Category Archives: 4 – Good (buy)

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

Toppling Goliath Light Speed Pale Ale

Friday, 16 October 2015 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Toppling Goliath Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 5.8%
Style: American Pale Ale
Other Notes: 70 IBUs.

Brewer Description: (from bottle) This seasonal pale ale was crafted with a perfect mixture of Millennium hops and Falconer’s flight blend. Inviting orange aroma and hints of lemon flavor in this medium-bodied beauty will make you want to drink yours at light speed!

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.36
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 22 fl oz bomber with a bottled on date of 7th July 2015. Poured into a Duvel tulip glass.
Appearance: Poured a cloudy golden orange colour with a one finger white head that had good retention and nice stringy lacing.
Aroma: Strong tropical fruits especially mango, pineapple and peach with hints of grass and citrus fruits like grapefruit and orange pulp.
Taste: Hop-forward for sure, but very tea like at the same time. Its like a bitter and citrus (orange and lemon) tea with hints of bready malts.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with light carbonation (too light in my opinion).
Overall: A great pale ale that is very easy to drink. It kind of reminds me a bit of tea and makes it interesting. The only thing is that I would have preferred more carbonation in it although this may take away the interesting tea like feel that I currently get.

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

Toppling Goliath Golden Nugget IPA

Monday, 12 October 2015 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Toppling Goliath Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 6%
Style: American IPA
Other Notes: 56 IBUs. Malt – Golden Promise. Hops – Nugget. Brewed by Toppling Goliath Brewing Co., Decorah, IA under special agreement with Brew Hub, Lakeland, FL.

Brewer Description: (from bottle) A winning combination of Golden Promise malt and Nugget hops, this IPA delivers a bouquet of hop, citrus and evergreen aromas, followed by a floral sweetness. Bold, hop-forward taste captivates the senses, leaving behind a pleasant bitterness that lingers in the finish.

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

Intro: A 12 fl oz bottle bottled on 30th June 2015 and poured into a Spiegelau IPA glass.
Appearance: Poured a slightly hazy golden orange colour with a two finger creamy white head that had good retention and nice lacing.
Aroma: Rich tropical fruits especially mango, pineapple, peach and apricot with a hint of sweet citrus like mandarin.
Taste: Light tropical mango upfront which gives way to sweet caramel malt and sweet citrus mandarin before ending with a light grapefruit peel bitterness finish.
Mouthfeel: Sharp, crisp, medium bodied with mid to high carbonation.
Overall: A very solid IPA with great aromas. Taste was sweeter than I expected and I prefer more bitterness in my IPAs, but this was still very good.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Clown Shoes Beer, IPA - Black, USA

Clown Shoes Hoppy Feet

Sunday, 11 October 2015 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Clown Shoes Beer
Country: USA
ABV: 7%
Style: American Black IPA
Other Notes: Brewed and bottled by Mercury Brewing Co., Ipswich, MA.

Brewer Description: (from bottle) 80 IBU’s of Columbus and Amarillo balance a dark malt backbone. Warmed in the glass bittersweet flavors emerge from beneath the west coast hops. This Black IPA was first made as a joke, but we crafted the best ale we could dream of.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.97
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.8

Intro: A 12 fl oz bottle with a bottled on date of 2nd March 2015 and poured into an oversized wine glass.
Appearance: Poured a near opaque black with a one finger caramel coloured head that dissipated slowly leaving spotty lacing.
Aroma: Begins with caramel malts and toffee followed by notes of pine, grass and also some dark chocolate.
Taste: Caramel, black coffee and bittersweet chocolate followed by grassy and piney hops.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with medium carbonation.
Overall: A nice hoppy Black IPA that I would revisit again.

4 - Good (buy), Amager Bryghus x Surly Brewing Company, American IPA, Beer Reviews, Denmark

Amager x Surly Todd the Axe Man IPA

Friday, 9 October 2015 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Amager Bryghus x Surly Brewing Company collaboration
Country: Denmark
ABV: 6.5%
Style: American IPA
Other Notes: Malt – Golden Promise. Hops – Hercules, Citra and Mosaic.

