Category Archives: 4 – Good (buy)

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Fruit Beer, Omnipollo x Buxton Brewery, Sweden

Omnipollo x Buxton Original Lemon Meringue Ice Cream Pie

Wednesday, 4 January 2017 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Omnipollo x Buxton Brewery
Country: Sweden
ABV: 6%
Style: Fruit Beer
Other Notes: Brewed and bottled by Buxton Brewery & Omnipollo at Buxton Brewery

Brewer Description: (from website) This beer sits right between sour and sweet. In my mind it is the closest we’ve ever come to balance. Kettle-soured and brewed with added lactose, it is then conditioned on buckets of lemon juice. Perfect, like lemon meringue ice cream pie.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.19
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 330ml bottle with a best before date of 25th October 2018. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: A hazy yellow and lightly orange colour with a half finger white head that dissipated quickly and had sparse to no lacing.
Aroma: Sour, tart, extremely under ripe mango and lemon.
Taste: Sour, tangy, tart, juicy, lemon, orange and mango.
Mouthfeel: Light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Although it seems quite simple as a sour beer with juicy fruitiness, it is also tasty and refreshing. I feel I could drink quite a few of these all day.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Stone Brewing Co., Stout - Milk / Sweet, USA

Stone Xocoveza

Sunday, 1 January 2017 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Stone Brewing Co.
Country: USA
ABV: 8.1%
Style: Milk / Sweet Stout
Other Notes: 50 IBUs. Hops – English Challenger and East Kent Golding. Brewed with cocoa, coffee, peppers, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg

Brewer Description: (from bottle) There’s nothing like making a beer so beloved that people feel compelled to campaign for its return. So, in the spirit of the holiday season, we are very pleased to give our fans the number one item on their wish lists. That, as illustrated by the avalanche of social media requests, is Stone Xocoveza, an insanely delicious take on Mexican hot chocolate brewed with cocoa, coffee, pasilla peppers, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg. First brewed in 2014 with San Diego homebrewer Chris Banker after his recipe was named the winner of our annual homebrew competition, this beer is layered with smooth roastiness, chocolate and a touch of spice. This creamy, semisweet mocha stout has gone from initially being a one-time offering to a yearly tradition thanks entirely to you. Happy holidays from all of us to all of you… and feel free to continue enjoying it long into the winter months, as this gem will age beautifully and is definitely not exclusive to the holidays!

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

Intro: A 330ml bottle, bottled on 2nd October 2016, and poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Dark brown in colour with a one finger brown head that dissipated fairly quickly but left nice lacing.
Aroma: Milk chocolate, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, nuttiness and peppers.
Taste: Lots of cinnamon upfront with nutmeg and mild chili pepper spiciness. Chocolate, coffee and vanilla follow.
Mouthfeel: Full bodied with low carbonation.
Overall: I was worried that this would be too sweet, but that turned out to be unfounded. The adjuncts were nice and gave it a nice winter/holiday feel to the beer. I would get this every winter and perhaps even age a few to see what happens.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Harviestoun Brewery, Old Ale, Scotland

Harviestoun Ola Dubh Special Reserve 21

Friday, 30 December 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Harviestoun Brewery
Country: Scotland
ABV: 8%
Style: English Old Ale
Other Notes: Aged in Highland Park 21 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky casks.

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Aged in selected oak casks, formerly used to mature Highland Park’s beautifully balanced 21 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky.

(from tag) Ola Dubh (or ‘Black Oil’) is so named because it is gloopy and viscous. This limited release has been matured in casks from Orkney’s award-winning Highland Park distillery to add complementary whisky notes to what is already an amazing brew. It is chocolatey with a roasty, bittersweet aftertaste.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.94
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.8

Intro: A 330ml foiled and capped bottle, bottle no. 00214, bottled in April 2014, and best before end of May 2017. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: A clear dark brown colour with pretty much no head and only very sparse spotted lacing.
Aroma: Chocolate, whisky, wood and vanilla with maybe a touch of coffee.
Taste: Dark chocolate, roasty malts and coffee bean, whisky and vanilla with a hint of sweet dark fruit, raisin, plum and prunes on the finish.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with low carbonation.
Overall: Nice roastiness and vanilla with subtle but clear whisky notes makes this go down easy. Definitely on the lookout for the other years now.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, German Rauchbier, Germany, Schlenkerla (Heller-Bräu)

Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Märzen

Thursday, 29 December 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Schlenkerla (Heller-Bräu)
Country: Germany
ABV: 5.1%
Style: German Rauchbier
Other Notes: 30 IBUs

Brewer Description: (from website) Bamberg’s speciality, a dark, bottom fermented smokebeer, brewed with Original Schlenkerla Smokemalt from the Schlenkerla maltings and tapped according to old tradition directly from the gravity-fed oakwood cask in the historical brewery tavern.

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

Intro: A 500ml bottle with a best before date of May 2017. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: A clear dark amber colour with a two fingered tanned head that had decent retention and left nice lacing.
Aroma: Smokey, bacon, ham and toast.
Taste: Smoked meats especially ham and charcoal-ly upfront before giving way to sweet-ish caramel malts and a touch of fruit.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, medium bodied with moderate to low carbonation.
Overall: A very nice smoked beer with lovely smoked ham aromas and taste balanced with a touch of sweetness.

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

Avery Tweak

Wednesday, 28 December 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Avery Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 17.5%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Batch No.2. Stout with Coffee added, aged in Bourbon Barrels

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Our very own Parker, of the cartoon and cat loving variety, created this cult classic character back in our 17th season. Appearing in several episodes under another stage name that was deemed inappropriate, our executive producers and editors decided that a name change and further character development – a 4-month hiatus in bourbon barrels – were necessary to satisfy our most ardent and demanding viewers.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.34
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 12 fl oz bottle, Batch #2, bottled on 25th January 2016. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: A dark brown to black colour with a one finger mocha head that had decent retention and left sparse spotty lacing.
Aroma: Very nice cocoa, chocolate fudge, espresso coffee, vanilla, raisin, cherry and bourbon.
Taste: Sweet plum, prunes, raisin, bittersweet chocolate, vanilla, molasses, coffee and strong but not overpowering bourbon.
Mouthfeel: A little bit thin at medium to full bodied, with low carbonation. Definitely some boozy heat, but its not overdone.
Overall: A very nice Coffee BA Imperial Stout that’s not overly sweet and has great aromas and taste. At 17.5% ABV, you get the boozy heat, but it’s still a very nice sipper.

words of another dreamy traveller