Category Archives: 4 – Good (buy)

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, IPA - New England / Hazy, Japan, West Coast Brewing

West Coast The Sheriff

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Brewery: West Coast Brewing
Country: Japan
ABV: 7%
Style: IPA – New England / Hazy
Other Notes: Hops – Citra & Wakatu

Brewer Description: (from website) Introducing our new juicy IPA (yes it has lactose) THE SHERIFF. With the recent re-emergence of The Black Book and the Darkness growing more powerful with every passing day, Hop Dudes turn to new Heroes. We had him wield cans instead of guns because, hops? Mochimune is on high alert for Nemesis sightings, and The Sheriff will stop at nothing to keep evil at bay. Our deputy dude takes a hint from The Prodigy and rides the lactose-added tropical fruit flavor wagon in circles, around the brewery presumably. A revamped hop regimen means a totally unique flavor profile – peach and orange zest and a touch of citrus peel bitterness round out our newest addition to the WCB hazy lineup.

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

Intro: A 500ml can, canned on 14th November 2023. Poured into a winebar glass.
Appearance: A hazy orange colour with a just over one finger white head that had pretty good retention, while leaving some nice lacing.
Aroma: A touch muted, but there’s orange peel, citrus zest, and citrus rind.
Taste: Juicy, a touch sweet and bitter. Orange juice, citrus zest and rind, mango notes, and a light but lasting bitter finish.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: The aroma was a bit muted, but other than that, the flavours were pretty good and drinkable.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, IPA - New England / Hazy Double, Japan, West Coast Brewing

West Coast The Alchemist’s Shadow: Boss 04

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Brewery: West Coast Brewing
Country: Japan
ABV: 8.5%
Style: IPA – New England / Hazy Double
Other Notes: Hazy Double IPA. Hops – Wai-iti, Cashmere & Moutere

Brewer Description: (from website) Everyone has a Dark Side? The Alchemist’s Shadow is the Dark Soul of our Full Hop Alchemist, bound to serve the Nemesis and The Darkness. Our band of heroes must defeat and free the Shadow from the Nemesis’ grasp to weaken him and more importantly to obtain the final sigil (enough gatekeeping already?). In phase 1 The Shadow has potent peach/grape/lemongrass abilities and should be tanked by a Hop Dude with high Hop Burn Resistance. At 75% he becomes Full Bodied (resistant to physical attacks), and equips a more yeast-derived (maybe reduce pitch?) magic attack, with watermelon and lychee tank debuffs and far more heat than any of the previous bosses. It’s a race to the finish after 15%–if you’re feeling the chalkiness/sweetness you might need MORE DOTS (or drop a healer for more DPS) to push through the enrage and get him down. Epix and sigils on the other end, in addition to yet another WCB hazy trip that we hope you love as much as we had fun cooking it up!

My rating: 4-
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.98
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.9

Intro: A 500ml can, canned on 31st October 2023. Poured into a winebar glass.
Appearance: A hazy orange colour with an almost two finger beige white head that good retention and left nice lacing.
Aroma: Juicy, orange juice, citrus rind, tropical mango notes, and a splash of toasted coconut.
Taste: Melon, sweet mandarin, orange zest, citrus rind, a touch of mango, and a slight booze throughout.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate to soft carbonation.
Overall: Good aroma, while the flavours were balanced albeit a touch boozy at times.

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

3 Fonteinen Vlierbloesem

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Brewery: Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6.2%
Style: Lambic – Fruit
Other Notes: Blend°79, Season 21/22

Brewer Description: (from bottle) For this Vlier, we macerated freshly picked blossoming elderflowers on two-year old lambik. For this blend, we did not backblend. The weighted average age of this Vlier still amounts to more than 29 months upon the day of bottling. Of the grains that we used during brewing, more than two thirds were sourced in our cereal collective, mostly in Pajottenland. The hops were, on average, 18 years old while brewing. 100% 3 Fonteinen. Bottle count: 528.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.38
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, blend°79, season 21/22, bottled on 3rd June 2022. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A hazy dark orange colour with a two finger white head that had great retention and left lots of nice lacing.
Aroma: Elderflower, earthy, grass, oak, damp wood, funk, with light notes of grapefruit zest.
Taste: Sour, tart, floral, elderflower, grass, hay, oak, light funk, lemon zest, grapefruit.
Mouthfeel: Medium to light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Enjoyable with good balance between the floral, citrus and funky elements. The key for me is that it’s not overly floral.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Bofkont, Lambic - Fruit

Bofkont Howling at the Moon

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Brewery: Bofkont
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6%
Style: Lambic – Fruit

Brewer Description: (from bottle) 1,2 and 3 years old lambic with apricots from Ardeche in France, blended together with Riesling grapes (2020) from the Mosel in Germany and Italian muscat grapes (2021).

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.25
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 750ml corked and capped bottle, 2022 vintage, bottled on 31st October 2022. Poured into a Tilquin stemmed glass.
Appearance: A hazy yellow orange colour with a one finger white head that had good retention and left some nice lacing.
Aroma: Tart, apricots, wood, orange zest, muscat, musty, damp wood, funk.
Taste: Sour, tart, apricots, lemon, with light oaky notes.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Absolutely loved the aroma which I could just keep on smelling. The flavour on the other hand, was a bit too sour, which might have covered up a lot of the fruit and even the musty funky notes I was getting in the aroma.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Czech Pilsner, Czech Republic, Métaphore

Métaphore Those Who Dance

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Brewery: Métaphore
Country: Czech Republic
ABV: 5.3%
Style: Pilsner – Czech
Other Notes: “Those who dance are considered mad by those who can’t hear the music”

Brewer Description: (from can) This is my quest for a dream everyday lager beer with a touch of magic, deeply rooted in Czech brewing traditions and the local environment around us. A little nod to the olden days when time had a different meaning. This humble yet charming beer was brewed with only organic local ingredients and a very generous amount of raw spelt, then lagered to perfection for over a season. It’s a beer that I am proud to share with you, one that gently exudes a portrait of a local terroir with a sprinkling of magic (for those who can hear it). Na zdravi! Jiří.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.14
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 500ml can with a best before date of 28th October 2023. Poured into a winebar glass.
Appearance: A very nice clear golden colour with a one finger white head that had good retention and left nice lacing.
Aroma: Melon, grains, a touch grassy.
Taste: Lightly sweet, grassy, dry hay, with a nice lasting bitterness on the finish.
Mouthfeel: Crisp, light bodied, with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Clean, crisp, super easy drinking, and everything a pilsner should be.