Category Archives: 4 – Good (buy)

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.

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

Pipeworks Emerald Grouper

Thursday, 13 October 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Pipeworks Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 9.5%
Style: American Double IPA
Other Notes: Imperial India Pale Ale brewed with honey

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Dudddde… we put in like what was it… honey. No, like insane amounts of honey. Annnd… pssshh… seriously dank hops I got from this on guy I know. I think it was like… dude…. I am so gone. Simcoe and some Citra and some Mosaic and what if the colors I see are like not the colors you see… what was I saying? Right, right… L 7. If you put your hands together like that, it makes a square. Like a grouper. Wait what? Whatever… Pipeworks, they brew like the stickiest of the ickiest.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.29
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 22 oz bomber with no visible bottled on date on the bottle. Poured into a Spiegelau IPA glass.
Appearance: It poured a hazy golden orange colour with a big three finger white head that had great retention and leaves nice lacing.
Aroma: Tropical mango and pineapple, citrus grapefruit pith, lemon peel and honey.
Taste: Bitter grapefruit and orange pith, zest, pine and honey sweetness.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: I was worried that with honey added, it would be too sweet, but actually, this was really balanced between bitter and sweet. The ABV is also well hidden. A great DIPA.

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

Pipeworks Lil Citra

Friday, 7 October 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Pipeworks Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 4.9%
Style: American IPA

Brewer Description: Not much information on their website or on the can. Just based on the name and what I tasted, I would venture a guess that this was single hop Citra.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.49
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.4

Intro: A 1 pint can canned sometime in 2016 with the all important month date cut off the lip of the bottom of the can. Poured into a Spiegelau IPA glass.
Appearance: It poured a hazy golden orange colour with a big three finger white head that had great retention and left lots of nice lacing.
Aroma: Strong tropical and citrus fruits. Mango, peach, orange, orange pith and a touch of lemon.
Taste: Tropical pineapple juice with light peach and mango at the beginning, is then followed by lightly bitter citrusy orange pith and lemon zest.
Mouthfeel: Crisp, dry, light bodied with moderate to high carbonation.
Overall: A great Session IPA. Extremely drinkable especially on a hot summers day. Full of tropical and citrus fruit. Could very well be my go to Session IPA.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Farmhouse Saison, Prairie Artisan Ales, USA

Prairie Eliza5beth

Tuesday, 4 October 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Prairie Artisan Ales
Country: USA
ABV: 8%
Style: Belgian Saison
Other Notes: 25 IBUs. Midwest farmhouse ale. Brewed and bottled by Krebs Brewing Co., Krebs, Oklahoma

Brewer Description: (from website) Eliza5beth is a golden farmhouse ale that we aged on apricots to allow sourness and light fruit flavors to add complexity to the beer.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.22
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 16.9 fl oz (500ml) bottle with a Julian bottled on date of 08515, meaning it was bottled on 26th March 2015. Perhaps opened a few months later than I would have preferred. Poured into a Cantillon ballon glass.
Appearance: It poured a hazy golden orange colour with a big foamy three finger white head that dissipates fairly quickly to an extremely thin cap while leaving nice lacing.
Aroma: Tart, funky, wet hay, lemon juice and apricot.
Taste: Tart, lightly sour, straw, lemon, orange and apricot with some peppery spiciness towards the end.
Mouthfeel: Crisp, medium bodied with high prickly carbonation.
Overall: Although I didn’t intend to hold on to this for so long, 18 months in the bottle and it still holds up pretty nicely. Good tart and fruity flavors along with great carbonation.

words of another dreamy traveller