Brewer Description: (from bottle) For quite some time the Amager crew has been discussing the question: which person is the most rock’n’roll in the whole craft beer world – is it Barnaby Struve of Three Floyds or is it Todd Haug of Surly Brewing? In the end it wasn’t really all that difficult to decide since only Todd has played for Laura Dern in a David Lynch movie (yeah, Nicolas Cage was in that same movie, but since when did he count?) AND Todd plays the guitar in both a speed metal band and a stoner band. Add to that that Todd and his wife Linda are some of the nicest people to hang out with. So Todd, here’s to you: “Todd – The Axe Man” – a potent IPA loaded with fresh American aroma hops on a base of rich Golden Promise malt, Surly’s signature malt. Raise a glass to Todd, world class brewer – and master of the axe! Bonus facts about Todd: yes, he DID actually have a perm in his younger days (his wife confirms) and he does indeed love cats an awful lot.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.19
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 500ml bottle from batch #911 with a best before date of November 2015 and poured into a Spiegelau IPA glass.
Appearance: A slightly hazy golden orange colour with a three finger fluffy white head that has pretty good retention and leaves thick sticky lacing.
Aroma: Tropical apricot and peach aromas, with some pineapple, orange and hints of lemon.
Taste: Light caramel malt sweetness gives way to citrus bitter grapefruit and orange peel. There’s even a hint of tropical mango.
Mouthfeel: Dry, medium bodied with medium carbonation.
Overall: I have not tried the Surly version yet, so I can’t say which I think is better, but apparently the difference is that Surly chose to use Warrior as the bittering hop whereas this Amager x Surly collaboration version uses Hercules. In any case, this collaboration version was a great IPA and very drinkable.

4 - Good (buy), American Double IPA, Beer Reviews, Stone Brewing Co., USA

Stone Ruination Double IPA 2.0

Wednesday, 7 October 2015 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Stone Brewing Co.
Country: USA
ABV: 8.5%
Style: American Double IPA
Other Notes: 100+ IBUs. Hops – Magnum, Nugget, Centennial, Simcoe, Citra and Azacca.

Brewer Description: (from bottle) When this double IPA first hit the scene in 2002, the hoppy beer landscape was far different that it is today. Ales offering an onslaught of resinous humulus lupulus were virtually unknown. Thankfully that is no longer the case. Terms such as “lupulin” and “IBU” are well established in the craft beer lexicon. And with the knowledge of all that hops have to offer comes the desire to go beyond bracing bitterness. Fortunately, Stone Ruination IPA has always been crafted to celebrate all facets of the hop – its beauty and poetry, its boldness and might. As craft beer has evolved, so too have techniques for extracting the best and the most out of hops. So we modernized Stone Ruination IPA, coaxing every last drop of piney, citrusy, tropical essence from the Centennial, Citra, Simcoe and Azacca hops that give this beer its incredible character. Join us in cheering this, the second stanza in our “Liquid Poem to the Glory of the Hop.”

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

Intro: A 22 fl oz bomber bottled on 17th July 2015 and with an enjoy by date of 15th October 2015. It was poured into a Duvel tulip glass.
Appearance: It poured a clear golden orange colour with a two finger white head which dissipates quite quickly but leaves lots of sticky lacing.
Aroma: Clear tropical fruit aromas to start mainly of mango, papaya, peach and pineapple before settling on pine hop and some citrus orange peel.
Taste: Starts with citrus orange, orange peel, sweet mandarin, maybe even a little soapy. Towards the middle there is a hint of tropical fruits but not much before it quickly finishes with a lasting grapefruit bitterness.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with medium carbonation.
Overall: Great aromas coming from this beer and although I prefer less citrus orangeyness and more tropical fruit, this was still a very good DIPA that I would continue to drink.

words of another dreamy traveller