Category Archives: 4 – Good (buy)

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Denmark, Insight Cellars, Wild Ale

Insight Cellars Glimmering Grove

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Brewery: Insight Cellars
Country: Denmark
ABV: 6.6%
Style: Wild Ale
Other Notes: Danish Wild Ale with fresh apricots and white nectarines. 2023 vintage

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Glimmering Grove is a celebration of ripe summer stone fruits plucked fresh from the tree. Its journey started with a base blend of one, two and three-year-old Danish Wild Ales aged in Chardonnay and Monbazillac barrels. We macerated this with over 600 grams of the finest Bergeron apricots and Tiffany white nectarines from France per liter of wild ale. The final blend features two-thirds apricot and one-third nectarine wild ale, resulting in a harmonious union of sweet and tart that captures the sunlit vibrancy of a summer orchard.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.4

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, 2023 vintage, bottled on 26th October 2023. Poured into a Tilquin stemmed glass.
Appearance: A hazy golden orange colour, with a one finger white head that had pretty good retention, while leaving some nice lacing.
Aroma: Sweet and tart, fresh cut ripe yellow stone fruit, nectarine, peach, apricot.
Taste: Sour, tart, nectarine, apricot, peach, oak, light funk.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Very nice aroma full of ripe yellow stone fruit. Nice flavours too, but didn’t quite match the near unbeatable aroma.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Denmark, Insight Cellars, Wild Ale

Insight Cellars Sunstead: Apricot

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Brewery: Insight Cellars
Country: Denmark
ABV: 6.7%
Style: Wild Ale
Other Notes: Danish Wild Ale with fresh apricots. 2023 vintage

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Our Sunstead series captures the essence of perfectly ripe stone fruits, allowing us to savor the warm flavors of summer all year long. The base beer is a blend of one, two and three-year-old Danish Wild Ales aged in Chardonnay and Monbazillac barrels. We racked this onto freshly destoned and crushed Bergeron apricots at a rate of over 600 grams of apricots per liter, and left it to macerate with the fruit for over a month before bottling. This complex, soft and juicy beer tastes almost like biting into a fragrant apricot, transporting you back to the high days of summer no matter when you drink it.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.04

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, 2023 vintage, bottled on 21st November 2023. Poured into a Tilquin stemmed glass.
Appearance: A hazy golden orange colour with a one finger white head that had good retention, and left some nice lacing.
Aroma: Tart, apricot, light funk, with a splash of orange zest.
Taste: Sour, tart, apricot, orange zest, lemon, oak, light funk.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Good aroma and flavours, but didn’t seem as ‘ripe’ as White Peach and White Nectarine, as the sour intensity was quite a bit more with Apricot.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Denmark, Insight Cellars, Wild Ale

Insight Cellars Pot & Column Kriek

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Brewery: Insight Cellars
Country: Denmark
ABV: 7.6%
Style: Wild Ale
Other Notes: Danish Wild Ale with cherries aged in Barbados rum barrels. 2021 vintage

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Named for the unique dual distillation method used to make Barbados rum, this beer is a blend of 75% Danish Wild Ale aged in Barbados rum barrels for two years and 25% two-year-old Danish Wild Ale macerated with a generous dose of whole Stevnsbær cherries. These special barrels from the birthplace of Caribbean rum infused our Danish Wild Ale with notes of coconut, caramel and citrus, which pair beautifully with the complex dark fruit and marzipan flavors of Denmark’s signature Stevnsbær cherries from Frederiksdal Estate.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.27

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, 2021 vintage, bottled on 21st June 2023. Poured into a Tilquin stemmed glass.
Appearance: A deep red colour with a slight purple tinge, and a one finger pink head that had good retention, that eventually settled to a thin cap, while leaving some nice lacing.
Aroma: Lightly tart, cherry, cherry pie, oak, caramel, with a splash of lemon zest.
Taste: Sour, tart, cherries, caramel, oak, light funk, with a finish that is of bitter grapefruit.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Good cherry in the aroma and flavour, while the bitter grapefruit on the finish is interesting, it actually works for me, and I enjoyed it.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Farmhouse Saison - Fruit, Sante Adairius Rustic Ales, USA

Sante Adairius Long Distance Neighbors

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Brewery: Sante Adairius Rustic Ales
Country: USA
ABV: 5.8%
Style: Farmhouse Saison – Fruit
Other Notes: Barrel-aged Saison co-fermented with fresh pear juice

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Meaningful connections often extend beyond mere physical proximity, and such is the case with Long Distance Neighbors. Beginning as a saison that utilizes California-grown raw grain from Sonoma County-based Central Milling, Long Distance Neighbors was then co-fermented with fresh pear juice from our friends at Mission Trail Ranches in San Luis Obispo County. The end result blurs the line between beer and perry, and stands as a testament to our kindred spirits who share a connected approach to their craft, while existing beyond our immediate region. Cheers to all of our neighbors, both near and far!

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.04

Intro: A 750ml bottle with no clear bottled on or best before date. Poured into a Tilquin stemmed glass.
Appearance: A hazy golden straw blonde colour with a half finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly, while leaving some lacing.
Aroma: Light tartness, pear, lemon zest, grapes, oak, and a touch of funk.
Taste: Lightly sour and tart, lemon, pear, oak, with notes of apricot and funk.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: An interesting perry and saison mix, but probably not among my favourite SARA saisons.

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

Bofkont Olasz Rizling

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Brewery: Bofkont
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6%
Style: Lambic – Fruit
Other Notes: 2022 vintage

Brewer Description: (from bottle) 1,2&3 year old lambic with Olasz Rizling grapes from Hungary. Skin maceration for several days. After this, the grapeslambic went back into a barrel for a year.

My rating: 4+
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.43

Intro: A 750ml corked and capped bottle, 2022 vintage, bottled on 30th November 2023. Poured into a Tilquin stemmed glass.
Appearance: A lightly hazy golden orange colour with a one finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly to a ring around the glass, while leaving some nice lacing.
Aroma: Funky, dusty, grape skin, minerals, oak, and honey.
Taste: Sweet and tart, grape skin, honey, lemon zest, funk, wood, boozy tea.
Mouthfeel: Dry, medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Nice enjoyable complexity with good aromas and great flavours.