Category Archives: 5 – Excellent (must buy)

5 - Excellent (must buy), Beer Reviews, England, Mills Brewing, Wild Ale

Mills Picture Pot Blend 3

Leave a comment

Brewery: Mills Brewing
Country: England
ABV: 6%
Style: Wild Ale
Other Notes: Mills Brewing make beer with minimal modern intervention, relying on local wild yeast cultures and the influence of nature to ferment

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Picture Pot was made from a blend of three brews produced in January and November 2019. Fermentation took place in Californian Chardonnay and Herefordshire cider barrels. The resulting blend was dry hopped with whole leaf Loral and Enigma. Drink young for fresh hop aromatics and aged for increased brettanomyces funk.

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.5
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.4

Intro: A 750ml corked and capped bottle, bottled in April 2021, with a best before date of April 2026. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A lightly hazy golden colour with a two finger white head that had pretty good retention and eventually settled to a nice fluffy cap, while leaving some nice lacing.
Aroma: Green apple, grapefruit peel, white wine grapes, vinous, grape gummy candy, light berry notes, oak, citrus zest.
Taste: Light to moderate tart and sourness, white wine grapes, grape gummy candy, light oak, citrus zest, and a touch of funk.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate to soft carbonation.
Overall: Really nice aroma and flavours, and just so easy and enjoyable to drink. This is great to drink right now, but I wish I had another bottle to age since I do enjoy funk, and it would have been interesting to see how this ages.

5 - Excellent (must buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen, Lambic - Fruit

3 Fonteinen Pruim Reine Claude D’Oullins

Leave a comment

Brewery: Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6.7%
Style: Lambic – Fruit
Other Notes: Blend°64, Season 19/20. Number of bottles – 655

Brewer Description: (from bottle) For this Pruim, we used Reine Claude d’Oullins plums from Wijndomein Hoenshof in Hoepertingen, Haspengouw region, Flanders. This aromatic golden-green plum has a juicy flesh and honey-like sweetness. For this run, we macerated these plums for almost nine months on an oak barrel that previously held red wine. The lambikken originate from two different barrels and four different brews. The final fruit intensity is 550 grams of plums per litre of Pruim. 100% 3 Fonteinen.

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.65
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.5

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, blend°64, season 19/20, bottled on 16th April 2020, and with a best before date of 26th October 2040. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A hazy golden orange colour with a two finger white head that had decent retention and settled to a very nice fluffy cap while leaving some nice lacing.
Aroma: Lightly tart, plum, plum skin, lemon zest, dusty, funk, oak.
Taste: Sour, tart, grapefruit, lemon, some sweet notes, plum, yellow stone fruit, oak, and light funk.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with moderate to soft carbonation.
Overall: Very nice juicy fruit flavours going on here with a good sour and sweet balance. Aroma and flavours just make this super enjoyable and so easy to drink.

5 - Excellent (must buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Gueuzerie Tilquin, Lambic - Fruit

Tilquin Oude Riesling À l’ancienne

Leave a comment

Brewery: Gueuzerie Tilquin
Country: Belgium
ABV: 8.1%
Style: Lambic – Fruit
Other Notes: 2020-2021

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Beer of spontaneous fermentation, the Old Riesling Tilquin is made from the fermentation of 270g of Riesling grapes by liter of lambic. Unfiltered and unpasteurized, this beer is refermented in the bottle.

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

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, with a neck label of 2020-2021, and a best before date of 26th November 2030. Poured into a Tilquin stemmed glass.
Appearance: A mostly clear golden colour with a one finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly while leaving only sparse lacing.
Aroma: Funky, barnyard, oak, wood, lemon peel, lemon juice, white wine grapes.
Taste: Sour, funky, oak, wood, zesty, grapefruit, lemon peel, white wine grapes, vinous, with a nice mild sweetness.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Wonderfully balanced with enjoyable aroma and flavours. The wine grape lambics from Tilquin are really some of my favourites, and the Riesling is right up there.

5 - Excellent (must buy), Beer Reviews, Farmhouse Saison, Sante Adairius Rustic Ales, USA

Sante Adairius Saison Bernice

Leave a comment

Brewery: Sante Adairius Rustic Ales
Country: USA
ABV: 6.5%
Style: Farmhouse Saison

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Saison Bernice is an exquisitely fermented farmhouse ale. Dry and refreshing, Bernice is made of the freshest on-hand and locally available ingredients. She saw multiple yeast additions, including brettanomyces, and further bottle aging. Drink now or cellar properly. Saison Bernice will endure. The beer in this bottle is alive. So is the yeast. Grow it, keep it, use it. We encourage you to brew your own.

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.7
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.6

Intro: A 750ml bottle, with no bottled on or best before date. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A clear golden colour with a two finger pillowy white head that had good retention and left some nice lacing.
Aroma: Funk, peach, apricot, musty, oak, lemon zest, with light orange vanilla and floral notes.
Taste: Light sour, tart, and funk, stone fruit, apricot, peach, citrusy notes, lemon zest, orange peel, vanilla, peppercorn, floral.
Mouthfeel: Creamy beginning, smooth, medium to light bodied, with moderate carbonation, and a dry finish.
Overall: Really smooth and enjoyable. Just so easy to drink with its great aroma and flavours. Wish it was easier for me to get more.

5 - Excellent (must buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Geuzestekerij De Cam, Lambic - Fruit

De Cam Kriek Lambiek

Leave a comment

Brewery: Geuzestekerij De Cam
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6.5%
Style: Lambic – Fruit
Other Notes: 2015 vintage

Brewer Description: (from bottle in Dutch) Kriek Lambiek schuimt niet, doordat hergisting op fles minimaal is om de fruitaroma’s maximaal te proeven. Oude Kriek lambiek ontstaat door het samen vergisten van jonge lambiek met een hoeveelheid zure aromatische kersen. De zure kersen, Prunus Cerasus L., worden in hun geheel (geen sap) met pit in bewerking gebracht. Het gehalte aan zure kersen bedraagt ongeveer 40kg per 100 liter kriek.

(translated to English) Kriek Lambiek does not foam, because refermentation in the bottle is minimal to get the maximum taste of the fruit aromas. Oude Kriek lambic is created by fermenting young lambic together with a quantity of sour aromatic cherries. The sour cherries, Prunus Cerasus L., are processed whole (no juice) with stone. The content of sour cherries is approximately 40 kg per 100 liters of kriek.

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.51
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.5

Intro: A 750m corked and caged bottle, 2015 vintage, with a best before date of the year 2035. Poured into a De Cam stemmed glass.
Appearance: A deep ruby red colour with a one finger pinkish head that dissipated fairly quickly to a ring around the glass, while leaving some spotty lacing.
Aroma: Cherry, oak, cherry pit, funk, lightly tart, with almond notes.
Taste: Lightly sour and tart, cherry, cherry pie, almond, oak, funk.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Very enjoyable and easy to drink. Lots of great cherry flavours balanced with almond, oak and funk.