Category Archives: 4 – Good (buy)

4 - Good (buy), American Strong Ale, Beer Reviews, Stone Brewing Co. (Arrogant Consortia), USA

Stone Arrogant Bastard Ale

Monday, 5 October 2015 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Stone Brewing Co. (Arrogant Consortia)
Country: USA
ABV: 7.2%
Style: American Strong Ale
Other Notes: IBU – classified. Hops – classified.

Brewer Description: (from bottle) This is an aggressive ale. You probably won’t like it. It is quite doubtful that you have the taste or sophistication to be able to appreciate an ale of this quality and depth. We would suggest that you stick to safer and more familiar territory–maybe something with a multi-million dollar ad campaign aimed at convincing you it’s made in a little brewery, or one that implies that their tasteless fizzy yellow beverage will give you more sex appeal. Perhaps you think multi-million dollar ad campaigns make a beer taste better. Perhaps you’re mouthing your words as you read this.

At Stone Brewing, we believe that pandering to the lowest common denominator represents the height of tyranny–a virtual form of keeping the consumer barefoot and stupid. Brought forth upon an unsuspecting public in 1997, Arrogant Bastard Ale openly challenged the tyrannical overlords who were brazenly attempting to keep Americans chained in the shackles of poor taste. As the progenitor of its style, Arrogant Bastard Ale has reveled in its unprecedented and uncompromising celebration of intensity. There have been many nods to Arrogant Bastard Ale…even outright attempts to copy it… but only one can ever embody the true nature of Liquid Arrogance!

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.15
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 22 oz bomber with an enjoy by date of 9th October 2015 and poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Poured a very nice clear dark copper amber colour with a one finger tanned head with low retention but leaves spotty lacing.
Aroma: Strong caramel malt aromas followed by maple syrup, toffee, almond and pineapple. There were also hints of minerals and also piney hops towards the finish.
Taste: Sweet-ish roasted caramel malts mixed with grapefruit and pine hop bitterness. The finish is a very nice long lasting bitterness.
Mouthfeel: Mid to full bodied with medium carbonation and nice light alcohol warmth.
Overall: I haven’t had the chance to try many American Strong Ales, but this one was really good. Great balance and the lasting bitterness at the end along with the light alcohol warmth make it really enjoyable.

4 - Good (buy), Bayerische Staatsbrauerei Weihenstephan, Beer Reviews, German Doppelbock, Germany

Weihenstephaner Korbinian

Wednesday, 30 September 2015 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Bayerische Staatsbrauerei Weihenstephan
Country: Germany
ABV: 7.4%
Style: German Doppelbock
Other Notes: 32 IBUs

Brewer Description: (from website) Our Korbinian, the full-bodied, dark Doppelbock with light brown foam, wins beer-lovers over with a balance of fruity hints of plums and figs, a dark malt aroma – reminiscent of toffee, nuts and chocolate. Its roasted flavour goes well with smoked meat and fish as well as venison and poultry. Brewed according to our centuries-old brewing tradition of the Weihenstephan hill.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.95
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.8

Intro: A 500ml bottle with a best before date of 3rd October 2015 and poured into a Riedel weizen glass.
Appearance: Poured a clear very dark brown colour with hints of ruby and a one finger chestnut coloured head that dissipated quite quickly with only light spotty lacing.
Aroma: Malty, treacle, brown sugar, milk chocolate and hints of vanilla.
Taste: Similar to its aromas, there’s malt, burnt sugar, brown sugar, caramel, chocolate and a hint of dark fruit like prune.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, velvety, mid to full bodied with low carbonation.
Overall: A very nice doppelbock from a great brewer. Just falls behind Celebrator in my book, but definitely something I’d drink again.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Brouwerij Rodenbach N.V., Flanders Red Ale

Rodenbach

Tuesday, 29 September 2015 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Brouwerij Rodenbach N.V.
Country: Belgium
ABV: 5.2%
Style: Flanders Red Ale
Other Notes: Aged in oak vats with 3/4 young beer and 1/4 beer matured two years in oak.

