Category Archives: 4 – Good (buy)

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, England, Siren Craft Brew, Stout - Milk / Sweet

Siren Shattered Dream: Nitro

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Brewery: Siren Craft Brew
Country: England
ABV: 9.6%
Style: Milk / Sweet Stout
Other Notes: Nitro version. Imperial Breakfast Stout

Brewer Description: (from can) Shattered Dream is the scaled up version of our award-winning flagship stout – Broken Dream. In addition to its imperial strength and generous espresso hit, we’ve also added cacao nibs and vanilla to make this beer even more luxurious than the much-loved original. This version is nitrogenated, meaning it pours thick and drinks smooth. An intensely indulgent and unctuous treat.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.08
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 440ml can, with a best before date of 12th February 2022. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: As per the can, poured hard and fast, and it poured black in colour, with a decent cascading effect, and a big two finger beige head that had excellent retention and left lots of nice lacing.
Aroma: Dark malt, light roast, coffee, cocoa, sweet milk chocolate, brown sugar, and vanilla.
Taste: Light to moderately sweet, milk coffee, cocoa, milk chocolate, vanilla, light roasty bitterness, with notes of dark berries.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, smooth, full bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: An enjoyable creamy smooth sipper with lots of coffee. It was almost too milky sweet for me, but there was just enough roasty bitterness to balance it out.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Garage Beer Co., IPA - New England / Hazy Triple, Spain

Garage Jelly Beans

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Brewery: Garage Beer Co.
Country: Spain
ABV: 10%
Style: New England / Hazy Triple IPA
Other Notes: Hops – Cryo Pop hop blend, Citra and Simcoe

Brewer Description: (from can) TIPA displaying Cryo Pop hop blend, Citra and Simcoe hops.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.27
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 440ml can, canned on 21st June 2021, and a best before date of 21st December 2021. Poured into a Holy Mountain tulip glass.
Appearance: A very nice hazy golden orange colour with a two finger white head that had good retention and left lots of nice lacing.
Aroma: Tropical mango, onion, citrus zest and rind, orange, mandarin, peach.
Taste: Moderately sweet, tropical fruit, peach, mango, citrus, mandarin, orange rind, with a light to moderate bitter finish.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, full bodied with moderate to soft carbonation.
Overall: I’m usually not a fan of TIPA’s, but this was very enjoyable with good sweet and bitter balance, and lots of fruit aroma and flavours, while hiding any booziness well.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Garage Beer Co., IPA - New England / Hazy Double, Spain

Garage Double Kisses

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Brewery: Garage Beer Co.
Country: Spain
ABV: 8.5%
Style: New England / Hazy Double IPA
Other Notes: Hops – Azacca and Mosaic

Brewer Description: (from can) Amped up DIPA version of a favourite from last year featuring Azacca and Mosaic.

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

Intro: A 440ml can, canned on 15th June 2021, and a best before date of 15th December 2021. Poured into a Holy Mountain tulip glass.
Appearance: A hazy orange colour with a just over one finger white head that had good retention and left lots of nice lacing.
Aroma: Ripe mango, orange, citrus rind, papaya, honeydew melon, and maybe some dank notes.
Taste: Lightly sweet and lightly bitter, ripe mango, orange, citrus rind and pith, with notes of melon and papaya.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, medium to full bodied with moderate to soft carbonation.
Overall: Nice fruit flavours with a good balance between sweet and bitter.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Garage Beer Co., IPA - New England / Hazy, Spain

Garage Any Second Now

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Brewery: Garage Beer Co.
Country: Spain
ABV: 6.6%
Style: New England / Hazy IPA
Other Notes: Hops – HBC-735 and Mosaic

Brewer Description: (from can) IPA featuring experimental hop HBC-735 with support from Mosaic.

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

Intro: A 440ml can, canned on 11th June 2021, and a best before date of 11th December 2021. Poured into a Holy Mountain tulip glass.
Appearance: A hazy golden orange colour with a two finger white head that had decent retention, while leaving lots of nice lacing.
Aroma: Fruity, tropical, mango, cantaloupe, grapefruit, lemon rind, with light notes of pineapple.
Taste: Light sweetness, tropical, mango, citrusy, grapefruit, orange rind, with a nice lasting bitter finish.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Enjoyable, nice fruity mix of tropical and citrus, with a good sweet and bitter balance.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Brasserie Cantillon, Lambic - Unblended

Cantillon Cuvée Saint-Gilloise

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Brewery: Brasserie Cantillon
Country: Belgium
ABV: 5.5%
Style: Belgian Lambic (Unblended)
Other Notes: 17/18 Season. Hallertau dry-hopped in the cask

Brewer Description: (from bottle) A very special vintage bottling of Cantillon lambics, aged for 2 years in oak, and dry-hopped in the cask. Beer with taste evolution. To be drunk preferably within the 20 years after bottling date. Store and serve at cellar temperature (12°C-15°C).

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

Intro: A 750ml corked and capped bottle, 17/18 season, bottled on 18th December 2017. Poured into a Cantillon stemmed mini ballon glass.
Appearance: A clear golden orange colour with a one finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly to a ring around the glass while leaving some lacing.
Aroma: Fruity, citrusy, mandarin peel, orange zest, peach, green apple, slight floral, damp wood, musty, funky.
Taste: Light to moderate sour, citrus, mandarin, orange zest and rind, peach, damp wood, barnyard, funky, earthy.
Mouthfeel: Dry, medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Quite different from most other lambics, and in a good way. Balanced, complex, refreshing, and very enjoyable to drink.