Category Archives: 4 – Good (buy)

4 - Good (buy), Australia, Barleywine - English, Beer Reviews, Moon Dog Craft Brewery

Moon Dog The Duke of Chifley

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Brewery: Moon Dog Craft Brewery
Country: Australia
ABV: 12.2%
Style: Barleywine – English
Other Notes: Malt – Maris Otter, CaraMunich T2 and CaraAroma. Hops – Fuggles. Yeast – English

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Barley Wine. Aged in whisky barrels from our mates STARWARD.

(from website) This is one for the history books! Brewed in our humble Duke Street brewery in Abbotsford before being loaded up and shipped off to our fancy new brewery in Chifley Drive Preston to be barrel aged and packed. The Duke of Chifley carries with it the flavour and history of Moon Dog. The Duke of Chifley is a big, boozy, barrel-aged barley wine that is deep burnt sienna in appearance. It’s been aged in fresh Starward Whisky barrels for over twelve months, which along with the base beer, creates an unbelievably delicious golden syrup-y flavour and aroma.

My rating: 4+
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.43
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.3

Intro: A 650ml black waxed bottle, bottled on 25th January 2021. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: A nice dark copper orange colour with a thin beige head that had decent retention while leaving some nice spotty lacing.
Aroma: Sweet malt, caramel, brown sugar, dried dark fruit, figs, whisky.
Taste: Moderately sweet, caramel, butterscotch, vanilla, whisky, with notes of dried dark fruit, and a touch of bitterness.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, smooth, full bodied, with soft carbonation.
Overall: The sweetness is there, but not overly so, as it’s balanced with just the right amount of bitterness. Just a wonderful sipper with nice flavours.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Burning Sky Brewery, England, Farmhouse Saison - Fruit

Burning Sky Cherry Saison

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Brewery: Burning Sky Brewery
Country: England
ABV: 6.8%
Style: Farmhouse Saison – Fruit

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Sour Morello cherries from Kent were delivered to us fresh and added to a nine month old foudre aged saison. Further ageing and refermentation has drawn out a beautiful colour and complexity of cherry fruit, almond and oak flavours.

My rating: 4+
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.39
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 750ml corked and capped bottle, bottled on 23rd August 2021, with a best before date of 23rd August 2031. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A very nice pinkish orange colour with a just over one finger white head that had good retention and eventually settled to a thin cap, while leaving nice lacing.
Aroma: Sweet and tart cherry, candied grapefruit, light funk, with a touch of almond and oak.
Taste: Tart, funky, sour candy cherry, candied grapefruit, with notes of lemon and oak.
Mouthfeel: Crisp, refreshing, light bodied with high carbonation.
Overall: Really refreshing with a good balance of sweet, sour and funk. Especially great on a hot summer day.

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

3 Fonteinen Blauwe Bosbes

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Brewery: Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen
Country: Belgium
ABV: 7.6%
Style: Lambic – Fruit
Other Notes: Blend°45, Season 18/19. Number of bottles – 934

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Mid September 2018, we received 500 kilos of wild blueberries, foraged in the Swedish forests. For this blend, we let 250 kilos macerate for 5 months and 5 days on 210 litres of young traditional 3 Fonteinen lambic and in an oak barrel. The berry lambic was then blended with young lambic and a bit of fresh lambic wort for a continued fermentation in the bottle. Natural fruit without addition of juices, sirops or sugars. Unfiltered and unpasteurised.

The final fruit intensity is 351 grams of blueberries per litre of Blauwe Bosbes lambik. 100% 3 Fonteinen. # of bottles: 934.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.16
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, blend°45, season 18/19, bottled on 25th February 2019. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A reddish purple colour with a two finger pinkish head that had excellent retention and left nice lacing.
Aroma: Funky, barnyard, blueberry, leather, bandaid, wood, and a touch herbal.
Taste: Tart, blueberry, funky, barnyard, blueberry skin, cherry, grass, oak and a splash of lemon.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, medium bodied, with moderate carbonation.
Overall: This was nice and enjoyable. I got some bandaid in the aroma, more so when it was cold, but it wasn’t over the top. While the flavour had a nice balance between the blueberries, funk and oak.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Gueuzerie Tilquin x Brasserie Artisanale de Rulles, Lambic - non-Lambic Blends

Tilquin x Rulles Rullquin

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Brewery: Gueuzerie Tilquin x Brasserie Artisanale de Rulles
Country: Belgium
ABV: 7%
Style: Lambic – non-Lambic Blends
Other Notes: 2019-2020

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Beer of mixed fermentation, the Rullquin is obtained from a blending of 7/8 of Rulles Brune and 1/8 of 1 year old lambics, which has matured for 8 months on oak barrels. Unfiltered and unpasteurized, this beer is refermented for 6 months in the bottle.

My rating: 4-
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.96
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.9

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, with a neck label of 2019-2020, and a best before date of 12th March 2030. Poured into a Tilquin stemmed glass.
Appearance: Dark brown in colour with a copper hue and a very nice two finger beige head that had pretty good retention and left lots of nice lacing.
Aroma: Tart, green apple, dried cherries, light roast, cocoa, caramel, and a slight hazelnut nuttiness.
Taste: Tart, green apple, grapes, vinegar, dried cherry, caramel, cocoa, milk chocolate, with very light roasty notes.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: This was blended well with interesting aroma and flavours, and was enjoyable to drink.

4 - Good (buy), AleSmith Brewing Company, Beer Reviews, Stout - Imperial, USA

AleSmith Speedway Stout – Hawaiian

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Brewery: AleSmith Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 12%
Style: Stout – Imperial
Other Notes: Imperial Stout with Coconut, Vanilla, and Ka’u Coffee

Brewer Description: (from bottle) We often use Speedway Stout as a jet-black canvas for homages to things we hold dear, whether it’s artisan coffee, a favourite edible or sumptuous flavor combination. The most recent variation of our celebrated imperial stout honors the culinary character of the Hawaiian Islands by combining the lush sweetness of coconut with vanilla and Ka’u coffee. Named after the region of Hawaii from which it hails, Ka’u is produced from some of the world’s rarest coffee beans. Slow-grown beneficiaries of nutrient-rich volcanic soil and idyllic climate, Ka’u offers nuances of caramel and hazelnut plus a soft floral character, all of which marry seamlessly with natural sweetness from the vanilla and coconut as well as Speedway Stout’s inherently rich, chocolaty character. Say aloha to something truly exceptional and evocative of its namesake isles.

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

Intro: A 750ml foiled bottle, with no clear bottled on or best before date. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Black in colour with a half finger tanned head that dissipated fairly quickly, but left lots of nice spotty lacing.
Aroma: Roasty, milk chocolate, vanilla, coconut, coffee.
Taste: Roasted malts, lightly sweet, lightly bitter, coffee, vanilla, chocolate, molasses, with notes of coconut.
Mouthfeel: Smooth, creamy, medium to full bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Really enjoyable and an excellent sipper. I guess without pineapple, it doesn’t really feel ‘Hawaiian’ to me, especially since the coconut is not as strong as the vanilla. But still, nice aroma and flavours while being super smooth, and just a great variant.