Category Archives: My Rating (out of 5)

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Germany, Gruit, Kemker Kultuur

Kemker Winter

Leave a comment

Brewery: Kemker Kultuur
Country: Germany
ABV: 7%
Style: Gruit
Other Notes: Gruit Seasons

Brewer Description: (from bottle) This series of four herbal beers is dedicated to the seasons. Each beer stands for a particular season, so you can drink your way through the year. We used rosemary from our family garden, which lend the beer its herbaceous and woody aroma. This blend matured on average 10 month in red wine barrels.

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

Intro: A 750ml bottle, with a best before date of 15th February 2024. Poured into a Tilquin stemmed glass.
Appearance: A lightly hazy copper red colour with a nice one finger beige head that had good retention and left nice lacing.
Aroma: Vinous, grape skin, herbal, rosemary, pine, oak, citrus peel, and a touch spicy.
Taste: Tart, notes of sweet and sour, herbal, rosemary, red wine vinous, grape skin, red berry fruits, orange peel and oak.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Not my first herbal beer, but I think this is my first Gruit, and it’s definitely given me a good first impression. Nice aroma and flavours with lots of herbs and fruitiness from the red wine barrels. Worth a try especially if you enjoy herbs.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Brouwerij De Ranke, Lambic - non-Lambic Blends

De Ranke Cuvée BXL

Leave a comment

Brewery: Brouwerij De Ranke
Country: Belgium
ABV: 7%
Style: Lambic – non-Lambic Blends
Other Notes: 2022 BXL BeerFest beer pack

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Old Stock Ale & Lambic.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.22
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 750ml bottle, bottled in January 2022, with a best before date of 14th January 2027. Poured into a Tilquin stemmed glass. Brewed for BXL BeerFest 2022.
Appearance: A hazy dark golden orange colour with a one finger white head that had good retention and left lots of nice lacing.
Aroma: Orange zest, citrus rind, grape skin, peach, wet wood, and a touch dusty.
Taste: Lightly tart, grapefruit, orange rind, grape skin, peach, lime, with woody and funky notes.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: ‘Old Stock Ale & Lambic’, not really given a lot of information based off of this, but with this blend, the flavours do work well together, and it was enjoyable.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Lambic - Gueuze, Lambiek Fabriek

Lambiek Fabriek Organic Geuze Natur-Elle

Leave a comment

Brewery: Lambiek Fabriek
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6.2%
Style: Lambic – Gueuze

Brewer Description: (from bottle in Dutch) Bio geuze van zelf gebrouwen bio lambieken met hergisting op de fles. Deze unieke blend van verschillende jaargangen is geheel biologisch, puur, ongefilterd en niet gepasteuriseerd.

(translated to English) Bio gueuze from self-brewed organic lambics with refermentation in the bottle. This unique blend of different vintages is completely organic, pure, unfiltered and unpasteurized.

My rating: 4-
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.01
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.9

Intro: A 750ml corked and capped bottle, bottled in March 2020. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen gueuze glass.
Appearance: A hazy golden orange colour with a two finger white head that had pretty good retention and eventually settled to a very thin cap, while leaving some nice lacing.
Aroma: Funky, brett, damp wood, musty, dusty, fruity, green apple, grape skin, dried lemon peel.
Taste: Tart, green apple, orange, lemon juice, lemon zest, wood, with some light to moderate funkiness.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate to high carbonation.
Overall: Thirst quenching, enjoyable and drinks easy.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Brauerei Flügge, Fruit Beer, Germany

Flügge Ériq Le Grand

Leave a comment

Brewery: Brauerei Flügge
Country: Germany
ABV: 8.9%
Style: Fruit Beer
Other Notes: 2021 BXL BeerFest beer pack

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Ériq Le Grand is a Beer-Wine Hybrid: tart, fruity, co-fermented with a blend of Brettanomyces, pureed raspberries and a 2020 Rosé Wine from Weingut Daniel Mattern. Beer-Wine Hybrid. Brewed for BXL BeerFest 2021.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.82
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.7

Intro: A 750ml bottle, bottled on 20th July 2021, with a best before date of 20th July 2026. Poured into a Tilquin stemmed glass. Brewed for BXL BeerFest 2021.
Appearance: A hazy pinkish orange colour with a one finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly while leaving only sparse to no lacing.
Aroma: Raspberry, candied raspberries, lime juice, rosé vinous.
Taste: Sweet and sour raspberry, grape, lime zest, rosé vinous.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate to high carbonation.
Overall: An interesting beer-wine hybrid. Very rosé wine and raspberry puree forward, while the brett seems rather muted.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Barleywine - American, Beer Reviews, Denmark, Mikkeller ApS

Mikkeller Big Worster

Leave a comment

Brewery: Mikkeller ApS
Country: Denmark
ABV: 15.7%
Style: Barleywine – American
Other Notes: Brewed by Mikkeller at De Proef Brouwerij, Belgium

Brewer Description: (from bottle) American-style Barley Wine ale.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.77
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.5

Intro: A 375ml capped and foiled bottle, with a best before date of 1st July 2025. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: A cloudy dark orangey brown colour with a very thin beige head that dissipated almost immediately while leaving only sparse lacing.
Aroma: Sweet, caramel, toffee, dark fruit, plum, prunes, and fig.
Taste: Sweet, dark fruit, dried fruit, plum, prunes, dates, fig, with notes of caramel, toffee, and booze.
Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied with soft to no carbonation.
Overall: A little sweeter than I prefer, but still a decent sipper.