Category Archives: 4 – Good (buy)

4 - Good (buy), Anderson Valley Brewing Company, Beer Reviews, English Oatmeal Stout, USA

Anderson Valley Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout

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Brewery: Anderson Valley Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 5.8%
Style: Oatmeal Stout

Brewer Description: (from bottle) A classic example of oatmeal stout: Deep garnet-tinted ebony in hue with a dense, voluptuous mahogany head. Aroma of fresh-baked bread, toffee, raisins, dried cherries and dark coffee. Pleasantly creamy, rich body with pleasing dark malt and freshly toasted bread aromas, finishing roasty and dry.

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

Intro: A 12 fl oz bottle with unfortunately no bottled or best by date, poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Pours a deep black with a one finger light caramel head that disappears fairly quickly leaving some spotty lacing.
Aroma: There’s chocolate, toffee, raisin, some light coffee and a strong smell of something that I just could not describe. Admittedly I needed some inspiration to figure this out and then I saw steamed milk… wow, that is exactly the perfect description.
Taste: Sweet dark fruits followed by chocolate, roasted malts and a slight smokey finish.
Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied, smooth and creamy, light carbonation and dry finish.
Overall: Overall this is a pretty good stout that’s not too sweet. I enjoy this style and although this may not be the best, its still something I would buy and drink to add some variety.

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4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Denmark, English Oatmeal Stout, Mikkeller ApS

Mikkeller Beer Geek Breakfast

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Brewery: Mikkeller ApS
Country: Denmark
ABV: 7.5%
Style: Oatmeal Stout
Other Notes: Brewed and bottled by Mikkeller at Lervig Aktiebryggeri (Norway)

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Oatmeal stout brewed with coffee.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.18
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 330ml bottle with a best before date on the bottle cap of 20th May 2019, and poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: The beer poured pitch black with maybe just under one finger tan head that dissipates fairly quickly leaving nice stringy lacing.
Aroma: Aromas mainly of coffee and dark chocolate along with some slight cognac alcohol and raisin smells.
Taste: Espresso coffee dominates throughout along with a bit of dark chocolate leaving a long lingering bitter aftertaste.
Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied with medium carbonation. A creamy beginning but dry finish.
Overall: I enjoyed this a lot as I regularly drink black coffee and the lingering bitter aftertaste was excellent. I would be very interested to try out all the different barrel aged versions if I ever get my hands on those bottles. However, this is not quite there at Founders Breakfast Stout level which is still my favourite non BA coffee based stout.

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4 - Good (buy), American Pale Ale, Beer Reviews, Denmark, Mikkeller ApS

Mikkeller Peter, Pale and Mary

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Brewery: Mikkeller ApS
Country: Denmark
ABV: 4.6%
Style: American Pale Ale
Other Notes: Brewed and bottled by Mikkeller at De Proef Brouwerij

Brewer Description: Folk Pale Ale (or basically not much description on bottle or their website!)

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.31
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 330ml bottle dated best before 8th April 2016 and poured into a Duvel tulip glass.
Appearance: The beer poured a hazy golden orange colour with between a two and three finger white head that dissipated slowly leaving streaky and blobby lacing behind.
Aroma: Aromas start with very nice tropical fruits mainly pineapple and mango followed by lemon and pine ending with strong grapefruit.
Taste: Grapefruit bitterness immediately comes to mind followed by a hint of lemon and hoppy pine and grass. There was a light malty background throughout.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied, medium carbonation and refreshing.
Overall: This was a great and solid pale ale from Mikkeller. If it wasn’t so expensive in Hong Kong (I’m paying around USD 5 per bottle) I would drink this even more regularly than I do right now.

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4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, German Hefeweizen, Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, USA

Sierra Nevada Kellerweis Hefeweizen

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Brewery: Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 4.8%
Style: Hefeweizen

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Kellerweis is one of the few American hefeweizens made using the traditional Bavarian style of open fermentation. This difficult and labor-intensive technique adds uncommon depth and flavour complexity. Our hazy-golden hefeweizen is deeply flavorful, refreshing, and perfect for a sunny day. To serve, pour two-thirds into a glass, swirl and pour the rest.

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

Intro: This 12oz bottle was bottled on 30th December 2014 and poured into a Duvel tulip glass.
Appearance: The beer poured a very hazy straw gold colour with two finger white head that dissipated quickly leaving behind thin but nice lacing.
Aroma: Earthy wheaty aromas with orange, banana and cloves poking through.
Taste: Mainly ripe banana and bready wheaty malts with hints of citrus and a touch of hoppiness at the end.
Mouthfeel: Light bodied, medium carbonation with a dry finish.
Overall: This isn’t the best hefe that I’ve tried, but its up there and a good example of one. Its very easy to drink and I would definitely consider this during the hot summers.

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

Deschutes Black Butte Porter

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Brewery: Deschutes Brewery
Country: USA
ABV: 5.2%
Style: Porter
Other Notes:30 IBUs, 192 calories

Brewer Description: (from website) With a dark beer as our first and flagship brand, Black Butte defined Deschutes as a radical player. A slight hop bitterness up front enhances the distinctive chocolate and roasted finish. It’s prized for its creamy mouthfeel and intense complex flavors.

(from bottle) An opening volley, this pioneering dark ale signaled Deschutes’ renegade intentions. Its creamy mouthfeel, complex layers, hop edge and chocolate finish personify passion-forward brewing.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.07
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: This 12oz bottle was dated best by 3rd July 2015 and was poured into a pint glass.
Appearance: It poured a really dark brown with a half finger tan head that dissipates quickly leaving a generous amount of lacing.
Aroma: Smelled lightly of espresso coffee with some chocolate and maybe a bit of dark fruits like prunes. Would have preferred a stronger smell.
Taste: Immediate taste of dark bitter chocolate with roasty malts and a slight herbal bitter ending.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied, medium carbonation and somewhat creamy.
Overall: This was a nice porter that I would buy again… if only it were that easy in Hong Kong.

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