Category Archives: 4 – Good (buy)

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, England, IPA - Sour, Siren Craft Brew

Siren DDH Pompelmocello

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Brewery: Siren Craft Brew
Country: England
ABV: 7.4%
Style: IPA – Sour
Other Notes: Juicy grapefruit Sour IPA

Brewer Description: (from can) An exclusive double dry hopped version of Pompelmocello. This beer is brimming with Simcoe and Talus, our favourite hops for driving pithy grapefruit notes. Grapefruit juice and zest accentuate the hoppy aromas, while a sensation of vibrant sourness, inherent sweetness and subtle bitterness all combine for a taste sensation.

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

Intro: A 440ml can, with a best before date of 18th August 2022, poured into a winebar glass.
Appearance: A nice clear golden orange colour with an almost two finger white head that had good retention and left some nice lacing.
Aroma: Light sour, tart and tangy notes, grapefruit pith, citrus zesty, with notes of lychee.
Taste: Sweet and sour, juicy, candied grapefruit, grapefruit zest and pith, lemon zest, grass, pine, passion fruit, lychee.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: An enjoyable easy to drink sour IPA, with lots of juicy grapefruit aroma and flavours.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Black Project Spontaneous & Wild Ales, Sour Ale, USA

Black Project Alkali

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Brewery: Black Project Spontaneous & Wild Ales
Country: USA
ABV: 7.3%
Style: Sour Ale

Brewer Description: (from can) Dry-hopped Sour Ale with white grapes and peach.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.09
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 473ml can, canned on 20th July 2021, poured into a winebar glass.
Appearance: A cloudy deep orange colour with slight pinkish notes, and a one finger white head that had decent retention, but settled to a ring around the glass while leaving some nice lacing.
Aroma: Sweet fruity, peach, muscat grape, passion fruit and mango.
Taste: Lightly sour, white grape, peach, with hints of grapefruit peel for a light bitter finish.
Mouthfeel: Medium to light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Not too complex, but the aroma and flavours work well together, and it’s easy to drink.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, De Struise Brouwers, Stout - Russian Imperial

De Struise Black Damnation XXIII – Hollow

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Brewery: De Struise Brouwers
Country: Belgium
ABV: 13%
Style: Russian Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Bottle 1134/2000, 2012 vintage

Brewer Description: (from bottle) A massive stout from Flanders, matured in Lagavulin barrels.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.41
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.3

Intro: A 750ml bottle, number 1134/2000, 2012 vintage, bottled on 22nd March 2017. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Black in colour with a half finger brown head that had decent retention, and settled to a ring around the glass, while leaving some sparse lacing.
Aroma: Roasty, chocolate, licorice, leather, peat, smoky, whisky.
Taste: Sweet roasty malts, chocolate, coffee, dried dark fruits, licorice, peat, whisky.
Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied, with soft carbonation.
Overall: An enjoyable sipper with good aroma and flavours, and one of my favourite Black Damnation variants.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Equilibrium Brewery x The Eighth State Brewing Company, IPA - New England / Hazy Triple, USA

Equilibrium x The Eighth State Super Fractal Phoenix Set

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Brewery: Equilibrium Brewery x The Eighth State Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 10.5%
Style: New England / Hazy Triple IPA

Brewer Description: Super Fractal Phoenix Set uses a simple grain bill of 2row and our specific fractal fermentation profile. For Phoenix Set we used our hand selected Citra and Idaho 7 in the whirlpool and a dry hop of hand selected Citra and Galaxy along with Sabro and Strata at an even higher hopping rate than Batch 1. Super Fractal Phoenix Set pours an opaque yellow tangerine and has a big citrus nose. The flavors are a unique blend of tropical fruits, big peach, citrus, “our melon thing”, passionfruit, coconut and an underlying dankness. This beer is extremely aromatic, crushable and smooth with an BIG #EQjuice profile that might just leave you seeing beautiful shapes and spirals.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.33
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 1 pint can, canned on 20th January 2022, poured into a winebar glass.
Appearance: A hazy murky slightly dark orange colour, with a one finger white head that had good retention, and left lots of nice lacing.
Aroma: Citrus pithy, candied orange, mandarin, melon, with light mango notes.
Taste: Juicy, citrus, zesty, pithy, tangy, lightly bitter, orange juice, melon, mango.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, smooth, full bodied with moderate to soft carbonation.
Overall: Very easy to drink with wonderful aroma and flavours, and the alcohol is well hidden that it does not seem like 10.5% ABV at all. Also love that it’s not too sweet and has good balance.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Equilibrium Brewery, IPA - New England / Hazy, USA

Equilibrium Wavelength

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Brewery: Equilibrium Brewery
Country: USA
ABV: 6.5%
Style: New England / Hazy IPA

Brewer Description: A wavelength is the distance between identical points in the adjacent cycles of a waveform signal propagated in space and describes the flow of Photons. We started with oats and white wheat for a base before adding Simcoe and Mosaic to the whirlpool. To get some berry medley notes going we dry hopped with Mosaic and Citra at a 2:1 ratio. Wavelength pours bright yellow with aromas of citrus and stone fruit with crushable flavors of mango and berry with a light refreshing finish.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.13
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 1 pint can, canned on 18th January 2022, poured into a winebar glass.
Appearance: A hazy bright orange colour with a one finger white head that had good retention while leaving some nice lacing.
Aroma: Citrus pithy, orange, grapefruit, melon, green mango, with notes of underripe pineapple.
Taste: Lightly bitter and similar to the aroma, citrus pithy, orange, grapefruit, melon, mango, and a touch of grass and pine.
Mouthfeel: Medium to light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: A very easy drinking and enjoyable IPA. Always happy to have good IPA’s freshly flown cold chained to Hong Kong, despite the price.