Category Archives: 5 – Excellent (must buy)

5 - Excellent (must buy), American IPA, Ballast Point Brewing Company, Beer Reviews, USA

Ballast Point Sculpin IPA

Tuesday, 18 August 2015 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Ballast Point Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 7%
Style: American IPA
Other Notes: 70 IBUs

Brewer Description: (from bottle) A trophy beer that’s a testament to our homebrew roots. Our Sculpin IPA is a great example of what got us into brewing in the first place. After years of experimenting, we knew hopping an ale at five separate stages would produce something special. The result ended up being this gold medal-winning IPA, whose inspired use of hops creates hints of apricot, peach, mango and lemon flavors, but still pack a bit of a sting. Just like a Sculpin.

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.77
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.6

Intro: A 22 fl oz bomber with a bottled code date of 15063 which means 4th March 2015, and poured into a Spiegelau IPA glass.
Appearance: The beer poured a very nice clear golden orange colour with a two and a half finger white head that dissipates slowly leaving a thin foamy layer and thick lacing.
Aroma: Nice strong aromas with tropical mango and peach strongest followed by apricot, citrus orange and some pine.
Taste: Starts with citrus grapefruit and some light bready malts, followed by tropical fruits mainly mango, apricot and pineapple, hints of pine and finishes with bitter grapefruit once more.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with medium carbonation and very refreshing
Overall: Stunning and absolutely loved it. One of the best IPA’s out there in my opinion. A definite must buy for me. And now I just need to try an even fresher version.

5 - Excellent (must buy), Beer Reviews, Denmark, Lambic - Fruit, Mikkeller ApS

Mikkeller SpontanCherryFrederiksdal BA Malaga Wine

Thursday, 16 July 2015 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Mikkeller ApS
Country: Denmark
ABV: 8.2%
Style: Belgian Lambic (Fruit)
Other Notes: Brewed and bottled by Mikkeller at De Proef Brouwerij

Brewer Description: (from Mikkeller webshop) With cherries from the award winning Frederiksdal plantation (situated on the island of Lolland in the very south of Denmark) we proudly present the perfect combination of berries and sour ale;. Spontancherry, barrelaged on Malaga wine barrels. With countless notes of flavor and mouthfeel sensations ranging high and low on multiple scales, this is as delicate as it comes.

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.51
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.4

Intro: A 375ml bottle with a best before date of 21st August 2022 and poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: The beer poured a clear deep ruby colour with a one finger pinkish (like beetroot) head that dissipated quickly into an extremely thing layer with nice lacing.
Aroma: Mainly tart cherry, dark berries and almond.
Taste: Taste is similar to the aroma with tart cherry and dark berries dominating while the finish becomes even more sour and gives rise to citrus pomelo.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with light to medium carbonation.
Overall: I loved it. The tart cherries and the sourness were balanced and is just another must buy beer for me.

5 - Excellent (must buy), Beer Reviews, Epic Brewing Company, Stout - Imperial, USA

Epic Big Bad Baptist

Tuesday, 14 July 2015 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Epic Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 11.4%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Malt – Maris Otter Malt, 2-Row Brewer Malt, Crystal, Light Munich Malt T1, 2-Row chocolate malt, 2-row black malt, roasted barley. Spices – Caffe Ibis and Cocoa Nibs.

Brewer Description: (from website) One Big Bad Imperial Stout with Cocoa nibs and Coffee beans. Each season’s release uses a different dark roasted coffee.

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.56
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.5

Intro: A 22oz bomber from release batch #46 with a brew date of 24th September 2013 and a packaged date of 8th December 2014 and poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: The beer poured an opaque black colour with a one finger brown head that dissipated fairly quickly leaving a thin whispy layer and spotty lacing.
Aroma: Strong aromas of chocolate mixed in with coffee, caramel and vanilla. There is also a hint of whisky alcohol aroma.
Taste: Taste is much like the aroma. Chocolate and espresso coffee dominate followed by hints of slightly burnt caramel and vanilla. There is also some roasted malts and oakiness but not a lot of whisky even though its aged in whiskey barrels.
Mouthfeel: Full bodied, light carbonation, smooth.
Overall: I’m a sucker for coffee, whisky and beer (my three favourite drinks). Now put together into a single drink, although the whisky is not so prominent here, this brew is fantastic. It’s right up there with Founders Breakfast Stout and Evil Twin Imperial Biscotti Break. Another must buy beer to add to my list.

5 - Excellent (must buy), Beer Reviews, Denmark, IPA - Black, To Øl

To Øl Black Malts and Body Salts

Monday, 13 July 2015 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: To Øl
Country: Denmark
ABV: 9.9%
Style: American Black IPA
Other Notes: Brewed at De Proef Brouwerij. Malts – Pilsner, Cara Crystal, Black Malt, Flaked Oats, Melanoidin, Chocolate, Rock Candy. Hops – Centennial, Tettnanger, Simcoe.

Brewer Description:
(from bottle) We present to you a black IIPA made with french press coffee.

(from To Øl online store) When a brewer is stirring the kettles while steam arises from the mash and when we actually do put some effort into our work, an occasional drop of sweat will drip down into the mash. So this is a salute to all the hard working proletarian brewers around the world. Giving you the perfect amount of body salts, mixed with french press coffee and IIPA’ish amounts of bittering, flavour and dry- hops… Perhaps a slightly schizophrenic beer, but still damm good!

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.77
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.6

Intro: A 330ml bottle with a best before date of 1st December 2019 and poured into an oversized wine glass.
Appearance: The beer poured an opaque black colour with a really nice two finger brown head with good retention but leaves wonderful stringy lacing. It eventually settles to a creamy thin layer.
Aroma: Initial aromas of bready buscuit malts and espresso coffee followed by tropical mango and pineapple fruits. Maybe even some liquorice in the finish.
Taste: Starts strong with bitter espresso coffee, slightly smoky with a hint of dark chocolate which then turns fruitier with dark berries followed by citrus grapefruit before ending with bitter coffee again.
Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied with medium carbonation.
Overall: This was really good as it has a very balanced yet complex aromas and flavours and of course coffee flavours. The 9.9% ABV is well hidden and it just goes down really easy. It is a must buy beer in my opinion.

5 - Excellent (must buy), Beer Reviews, Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project, Farmhouse Saison, USA

Crooked Stave Surette Provision Saison

Wednesday, 1 July 2015 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project
Country: USA
ABV: 6.2%
Style: Saison
Other Notes: Aged in oak barrels.

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Surette is a provision Saison with a tart and vinous character from extended barrel aging.

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.53
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.4

Intro: A 375ml bottle from 2014/batch 15 poured into a Duvel tulip glass.
Appearance: Poured a slightly hazy golden orange colour with a thin head that dissipates quickly but leaves nice lacing.
Aroma: Strong barnyard funk, slight tropical fruit pineapple, maybe mango and slight citrus tangy tangerine.
Taste: Excellent tart and sour tastes. Light lemon citrus along with some even lighter tropical mango and yeasty notes to balance.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied, low to medium carbonation.
Overall: This was excellent, a definite must buy for me. Loved the upfront tart and sourness in the beer. Up to par with its Belgian counterparts for this style in my opinion, but probably harder to find in Hong Kong. I want more!

words of another dreamy traveller