Category Archives: 4 – Good (buy)

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

Lambiek Fabriek Juicy & Wild Gros-Elle

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Brewery: Lambiek Fabriek
Country: Belgium
ABV: 7.7%
Style: Lambic – Fruit

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Beer of unique unfiltered blend of self-brewed spontaneous fermented lambics, aged in oak barrels and macerated with red currant and muscaris grape (+/- 300 g/l).

My rating: 4+
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.39
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.3

Intro: A 750ml corked and capped bottle, bottled in October 2021, with a best before date of bottled date +5 years. Poured into a Tilquin stemmed glass.
Appearance: A hazy orange colour with a pinkish tint, and a two fingered white head that had pretty good retention, and left nice lacing.
Aroma: Light funk, grape skin, red currants, gooseberry, rhubarb, damp hay, band-aid, lemon zest.
Taste: Lightly sour, tart, red currant, grape skin, underripe fruit, gooseberry, green apple, lemon juice, light funk.
Mouthfeel: Crisp, light to medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Red currant and muscaris grape just seems to work together, and with each sip, I seem to be liking it more and more. Crisp, dryish, and easy to drink.

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

Mikkeller Black Hole

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Brewery: Mikkeller ApS
Country: Denmark
ABV: 13.1%
Style: Stout – Imperial
Other Notes: Brewed & bottled by Mikkeller at De Proef Brouwerij

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Stout brewed with coffee, honey & vanilla.

My rating: 4-
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.04
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.9

Intro: A 375ml bottle, with no clear bottled on or best before date. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Black in colour with a thin brown head that dissipated fairly quickly while leaving sparse to no lacing.
Aroma: Light roast, coffee, chocolate, molasses, caramel, vanilla.
Taste: Light roast, chocolate, coffee, caramel, vanilla, licorice, pine, hop bitterness.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with soft to no carbonation.
Overall: A decent sipper, probably past its prime, based on my previous ratings, but definitely worth trying.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Stout - Russian Imperial, Three Floyds Brewing Co., USA

Three Floyds Dark Lord

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Brewery: Three Floyds Brewing Co.
Country: USA
ABV: 15%
Style: Stout – Russian Imperial
Other Notes: Maroon wax

Brewer Description: (from Untappd) Dark Lord is a gargantuan Russian Style Imperial Stout, with a reverse cascading head that starts out billowing the color of burnt oil like the Dark Lord rising from the black primordial beginnings. Its resonant vinous aroma has been described as cherries, sweet malt, molasses, burnt currants, plums with a port wine alcohol undertow. Mochachino notes buried within. Motor oil consistency, hellishly smooth yet divinely burnt and vinous. The first sip coats your palate with a palatial charred fruit and chocolate blanket. Alcohol burn wiggles its way down your throat with a thick body.

My rating: 4+
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.36
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 22 fl. oz. bomber, 2015 vintage, very nicely maroon waxed, poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Black in colour with only a thin brown head and sparse spotty lacing.
Aroma: Coffee, dark fruit, plum, prunes, fig, molasses, oak, chocolate, light roast.
Taste: Sweet, dark fruit, charred notes, plum, prunes, fig, cherries, brown sugar, molasses, chocolate, coffee, burnt sugar.
Mouthfeel: Full bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: A nice warming sipper. Maybe approaching too sweet, but the charred and burnt notes do sort of keep it in line.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Brouwerij Boon x Mikkeller ApS, Lambic - Gueuze

Boon x Mikkeller Oude Geuze Calvados

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Brewery: Brouwerij Boon x Mikkeller ApS
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6.4%
Style: Lambic – Gueuze
Other Notes: 100% Boon Lambic. Collaboration between Boon and Mikkeller

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Mikkeller Oude Geuze Boon Lambic is a new unique collaboration between Boon and Mikkeller. Blending lambic from one to three years old, this blend is made in the traditional method of spontaneous fermentation in the Senne Valley, Belgium. This special blend has a distinct twist being matured in oak foeders previously used for Calvados. Ideal before a meal or paired with cheese.

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

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, with a best before date of 22nd November 2036. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen gueuze glass.
Appearance: A mostly clear golden colour with a two finger white head that had pretty good retention, eventually settling to a thin cap, while leaving some nice lacing.
Aroma: Tart, funky, damp rotting wood, dusty, green apple, lemon.
Taste: Lightly sour, tart, green apple, oak, lemon, tea, with some mild calvados and funky notes.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with soft to moderate carbonation.
Overall: A good easy drinking Boon x Mikkeller geuze collaboration. I was hoping for the Calvados barrel to be more apparent than it was though as it did seem a bit muted.

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

Tilquin Oude Syrah À l’ancienne

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Brewery: Gueuzerie Tilquin
Country: Belgium
ABV: 8%
Style: Lambic – Fruit
Other Notes: 2021-2022

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Beer of spontaneous fermentation, the Old Syrah Tilquin is made from the fermentation of 185g of grapes by liter of lambic. Unfiltered and unpasteurized, this beer is refermented in the bottle.

My rating: 4+
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.47
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.4

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, with a neck label of 2021-2022, and a best before date of 22nd December 2031. A nice clearly labelled warning on the neck states: “Open carefully, contents under high pressure, prepare your glasses.” I was prepared, and as soon as the cork popped, the contents of the bottle started to get quite active, but luckily nothing was lost in my case. Poured into a Tilquin stemmed glass.
Appearance: A very nice looking bright red, with a slight orange tinge, and a one finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly to a ring around the glass, while leaving some nice lacing.
Aroma: Funky, damp wood, hay, grape skin, vinous, red wine, oak, and a touch herbal.
Taste: Lightly sour, tart, grape skin, grape juice, red berries, light citrus, lemon, oak, with some light funky and vinous notes.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with moderate to high carbonation.
Overall: Another really enjoyable and easy to drink grape varietal fruit lambic from Tilquin.