Category Archives: 4 – Good (buy)

4 - Good (buy), Barleywine - English, Beer Reviews, H.K. Lovecraft, Hong Kong

H.K. Lovecraft The Enduring

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Brewery: H.K. Lovecraft
Country: Hong Kong
ABV: 10%
Style: Barleywine – English
Other Notes: 28 IBUs

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Lager wine oak aged with whisky infused. Dark fruit, chocolate, toffee.

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

Intro: A 330ml bottle with a best before date of 15th December 2024. Poured into a Tilquin stemmed glass.
Appearance: Clear dark brown in colour with a copper tinge, and a two finger tanned head that dissipated fairly quickly to a ring around the glass, while leaving sparse lacing.
Aroma: Dark fruit, raisins, cherry, chocolate, light roast, with notes of caramel.
Taste: Lightly sweet, dark fruit, raisins, dates, cherry, light roasty bitterness, chocolate, with a sweetish toffee finish.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Drinks really easy with good flavours. Doesn’t seem like 10% abv at all.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Germany, Kemker Kultuur, Wild Ale

Kemker Aoltbeer Blend 2021-06 (Kerner Grapes)

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Brewery: Kemker Kultuur
Country: Germany
ABV: 8%
Style: Wild Ale

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Aoltbeer is the historic beer of Münster. The base beer matured for 10 months in red wine barrels. For this small batch no. 06-2021 we harvested organically grown Kerner grapes from the Nahe valley. After 2 months of maceration in the beer, we pressed the concoction and let it mature in barrels for another 5 months. Vibrant fruits, acidity and mature base notes.

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

Intro: A 750ml bottle, with a best before date of 15th February 2031. Poured into a Tilquin stemmed glass.
Appearance: A lightly hazy golden colour with a one finger white head that had decent retention, eventually settled to a ring around the glass, and left some nice lacing.
Aroma: Vinous, grape must, grape skin, grapefruit zest, oak, and a touch of funk.
Taste: Restrained, light sour, grape skin, vinous, grapefruit zest, citrus rind, oak, and light funky notes.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Aroma was strong and enjoyable, while the taste was a bit restrained in comparison. It got a bit better as it warmed, but stronger flavours would have helped.

4 - Good (buy), Australia, Beer Reviews, Deeds Brewing Co., Stout - Imperial

Deeds Once More Into The Fray

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Brewery: Deeds Brewing Co.
Country: Australia
ABV: 13.8%
Style: Stout – Imperial
Other Notes: 2023 vintage

Brewer Description: (from can) This Imperial Stout was aged in Bourbon Barrels for 12 months resulting in thick chocolate notes, backed by vanilla, bourbon and oak.

My rating: 4+
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.34
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 440ml can, 2023 vintage, canned on 28th September 2023. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Dark brown to black in colour with a half finger tanned brown head that had decent retention and left nice lacing.
Aroma: Sweet, chocolate, bourbon, caramel, and vanilla notes.
Taste: Roasty, chocolate, bourbon, vanilla, caramel, oak, with some biscuit and nutty notes.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, full bodied, with soft carbonation.
Overall: Nice classic BA style Imperial Stout. Despite the sweet aroma, it was balanced in the flavour, with good roasty and bourbon character. An enjoyable sipper.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Lambic - Gueuze, Publitasting

Publitasting Islay Whisky Geuze

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Brewery: Publitasting
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6%
Style: Lambic – Gueuze
Other Notes: Limited edition (98 liter) – 2022

Brewer Description: (from bottle in Dutch) Ambachtelijk Belgisch bier van spontane gisting, gerijpt op Islay Whisky vat. Blend met traditionele lambiek uit de Zennevallei van Brouwerij De Troch (Wambeek) en Brouwerij Eylenbosch (Kobbegem).

(translated to English) Traditional Belgian beer from spontaneous fermentation, matured in Islay Whiskey barrels. Blend with traditional lambic from the Zenne Valley from Brouwerij De Troch (Wambeek) and Brouwerij Eylenbosch (Kobbegem).

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

Intro: A 375ml corked and capped bottle, 2022 vintage, with a best before date of 31st January 2026. Poured into a Tilquin stemmed glass.
Appearance: A very nice clear golden orange colour with a one finger white head that had good retention and left some nice lacing.
Aroma: Peat, leather, whisky, oak, gooseberry, lime.
Taste: Sour, lime, lemon juice, oak, peat, leather, whisky, light funky, gooseberry, and green apple notes.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Great as long as you like peat, and it’s a good thing that I do. Enjoyable Islay goodness!

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen, Lambic - Fruit

3 Fonteinen Druif Gewurztraminer

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Brewery: Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen
Country: Belgium
ABV: 7.8%
Style: Lambic – Fruit
Other Notes: Blend°35, Season 22/23

Brewer Description: (from bottle) For this Druif, we macerated the ever fragrant Gewurztraminer grape, harvested in the summer 2022 in Bourgheim, Alsace, on one- and three-year old lambik, for more than four months. The old portion accounts for almost 80%, rendering the weighted average age of more than 31 months. The final fruit intensity is 437 grams of Gewurztraminer grapes per litre of finished Druif. Almost 65% of the nine different lambikken were brewed with local cereals. A small part of this blend was also bottled on magnums. 100% 3 Fonteinen.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.23
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, blend°35, season 22/23, bottled on 26th January 2023. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A slightly hazy golden orange colour with a half finger white head that had good retention and left some nice lacing.
Aroma: Grape must, white wine grapes, sweet mandarin peel, light citrus rind, funk, wood, and notes of bandaid.
Taste: Sour, tart, white wine grapes, grape skin, citrusy, grapefruit peel bitter, mandarin sweetness, funky, oak, orange.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate to soft carbonation.
Overall: Good balanced aroma and flavours, with nice vinous, citrus and funky notes.