Category Archives: 4 – Good (buy)

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Jack’s Abby Brewing, Lager - IPL (India Pale), USA

Jack’s Abby Hoponius Union

Tuesday, 8 September 2015 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Jack’s Abby Brewing
Country: USA
ABV: 6.7%
Style: American IPL
Other Notes: 65 IBUs.

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Hoponius Union harmoniously combines lager yeast fermentation and West Coast IPA hops. Our India style Pale Lager is like a traditional IPA but with a twist – it’s fermented cold and aged for extended periods. A blend of classic American hops creates a huge tropical fruit and citrusy hop aroma. A dry finish accentuates the pleasant bitterness and hop profile. Hoponius Union uses locally sourced ingredients.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.16
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 12 fl oz bottle with a manufacturing date of 1st December 2014 and poured into a pint glass (although I’d consider using an IPA glass for this next time).
Appearance: The beer poured a slightly hazy golden orange colour with a less than one finger white head that leaves some spotty lacing.
Aroma: Mainly citrus zest hops followed by some tropical mango and light pepperiness.
Taste: Light caramel malt flavours followed by some nice bitter citrus and grassy hops… orange and piney finish.
Mouthfeel: Crisp and dry, light to medium bodied with medium carbonation.
Overall: I am impressed. The world needs more lagers like this. It is far and away the best lager I’ve tried, and a very good example of what can and should be done with lagers.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgian Witbier, Clown Shoes Beer, USA

Clown Shoes Clementine

Wednesday, 2 September 2015 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Clown Shoes Beer
Country: USA
ABV: 6%
Style: Belgian Witbier
Other Notes: Brewed and bottled by Mercury Brewing Co., Ipswich, MA.

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Clementine is a beer conceived in a dream, in the middle of a blistering beatdown of a day. We used clementine essence, sweet orange peel, coriander and summit hops to smack that mean day upside the head with a refreshing clown shoe.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.76
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.7

Intro: A 12 fl oz bottle with a bottled on date of 2nd January 2015 and poured into a pint glass.
Appearance: The beer poured a hazy orangey amber colour with a just over one finger white head that dissipated quite quickly leaving a very thin foamy layer.
Aroma: Strong citrus and sweet orange in the smell with hints of coriander and grass.
Taste: Definitely very orangey with citrus orange, orange peel and mandarin shining through. Hints of coriander and pine then a slight spicy but peppery finish.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with high carbonation.
Overall: A good witbier that I would probably buy again. Admittedly I was iffy when I smelt the strong orange aromas, as I did not enjoy the other really orangey witbier that I’ve tried. But this was much better and restored my confidence somewhat on orange flavoured beers.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgian Witbier, Brasseries Kronenbourg, France

Kronenbourg 1664 Blanc

Sunday, 23 August 2015 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Brasseries Kronenbourg
Country: France
ABV: 5%
Style: Belgian Witbier

Brewer Description: (from website) Brewed with a hint of citrus and coriander spice, Blanc has an inimitable sweet and refreshing flavor that makes it special amongst all the other wheat beers (white beers).

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.13
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.8

Intro: A 330ml blue bottle with a best before date of April 2016 and poured into a pint glass.
Appearance: Poured a hazy straw yellow with a slightly more than one finger white head that dissipates within a minute leaving stringy lacing.
Aroma: Fruity aromas of orange, banana and peach with honey floating about and a light citrusy lemon wheat backbone.
Taste: Flavours are mainly peachy with hints of fruity lemon, banana and apricot.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with medium carbonation.
Overall: Light, crisp and very easy to drink. It is refreshing on a hot summers day with the nice peachy flavours.

4 - Good (buy), American IPA, Beer Reviews, Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, USA

Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA

Friday, 14 August 2015 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
Country: USA
ABV: 7.2%
Style: American IPA
Other Notes: 65 IBUs

Brewer Description: (from bottle) At Sierra Nevada we take hops seriously. Torpedo Extra IPA starts with the world’s finest whole-cone hops and intensifies their flavors with a little magic from our “Hop Torpedo”. The torpedo is a revolutionary method of dry hopping that brings this beer alive with a rush of complex hop aromas and flavors not found in any other beer.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.12
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 12 fl oz bottle with a packaged date of 14th May 2015 and poured into a Spiegelau IPA glass.
Appearance: The beer poured a very nice deep clear copper colour with a one and a half finger slightly off white head that dissipates slowly to a thin soapy layer while leaving some nice stringy lacing.
Aroma: Pine and citrus grapefruit dominate with a hint of orange.
Taste: Sweet malts, caramel to start followed by citrus grapefruit and pine and hints of tropical fruits.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with medium to high carbonation.
Overall: A nice IPA that is crisp and refreshing. I would buy this again.

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

To Øl First Frontier IPA

Tuesday, 4 August 2015 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: To Øl
Country: Denmark
ABV: 7.1%
Style: American IPA
Other Notes: Hops – Warrior, Simcoe, Centennial. Brewed at De Proef Brouwerij, Belgium.

Brewer Description: (from website) First Frontier” We all got pieces of crazy in us, some bigger pieces than other” The thing about First Frontier is the hops. Easy… This is an IPA “the American way”, no sticky-sweet malt profile, just the real deal potent and aromatic hops. The result is a refreshingly dry, fresh and bitter IPA, heavily dryhopped with the three American hop varieties warrior, simcoe and centennial, dealing a punch of citrus, peach and grapefruit from the deepest of our hearts directly to ya face. Just added a bit of caramel malt; merely to harness and balance the alcohol.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.87
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.7

Intro: A 330ml bottle dated best before 1st October 2016 and poured into an IPA glass.
Appearance: The beer poured a slightly hazy golden orange with a huge cream head that dissipated slowly leaving lots of stringy lacing.
Aroma: Piney hops with some pineapple and citrus grapefruit. Light caramel malts to finish.
Taste: Taste follows the nose with citrus grapefruit and caramel dominating followed by a piney hop finish.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with light to medium carbonation.
Overall: This IPA is worth a try. While not at the top of its style, it is still very refreshing on a hot summer day.

words of another dreamy traveller