fermented Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc juice from our fine friends at Cirro Wines.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.94
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.9

Intro: A 500ml bottle, 2014 vintage, with a best before date of 24th November 2025. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A very nice clear golden colour with a two finger white head that dissipated quickly and left behind no lacing.
Aroma: Funky, barnyard, oak, vanilla, white grape and a touch of lemon juice.
Taste: Tart and sour, white grape, vinous, lemon, green apple, oak, funk and light vanilla.
Mouthfeel: Dry, medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Maybe the oak and vanilla flavours were a little strong and overpowering, but I think it was saved a bit by the Sauvignon Blanc flavours which came through nicely.

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

8 Wired Snake Charmer

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Brewery: 8 Wired Brewing Co.
Country: New Zealand
ABV: 7.7%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: Barrel aged Sour Ale with blackcurrants. 2017 vintage

Brewer Description: (from bottle) A sour ale brewed the traditional way. Aged in Pinot Noir barrels for two years with Blackcurrants and a bunch of microbes, creating a complex melange of funk, fruit and tartness.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.11
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 500ml bottle, 2017 vintage, with a best before date of 19th February 2026. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A clear reddish orange colour with an almost three finger slightly off white head that dissipated fairly quickly and left only sparse to no lacing.
Aroma: Lightly tart, blackcurrant, Ribena, oak, vanilla and funk.
Taste: Pretty much exactly what you get in the aroma, sour and tart, blackcurrant, Ribena, mixed berries, oak, vanilla and funk.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with spritzy moderate to high carbonation.
Overall: Great fruit flavours with strong barrel character. Just really good to drink.