Brewer Description: (from website) Rodenbach is the unique “Flanders Red-Brown Beer”, recognised as a traditional local product. Mixed main fermentation and maturation in oak casks (“foeders”) give it the same sweet-sour flavour and complex fruitiness as wine. Rodenbach consists of 3/4 young beer and 1/4 beer matured two years in oak. Rodenbach is highly refreshing and appetising: the perfect aperitif!

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

Intro: A 330ml bottle with a best before date of 3rd October 2015 and poured into a Duvel tulip glass.
Appearance: Poured a dark reddish brown colour with a thin tanned head (although on my second bottle, an extremely aggressive pour gave me a one finger head) that leaves plenty of stringy lacing.
Aroma: Nice strong tart cherry and grape aromas with hints of vinegar and oak.
Taste: Tart cherry with hints of vinegar and grape bubblegum.
Mouthfeel: Dry, light to medium bodied with medium carbonation.
Overall: The most basic of the Rodenbach line, this was very good. It was very refreshing, nice on the palate and easy to drink.

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

Stone Go To IPA

Wednesday, 23 September 2015 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Stone Brewing Co.
Country: USA
ABV: 4.5%
Style: American IPA
Other Notes: A vibrant hop-bursted session IPA.

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Since Day One, we’ve been abundantly forthright and fully transparent about our lust for hops. It’s led us to craft man an IPA, most of them imperial – some intense for their time and all timeless in their intensity. For Stone Go To IPA, we are embracing our hop obsession in a new way, funnelling an abundance of lupulin-borne bitterness into a “session” IPA delivering all the fruity, piney character of a much bigger IPA. To accomplish this, we employed “hop bursting” a technique wherein an irrational amount of hops is added during the final phase of the brewing process to coax out extreme flavors and aromas while also imparting a burst of desirably pleasant bitterness. The result is an alpha-acid-rich beer that you can enjoy more of without missing out on the assertive hop character you, like us, crave. So, sit back and go two with your new everyday go-to IPA and bask along with us in the glory of the almighty hop.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.42
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 12 fl oz bottle with a bottled date of 20th July 2015 and an enjoy by date of 18th October 2015. Poured into a Spiegelau IPA glass.
Appearance: It poured a clear golden orange colour with a one finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly but left a lot of spotty lacing.
Aroma: Very nice blend of tropical fruit, citrus and pine aromas. Strong mango, peach and apricot along with some light grapefruit and orange zest and hints of pine. Only a very light breadiness in the background.
Taste: Like the aroma, taste is tropical and citrus fruits. Mango and apricot to begin with followed by some orange and finishing with grapefruit bitterness which is lasting.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with mid to high carbonation.
Overall: A very nice IPA from Stone. The aromas are stunning and it is very easy to drink.

4 - Good (buy), American IPA, Beer Reviews, Denmark, To Øl

To Øl Garden of Eden

Thursday, 17 September 2015 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: To Øl
Country: Denmark
ABV: 6.4%
Style: American IPA

Brewer Description: (from bottle) A salute to the beauty beyond man. An IPA at 6,4% brewed with a wide amount of tropical fruit. As fruity as it is fresh and hoppy.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.24
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 330ml bottle with a best before date of 24th September 2016 and poured into a D’Achouffe tulip glass.
Appearance: It poured a hazy golden orange colour with a two finger white frothy head that eventually collapses in on itself after a minute or two leaving thick frothy lacing.
Aroma: A little dank at the beginning but gives rise to some tropical fruits, mainly guava, mango and passion fruit. There are also hints of lemon and pine.
Taste: Very tropical fruit like, especially get mango, passion fruit, guava and peach. There is a slight bitterness in the middle with citrus grapefruit coming through, but its definitely more fruity than bitter.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with medium to high carbonation.
Overall: A self described IPA, I can understand why its listed as a fruit beer on both beer advocate and ratebeer. It is very fruity which makes it very easy to drink. However, I do prefer my IPAs to have more bitterness at least in the finish, but I think overall it does retain enough IPA characteristics for me to still consider it an IPA.

words of another dreamy traveller