Category Archives: 4 – Good (buy)

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Stone Brewing Co., Stout - Imperial, USA

Stone Americano Stout

Monday, 14 March 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Stone Brewing Co.
Country: USA
ABV: 8.7%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: 65 IBUs. Hops – Amarillo, Cascade, Chinook and Columbus. A decidedly American Imperial Stout with espresso.

Brewer Description: (from bottle) The coffee notes in Stone Americano Stout are bold, rich and full of American swagger. We incorporated a mother lode of artisanal espresso beans into the mash and added in Columbus, Chinook, Amarillo and Cascade hops to invigorate the coffee taste with a slight citrus and resin hop presence.

Coffee roasting, like artisanal brewing, has risen to be a true art form in recent decades. Techniques that blend art, science and ingenuity have allowed roasters to create coffees that offer incredible depth, complexity and nuance. When it came to selecting our coffee, we chose San Diego roasters Ryan Bros. Coffee. These are the same guys who contributed their art to our sought-after 2013 Stone ESPRESSO Imperial Russian Stout. Their fantastic espresso helped us achieve the perfect match to our beer, one that’s certain to satisfy your coffee fixation. Rest assured… not a single decaf bean was used in the process.

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

Intro: A 12 fl oz bottle with a bottled on 22nd January 2016 date. Poured into a Moonzen teku glass.
Appearance: It poured an extremely dark brown with a one finger tanned head that had good retention and left only a little lacing.
Aroma: Strong espresso aromas and sweet chocolate/mocha with a hint of cinnamon and coconut.
Taste: Espresso and dark chocolate. There was a bit of sweetness midway through, but the finish was a nice long lasting bitterness.
Mouthfeel: Mid to full bodied with low carbonation.
Overall: A nice Imperial Stout with coffee that has a wonderful lasting bitter finish. I think my one gripe is that it was not as full bodied as it could have been.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Deschutes Brewery, IPA - White, USA

Deschutes Chainbreaker White IPA

Wednesday, 9 March 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Deschutes Brewery
Country: USA
ABV: 5.6%
Style: IPA – White
Other Notes: 55 IBUs. Malts – Pilsner, Wheat, Unmalted Wheat. Hops – Bravo, Centennial, Cascade and Amarillo.

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Bright citrus and coriander notes of a traditional wit beer, with a refreshing hop kick.

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

Intro: A 12 fl oz bottle with a best by date of 13th May 2016 and poured into a Duvel tulip glass.
Appearance: It poured a cloudy pale golden colour with a one finger white head that dissipated quickly but leaves some nice lacing.
Aroma: Strong banana and bubblegum sweetness followed closely by some citrus and coriander.
Taste: Much like the aroma, there is strong banana, honey and bubblegum sweetness followed by some citrus orange and coriander and finishes with a light but lingering lemon zest bitterness.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with mid to high carbonation.
Overall: A good mix of Witbier and IPA. This was extremely drinkable and refreshing. I could definitely see myself drinking this quite a lot during hot summers.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Farmhouse Saison, Prairie Artisan Ales x Saint Somewhere Brewing Company, USA

Prairie x Saint Somewhere Prairie Somewhere

Monday, 7 March 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Prairie Artisan Ales x Saint Somewhere Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 7%
Style: Belgian Saison
Other Notes: 20 IBUs. Brewed and bottled by Krebs Brewing Co., Krebs, Oklahoma.

Brewer Description: (from website) Prairie Somewhere is a blend of golden farmhouse ale and a sour ale. Citrus fruit is used in the kettle to add intense orange and lime notes.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.23
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 16.9 fl oz (500ml) bottle with a Julian bottled on date of 10615, meaning it was bottled on 16th April 2015. It was poured into a Duvel tulip glass.
Appearance: It poured a cloudy copper dark orange colour with a one finger off white head that dissipates fairly quickly. Not much lacing.
Aroma: Tart, funky, barnyard, apple and lime.
Taste: Sour tartness, lemon juice, orange and a strong lime finish.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with high carbonation.
Overall: This sour saison style is right up my alley and Prairie Somewhere ticks all the right boxes for me. Very enjoyable and something that I will be looking to get more of if possible. Love the bottle art as well!

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

Prairie Prairie Hop

Friday, 26 February 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Prairie Artisan Ales
Country: USA
ABV: 8%
Style: Belgian Saison
Other Notes: 35 IBUs. Brewed and bottled by Krebs Brewing Co., Krebs, Oklahoma.

Brewer Description: (from website) Prairie Hop is our hop driven saison. This beer is packed with Simcoe and Citra hops. Notes of peach, mango, and tangerine can be found in the flavor and aroma of this beer. The beer finishes dry which helps the hops jump out of the glass flavor wise.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.14
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 1 pint 0.9 fl oz (500ml) bottle with a Julian bottled on date of 19515, meaning it was bottled on 14th July 2015. It was poured into a Duvel tulip glass.
Appearance: It poured a cloudy light gold colour (maybe even a bit murky) with a huge 3 finger white head that had good retention and nice lacing.
Aroma: Tropical pineapple, mango and peach, some grassiness and pear with a peppery mandarin finish.
Taste: Starts with biscuity bready malts, slight tartness with tropical mango and peach, followed by grassy and floral notes, some citrus zestiness and a mandarin, white peppery spice finish.
Mouthfeel: Dry, medium bodied with mid to high carbonation.
Overall: Overall a great saison with nice tropical, zesty and spicy notes.

4 - Good (buy), American Pale Ale, Beer Reviews, Omnipollo, Sweden

Omnipollo Onda Mosaic Pale Ale

Wednesday, 17 February 2016 kitch 1 Comment

Brewery: Omnipollo
Country: Sweden
ABV: 5%
Style: American Pale Ale
Other Notes: Brewed by Omnipollo at De Proef Brouwerij (Belgium)

Brewer Description: (from website) Me and Karl reached out to Onda of STHLM Inkasso over a year ago. With beats and a rap flow like no other he had inspired us to brew a beer. Onda is a smooth pale ale brewed with 100% Mosaic hops.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.09
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 330ml bottle with a best before date of 11th March 2016 poured into a Duvel tulip glass.
Appearance: It poured a hazy dark yellow colour with a big puffy 3 finger white head that has good retention and leaves thick sticky lacing.
Aroma: Very juicy tropical fruit especially mango, passionfruit, peach and apricot. There is also a hint of pine and citrus lemon.
Taste: Starts tropical with mango and pineapple before slowly turning lightly bitter with pine, lemon and grapefruit taking over.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with mid to high carbonation.
Overall: A nice pale ale that is easy to drink and refreshing.

words of another dreamy traveller