Category Archives: 4 – Good (buy)

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.

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

Omnipollo Mazarin

Saturday, 12 September 2015 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Omnipollo
Country: Sweden
ABV: 5.6%
Style: American Pale Ale
Other Notes: Brewed by Omnipollo at De Proef Brouwerij (Belgium)

Brewer Description: (from website) Mazarin is my take on a “thinker’s beer”. Rather than being big and undecipherably complex I wanted to create something that would calm a hop yearning nerve without fuddling the brain too much. In other words, a lavishly hopped ale of judicious ABV – an Extra Special Pale Ale if you will.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.21
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 330ml bottle with a best before date of 9th April 2016 and poured into a pint glass.
Appearance: The beer poured a hazy golden orange colour with a two finger white head that has good retention and leaves a thin foamy layer with nice stringy lacing.
Aroma: Very nice aromas of citrus grapefruit, mandarin and orange followed by tropical pineapple, passion fruit and mango. It finishes with a hint of floral pine.
Taste: There’s a very light caramel malt in the background but strong citrus grapefruit, orange and pineapple. There are also hints of mango and honey while finishing with a grassy pine light bitterness. As it warms, the caramel malts and pine finish were more pronounced.
Mouthfeel: Medium to light bodied with medium carbonation.
Overall: Wow, this reminded me of Fatamorgana for a while there. Not quite as good in the end, but initial impressions were great. The aromas coming off this beer were stunningly nice and fruity. I would have preferred more tropical flavours considering the aromas, but overall this was still very good.

4 - Good (buy), American IPA, Australia, Beer Reviews, Murray’s Craft Brewing Company

Murray’s Fred IPA

Friday, 11 September 2015 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Murray’s Craft Brewing Company
Country: Australia
ABV: 5.6%
Style: American IPA

Brewer Description: (from bottle) At first glance, you might think only his mum could love him. But once you try FRED IPA, we reckon you’ll fall under his spell. FRED is aggressively late hopped with a house blend of hops from the US Pacific Northwest. A beautiful hopped up brew to be enjoyed with smoky and spicy southern US style Mexican food.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.13
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.9

Intro: A 330ml bottle with a best before date of 13th March 2016 poured into a Spiegelau IPA glass.
Appearance: The beer poured a hazy golden orange colour with a foamy two to three finger off white head that has great retention and leaves nice stringy lacing.
Aroma: Strong tropical fruit aromas mainly mango, pineapple and passion fruit. There are also hints of citrus orange and maybe grapefruit ending with pine.
Taste: Very much like the aroma. The tropical pineapple and passion fruit is there but with flavours, the pine and citrus grapefruit really come through. The malt is sweet and there is only a slight bitterness at the end.
Mouthfeel: Dry, medium to light bodied with light to medium carbonation.
Overall: I have to say, this one has surprised me. It is very easy to drink and I really enjoy the tropicalness of it.

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

Clown Shoes Galactica

Wednesday, 9 September 2015 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Clown Shoes Beer
Country: USA
ABV: 8%
Style: American Double IPA
Other Notes: Brewed and bottled by Mercury Brewing Co., Ipswich, MA.

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Galactica, a hop staff wielding heroine patrols in karate kick mode through the heavens. Her mission: cosmic combat to promote good beer. Dry hopped with galaxy hops, a clean malt backbone enhances the dank and luscious IPA flavors.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.96
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.9

Intro: A 12 fl oz bottle poured into a Spiegelau IPA glass. Strangely no bottled on date considering all my other Clown Shoes beer show it on the neck.
Appearance: The beer poured a hazy dark orangey amber colour with a slightly more than one finger off-white head that leaves stringy lacing.
Aroma: Tropical fruits dominate especially peach and apricot with hints of mango, some citrus grapefruit and light caramel malts.
Taste: A backbone of nice light caramel malts, followed by floral and citrus hops, mainly grapefruit and pine but there’s also tropical hints with peach, apricot and mango. Finishes with a nice lasting bitterness.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, full bodied with light carbonation.
Overall: This was nice, as it wasn’t overly caramel-ly. A nicely balanced Double IPA.

words of another dreamy traveller