Category Archives: 4 – Good (buy)

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgian Witbier, Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project, USA

Crooked Stave St. Bretta Late Spring Citrus Wildbier

Tuesday, 12 July 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project
Country: USA
ABV: 5.5%
Style: Belgian Witbier
Other Notes: Seasonal Citrus: Tango Mandarin

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Artisan ale brewed with citrus fermented in oak foeders.

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

Intro: A 375ml bottle bottled in April 2015, poured into a Cantillon ballon glass.
Appearance: It poured a cloudy golden colour with a huge three finger white head with good retention and leaves nice thick lacing.
Aroma: Strong tangy citrus mandarin, lemon and floral aromas with only a hint of oak and brett.
Taste: Citrus peel, orange, mandarin, flower petals, oak, pepper spice and some brett.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, light to medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: This was nice and refreshing. I would prefer a bit less of the floral element, but it was not a deal breaker.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgian Dubbel, Belgium, Brouwerij Westvleteren (Sint-Sixtusabdij Westvleteren)

Trappist Westvleteren 8

Monday, 11 July 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Brouwerij Westvleteren (Sint-Sixtusabdij Westvleteren)
Country: Belgium
ABV: 8%
Style: Belgian Dubbel
Other Notes: Blue cap. Trappist beer

Brewer Description: Not much info on their website and obviously even less on the bottle.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.32
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 330ml bottle with a sell-by date that has unfortunately rubbed off. Poured into a Chimay goblet glass.
Appearance: It poured a dark brown colour with some small sediment bits despite a careful pour. There was a one finger beige head that had pretty good retention and eventually settled to a nice thin but puffy cap and nice curtain like lacing.
Aroma: Strong dark fruits of plum, prunes, raisin, fig with hints of dark cherry and toffee.
Taste: Like the aroma, there is lots of dark fruit with raisin, dark cherry and prunes dominating. There’s also some plum, fig, brown sugar and a touch of alcohol that’s not overpowering.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: It’s a very nice Dubbel. Great dark fruit flavours and very balanced. Interestingly though, after trying both many times, I am still leaning towards enjoying Westmalle Dubbel just that slight bit more.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Epic Brewing Company, Fruit Beer, USA

Epic Lil’ Brainless Raspberries

Wednesday, 29 June 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Epic Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 5.2%
Style: Fruit Beer
Other Notes: 100% pure raspberry puree (no preservatives)

Brewer Description: (from can) Lil’ Brainless Raspberries is an easy drinking canned version of our big, bold 22 oz. bottle of Brainless Raspberries, crafted especially for those who seek bright, fresh, and real raspberry flavours in a convenient size. We brew exclusively with natural raspberry puree, which gives this beer its unique pink color as well as hints of raspberry bubble-gum, sweet fruit jam, and a pleasant dryness that makes this beer perfect for easy going affairs, indoors or out.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.99
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.9

Intro: A 12 fl. oz. can with no canned on or best by date. Poured into a Mikkeller pint glass.
Appearance: It poured a clear pinkish-red copper colour with a one finger slightly off white head that dissipated quickly but left some light lacing.
Aroma: Sweet raspberry juice with some strawberry jam and a hint of grape juice.
Taste: Similar to the aroma with raspberry juice and strawberry jam front and center. Lightly sweet and tart.
Mouthfeel: Light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: I enjoyed this. It was light, refreshing, juicy and easily drinkable as I finished it pretty quickly. A nice fruit beer. I would have this in my fridge during the summer.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgian Pale Ale, Belgium, Brouwerij Westvleteren (Sint-Sixtusabdij Westvleteren)

Trappist Westvleteren Blond

Sunday, 26 June 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Brouwerij Westvleteren (Sint-Sixtusabdij Westvleteren)
Country: Belgium
ABV: 5.8%
Style: Belgian Pale Ale
Other Notes: Green cap. Trappist beer

Brewer Description: Not much info on their website and obviously even less on the bottle. But apparently this was the basic beer that the monks drink themselves. I think it replaced the Westvleteren 6, a Belgian Dark Ale with a red bottle cap and 6.2% abv.

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

Intro: A 330ml bottle with a minimum sell-by date of 29th October 2016 and poured into a Chimay goblet glass.
Appearance: It poured a hazy golden orange colour with a small amount of sediment and a nice puffy two finger white head with good retention and leaves great lacing. Actually, despite the sediment, this looks amazing.
Aroma: Bready, clove and banana with a hint of peppery spice and apple pie.
Taste: Strong breadiness but with clove and banana sweetness and a hint of bubblegum.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Wow. Actually this surprised me as its often overshadowed by the 12 and even 8, but I really enjoyed this. As a Belgian Pale Ale, it seems to be one of the best of its style and has great balance, very refreshing and easy to drink.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Birra del Borgo, Farmhouse Saison, Italy

Birra del Borgo Duchessic

Friday, 24 June 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Birra del Borgo
Country: Italy
ABV: 5.3%
Style: Belgian Saison
Other Notes: Duchessa spelt beer cut with 20% of one year old lambic from Brasserie Cantillon

Brewer Description: (from website) A sort of “collaboration brew” with the famous Belgian brewery Brasserie Cantillon: an interesting experiment about spontaneous fermentations. Our traditional Duchessa – spelt beer – has been cut with a 20% of one year old lambic from Brasserie Cantillon. The result is a unique beer that extraordinarily merges the lambic sharp and sour characteristics with the gentle notes of Duchessa. A real gem not to be missed, as the former version’s great success confirms. Try it with different kinds of cheese, especially with blue cheese.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.44
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.3

Intro: A 330ml bottle with a nice unique bottle shape and a best before date of April 2017, poured into a Cantillon ballon glass.
Appearance: It poured a nice clear golden colour with a one finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly but leaves nice lacing.
Aroma: Tart, lemon peel and oak with a hint of apple and funkiness.
Taste: Tart and funky with fruity lemon and apple. Not overly sour, and in fact I got a lightly sweet apple cider finish.
Mouthfeel: Dry, light bodied with high spritzy carbonation.
Overall: This was nice and refreshing. I am lucky to have one more bottle, which is a good thing considering Birra del Borgo is now under AB InBev and seeing the lengths that Cantillon have gone to, it appears that, even if this beer is produced again, that it will NOT be with lambic from Cantillon. Therefore if you can still find this, it’s definitely worth a try, even possibly a last try!

words of another dreamy traveller