Category Archives: 4 – Good (buy)

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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4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgian Tripel, Bierbrouwerij De Koningshoeven B.V., Netherlands

La Trappe Tripel

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Brewery: Bierbrouwerij De Koningshoeven B.V.
Country: Netherlands
ABV: 8%
Style: Tripel
Other Notes: Trappist beer

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Discover this genuine pale Trappist beer with its bitter-sweet flavour, and fruity taste.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.88
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.9

Intro: This 330ml bottle was dated best before August 2016. There was also a bottled date code 09:45 K04B14 which from what I’ve read on the multiple forums means at the very least, bottled on February 2014.
Appearance: The beer was poured into a Chimay goblet a hazy golden colour with a one finger white head which had good retention.
Aroma: Smells of sweet honey with bready malts followed by fruity pear and a bit of alcohol.
Taste: Alcohol taste at the beginning and aftertaste, but in between, there is honey, pear and some slight bitter lemon citrus.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied, medium carbonation and a little creamy.
Overall: It was a pretty good tripel. I liked that it was not too sweet, although the alcohol taste is quite prominent.

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4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Evil Twin Brewing, Stout - Imperial, USA

Evil Twin I Love You With My Stout

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Brewery: Evil Twin Brewing
Country: USA
ABV: 12%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Brewed at Two Roads Brewing Company, Stratford, CT, USA for Evil Twin

Brewer Description: (from bottle) When I copied the famous Even More Jesus, I had to ask myself as an artist, why am I doing this? I didn’t honestly know. It was just an instinct about beer as pure form… in a sense this stout is like a metaphor for freedom – the sum of all the beauty that surrounds me and my perfect contemporary existence.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.35
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.3

Intro: A 12 fl oz bottle with bottle date code of 287:14 (which assuming the 287th day of 2014 means a bottled date of 14 October 2014).
Appearance: The beer poured jet black into a snifter with a nice one finger tan head with good retention leaving spotty lacing.
Aroma: Smells sweet, dark cherry, vanilla, dark chocolate, raisin and there’s definitely alcohol, but nice smelling alcohol like brandy mixed with chocolate.
Taste: Like the nose, sweet lightly burnt sugar, fruit cake, dark cherry, plum, raisins with some dark chocolate in the background and slight bitter finish.
Mouthfeel: Full bodied with light to medium carbonation, slightly creamy.
Overall: I was pleasantly surprised with this beer. It was a more fruity stout than I expected and although sweet, it wasn’t overly done. The chocolate and dark fruit flavours worked together and even though it was boozy, it worked with this style and taste.

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