Category Archives: 4 – Good (buy)

4 - Good (buy), Avery Brewing Company, Beer Reviews, Pumpkin Ale, USA

Avery Pump[KY]n

Monday, 14 November 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Avery Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 15%
Style: Pumpkin Ale
Other Notes: Porter brewed with Pumpkin & Spices (nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, clove) Aged in Bourbon Barrels

Brewer Description: (from bottle) What’s in a name? Sometimes the simplest can be the most descriptive, and in this case, derisive and divisive! After much internal debate (ad nauseum! Bourb[KY]n, anyone?), we decided a single letter change was the best way to embody the Bourbon barrel-aging that adds layers of complexity to an already exquisitely spiced pumpkin porter.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.31
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 12 fl oz foiled bottle, Batch No.2, bottled on 7th November 2015. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: It poured a clear dark brown amber colour with pretty much no khaki coloured head, but some sparse spotty lacing.
Aroma: Pumpkin pie, vanilla, cinnamon and a hit of boozy bourbon.
Taste: Sweet and spicy. Pumpkin pie, caramel, brown sugar, clove, cinnamon, nutmeg and all-spice with notes of oak and bourbon booziness.
Mouthfeel: Lightly syrupy, full bodied, alcohol warming with light to moderate carbonation.
Overall: Wow this was nice. A Pumpkin Ale that’s perhaps approaching a Winter Warmer. Great pumpkin pie spice flavours and good use of the barrel. Its quite boozy at 15% and you do get it in the aroma and taste yet at the same time, I like it, which is rare for me. Perhaps it just works for this particular style. If more Pumpkin Ales were like this, I would definitely go for the style. Good job by Avery on this one.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Gose - Fruit, Philippines, The Cebruery

Cebruery Guimaras Gose

Thursday, 10 November 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: The Cebruery
Country: Philippines
ABV: 4.3%
Style: Gose – Fruit
Other Notes: 7 IBUs. Hundreds of kilos of mangos

Brewer Description: (from bottle) First brewed in the 16th century near Leipzig, whose local water source was heavy in salts, the light, sour wheat beer that became known as Gose gets its characteristic tartness from a mixed yeast/Lactobacillus fermentation. We’re committed to bringing this historic style back from the brink of extinction but with a local twist, utilizing locally sourced souring bacteria, Filipino sea salt, and adding hundreds of kilos of mangoes to each and every batch. The interplay of salty and sour pairs beautifully with the subdued biscuity pilsner malts, earthy citrus zest of the coriander, and our unique combination of dry hops for that little something extra.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.85
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.8

Intro: A 330ml bottle with no visible bottled on or best before date. Poured into a d’Achouffe tulip glass.
Appearance: It poured a cloudy golden straw orange colour with a two finger white head that had decent retention but not much lacing.
Aroma: Not too strong, but what I do get is lightly doughy with fruity mango and pineapple.
Taste: Sour, tart, mango with some light saltiness.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: I like it. It is refreshing, easy to drink and has lots of mango, which I enjoy.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Brasserie Dupont x The Lost Abbey, Farmhouse Saison

Dupont x Lost Abbey Deux Amis

Monday, 7 November 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Brasserie Dupont x The Lost Abbey
Country: Belgium
ABV: 7%
Style: Belgian Saison
Other Notes: Hops – Amarillo and Simcoe

Brewer Description: (from bottle) French for “two friends,” Deux Amis commemorates the ground-breaking collaboration between Belgium’s Brasserie Dupont and America’s Lost Abbey Brewery. It brings together two brewers who have long shared a mutual reverence – Olivier Dedeycker, the fourth-generation Master Brewer at Dupont and Tomme Arthur, the acclaimed Brew Master of Lost Abbey. Deux Amis has been brewed at Brasserie Dupont in Belgium and crafted using traditional methods the brewery has perfected over the past century. It receives its decidedly stateside flavor from the addition of American Amarillo and Simcoe hops. The result of this kinship is a dry, refreshing Old World Saison full of New World flavors.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.04
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A corked and caged 750ml bottle, 2016 cork with a best before date of May 2018. Poured into a d’Achouffe tulip glass.
Appearance: It poured a cloudy golden orange colour with a huge three finger white head that had decent retention and left foamy sticky lacing.
Aroma: Strong Belgian yeast, clove, banana plus melon with a touch of lemon zest, orange and white pepper spice.
Taste: Lightly doughy, approaching overripe banana sweetness, clove, lemon zest, orange rind, honey, grass and pepper spice.
Mouthfeel: Crisp, medium to light bodied with lively moderate to high carbonation and a dry finish.
Overall: A good refreshing Saison that is easy to drink. Good stuff from two brewery/brewers that I like.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Bière de Garde, The Lost Abbey, USA

Lost Abbey Avant Garde Ale

Saturday, 5 November 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: The Lost Abbey
Country: USA
ABV: 7%
Style: Bière de Garde

Brewer Description: (from bottle) From the French word “Garde” meaning something worth keeping. This Farmhouse Style Ale is a most delicious companion to a loaf of freshly baked bread from the oven. Grab a seat on the porch, some soft cheese and a tree ripened apple from your grandmother’s old orchard. Relax and watch the evening arrive as the afternoon sun is consumed by the illuminating moon over the gardens. We brewed the Avant Garde for you, our friends and families. Here’s to things worth guarding over.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.98
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.9

Intro: A 1 pint 9.4 fl oz bottle, bottled sometime in 2015 (as far as I can tell), and poured into a d’Achouffe tulip glass.
Appearance: It poured a clear copper colour with a big two finger off white head that dissipated fairly quickly but left decent lacing.
Aroma: Generally quite light, sweet malt, toasty bread, orange zest, apple, pear, earthy and spice.
Taste: Biscuity, light berries and caramel with a touch of honey, peppery spice and light alcohol.
Mouthfeel: Dry, medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: This was nice, enjoyable and easy to drink.

4 - Good (buy), American Pale Ale, Beer Reviews, Pipeworks Brewing Company, USA

Pipeworks Lizard King

Friday, 14 October 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Pipeworks Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 6%
Style: American Pale Ale

Brewer Description: (from can) Mosaic hopped Pale Ale.

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

Intro: A 1 pint can canned on 16th June 2016 and poured into a d’Achouffe tulip glass.
Appearance: It poured a hazy golden colour with a just under two finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly but left wonderful lacing.
Aroma: Strong tropical notes especially pineapple, mango and peach with a touch of citrus grapefruit, orange rind and lemon juice.
Taste: A fruit explosion of tropical and citrus. Mainly pineapple and mango at the beginning, before settling to a lightly bitter orange and lemon peel finish.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: A great and refreshing pale ale. The aroma from the Mosaic was especially nice, and feels like it could be an anytime beer for me. Having said that, I think I still slightly prefer the Citra of pseudoSue and Zombie Dust.

words of another dreamy traveller