Category Archives: 4 – Good (buy)

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Scotland, Sour Ale, Vault City Brewing

Vault City Double Crust Raspberry Pie

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Brewery: Vault City Brewing
Country: Scotland
ABV: 9%
Style: Sour Ale
Other Notes: Modern sour beer

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Ever feel like you can’t have your pastry treat and drink? We’ve taken direct inspiration from the culinary world for this Modern Sour Beer. A big biscuity base and a fruity filling so jammy, it’s juicy! Layering complex malt and squeezing in as many raspberries as we could for the fullest, richest pudding we could muster. Decadent and delightful, mixed-culture tartness and sharp fruit flavour balance the sweet pastry-like malt elements.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.42
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.3

Intro: A 375ml bottle with a best before date of 12th November 2022. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: A hazy deep reddish purple colour with a just over one finger pink head that had decent retention while leaving some lacing.
Aroma: Fruity dessert, jammy raspberry, strawberry and raspberry shortcake, with Digestive wheat biscuits.
Taste: Tart, lightly sour, sweet, jammy, raspberry, strawberry, biscuit, pie crust.
Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Aroma was near perfect and reminded me of strawberry shortcake. Taste was enjoyable, but didn’t match the perfectness of the aroma. Still, it was great overall, and hid the 9% booze well.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Scotland, Sour Ale, Vault City Brewing

Vault City Blueberry Pumpkin Spice Latte

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Brewery: Vault City Brewing
Country: Scotland
ABV: 8.8%
Style: Sour Ale
Other Notes: Modern sour beer

Brewer Description: (from bottle) It’s that time of year, all the knitwear and pumpkin flavoured everything! We’re no exception and have created our own unique take on a ‘pumpkin beer’ but opted for the pumpkin spice approach. Befitting the time of year, and a fruit that we know works wonders in combination with our house mixed-culture, we settled for local blueberries as the base for our Autumn special. Cosy up for a seasonal sensation of tart blueberry, warming spices and sweet vanilla in texture smoother than crema. It’s not a trick, it’s a treat!

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.19
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 375ml bottle with a best before date of 2nd November 2022. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: A deep purple beetroot colour with a big three finger purple head that had good retention and left lots of lacing.
Aroma: Pumpkin spice dominates with cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg, along with notes of tart blueberry and pie crust in the background.
Taste: Tart, lightly sweet and sour, blueberry, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and some vanilla notes.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Balanced and enjoyable as long as you like pumpkin spice.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Scotland, Sour Ale, Vault City Brewing

Vault City Tropical Sour – Mango Coconut Passionfruit

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Brewery: Vault City Brewing
Country: Scotland
ABV: 7.2%
Style: Sour Ale
Other Notes: Modern sour beer

Brewer Description: (from bottle) As winter draws nearer, we look to sunnier climates to bring you a taste of the tropics in your glass. Having ripened in the far-off sunshine we’ve picked a mouth-watering medley to transport you to a world of tropical tartness in this Modern Sour Beer. A sweet mango base and floral passionfruit tartness are unified by the creamy character of coconut, which imparts a hint of woody vanilla. Each element stands apart and together they are complimented by our ester filled house mixed-culture base beer. Sunglasses at the ready!

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.07
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.9

Intro: A 375ml bottle with a best before date of 11th November 2022. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A murky mango juice orange colour with pretty much no head and no lacing.
Aroma: Mango dominates with hints of tart passionfruit and coconut.
Taste: Sour, tart, unripe mango, passionfruit, with only a hint of coconut in the background.
Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Enjoyable, easy to drink, cocktail like, very fruity.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Scotland, Sour Ale, Vault City Brewing

Vault City Pear & Vanilla Sour

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Brewery: Vault City Brewing
Country: Scotland
ABV: 6.8%
Style: Sour Ale
Other Notes: Modern sour beer

Brewer Description: (from bottle) After some heavy hitters we wanted to take a more delicate approach to our next release. Delicate, in season Williams pears piqued our interest as a very different flavour profile to pair with our Modern Sour Beer. Slowing down our mixed-culture for a gentler fermentation and lighter base sour allows you to take notice of the succulent floral pear character. The addition of Madagascan Vanilla rounds this beer out for a creamy, almost sorbet-like mouth-feel and finish. A perfect beer to enjoy in the warmer Autumn evenings whilst you spot signs of the seasons changing.

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

Intro: A 375ml bottle with a best before date of 25th September 2022. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A hazy pale orange colour with a one finger white head that dissipated quickly, but settled to a thin cap while leaving some lacing.
Aroma: Lots of pear, cooked pear, and vanilla.
Taste: Sour, tart, sweet, pear, baked/poached pear, with notes of vanilla.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: I wasn’t sure if pear would work in beer, but Vault City did a great job, and this was just so enjoyable and easy to drink.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Scotland, Sour Ale, Vault City Brewing

Vault City Cheeky Vimto

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Brewery: Vault City Brewing
Country: Scotland
ABV: 8%
Style: Sour Ale
Other Notes: Modern sour beer

Brewer Description: (from bottle) To add to our recent string of cocktail inspired beers we’ve let loose and devised a fruity concoction. Enter a high octane, high intensity Modern Sour Beer that’s so nice, it’s naughty… Equal parts silly and serious, our base sour beer has been ramped up to deliver a juice blackcurrant bomb. Bubblegum sweetness, berry tartness and touch of spice for a port-like finish; this is pure unadulterated fun in a glass.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.95
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.8

Intro: A 375ml bottle with a best before date of 18th March 2022. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A hazy reddish purple colour with a big three finger pinkish head that dissipated quickly but settled to a thin cap, while leaving some lacing.
Aroma: Lightly tart, fruity, blackberry, strawberry, and guava, with blackcurrant notes.
Taste: Tart, lightly sour, mixed red and dark berries, blackcurrant, with a hint of berry flavoured yoghurt.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: A fun and enjoyable modern sour beer with lots of nice berry fruitiness.