Category Archives: My Rating (out of 5)

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, De Struise Brouwers, Stout - Russian Imperial

De Struise Cuvée Delphine

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Brewery: De Struise Brouwers
Country: Belgium
ABV: 13%
Style: Russian Imperial Stout
Other Notes: 2019 vintage

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Black Albert, 4 Roses barrel aged.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.32
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 330ml bottle, 2019 vintage, bottled on 17th November 2021, with a best before date of +5 years. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Black in colour with a thin brown head that dissipated fairly quickly, while leaving some spotty lacing.
Aroma: Light roast, coffee, lots of dark fruit, fig, prunes, raisins, dates, vanilla, bourbon, with a light ashy note in the background.
Taste: Roasted malts, coffee, milk chocolate, moderate sweetness, dark fruit, prunes, dates, bourbon, vanilla, and a touch boozy.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, medium to full bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: An excellent enjoyable sipper with good aroma and flavours. I think I prefer the base Black Albert just a tiny bit more, but this was still good.

4 - Good (buy), AleSmith Brewing Company, Beer Reviews, Stout - Imperial, USA

AleSmith Speedway Stout – Thai

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Brewery: AleSmith Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 12%
Style: Stout – Imperial
Other Notes: Imperial Stout brewed with Coconut, Ginger, Lime, Lemongrass, Basil & Coffee

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Inspired by our brewers’ love of the assertive, bright flavors of Thai ingredients, this intensely flavored brew incorporates the vibrant quality of several Thai-inspired ingredients into our classic Imperial Stout. Powerful notes of citrus, botanicals, and tropical fruit balance the stout’s rich chocolate, caramel, and coffee character. The result is an amazingly flavorful and complex beer that pays tribute to the flavors of Thailand. This beer will age nicely, though the intensity of certain ingredients may evolve over time. Chon Gâew!

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.37
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 750ml foiled bottle, with no clear bottled on or best before date. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Black in colour with a half finger tanned head that dissipated fairly quickly but left lots of nice spotty lacing.
Aroma: Roasty, chocolate, coffee, Thai green curry, lemongrass, basil, ginger, lime.
Taste: Roasted malts, chocolate, coffee, coconut, basil, lemongrass, lime, coriander, and notes of ginger.
Mouthfeel: Smooth, medium bodied, with soft carbonation.
Overall: I didn’t think it would work, but wow this was interesting. The aroma was amazing. Somehow, roasty chocolate and coffee just mixes well with Thai green curry. Although not as amazing, this same combo also worked with the flavour, with the coconut notes coming through stronger. I have this nagging feeling that if they just added chili as well, the spice would have kicked it to another level. The body was a little thinner than I liked, but other than that, I was pleasantly surprised.

2 - Maybe (likely wouldn't buy, might drink), Beer Reviews, BIIR, IPA - White, Spain

BIIR White IPA

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Brewery: BIIR
Country: Spain
ABV: 6.8%
Style: IPA – White
Other Notes: Version 2.0

Brewer Description: (from bottle) A precise & unique craft ale combining the best of two brewing cultures: the tradition of the Belgian Witbier and the innovation of the American IPA.

My rating: 2
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.43
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.3

Intro: A 330ml bottle, with a best before date of 16th September 2022. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: A hazy golden colour with a big three finger white head that had pretty good retention and left lots of nice lacing.
Aroma: Wheat, hay, citrusy, grapefruit zest, lemon zest, orange marmalade, with light peppery notes.
Taste: Light to moderately bitter, lemon zest, orange, coriander, grass, hay, but felt a little watered down.
Mouthfeel: Light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: The aroma was enjoyable, but the taste doesn’t really work for me as it wasn’t better than the average Belgian Wit, nor was it better than the average IPA. It just seemed a Iittle watered down to me.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Craftbros Brewing Co., IPA - New England / Hazy, South Korea

Craftbros LIFE New England IPA – Skateboard

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Brewery: Craftbros Brewing Co.
Country: South Korea
ABV: 6.5%
Style: New England / Hazy IPA
Other Notes: 29 IBUs. LIFE cover published on May 14th, 1965 featuring Pat McGee doing handstand on the newest trend item, a skateboard. Photographed by Bill Eppridge

Brewer Description: (from can) Much of it is in Korean, but what I do get is, Double Dry-Hopped with Nelson Sauvin and Wai-iti.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.94
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.8

Intro: A 500ml can, canned on 9th May 2022, poured into a winebar glass.
Appearance: A hazy pale orange colour with a one finger white head that had good retention and left nice lacing.
Aroma: Grassy and melon notes lead, followed by a wave of citrus, mostly grapefruit zest and rind, and maybe notes of grapes.
Taste: Juicy, lightly bitter, melon forward, grapefruit zest, orange and grass.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Good thirst quenching and easy to drink. Glad we’re getting them fresh in Hong Kong. Looking forward to trying more from them.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, De Struise Brouwers, Stout - Russian Imperial

De Struise Black Damnation IX – Beggars’ Art

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Brewery: De Struise Brouwers
Country: Belgium
ABV: 18.1%
Style: Stout – Russian Imperial
Other Notes: 72 IBUs

Brewer Description: (from bottle) A Belgian Royal Stout from Flanders aged for 2yrs in Ardbeg whisky barrels.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.28
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 330ml bottle, bottled on 5th May 2021, with a best before of +5 years, poured into a De Struise tulip glass.
Appearance: Black in colour with a one finger beige head that had pretty good retention, while leaving some spotty lacing.
Aroma: Roasty, chocolate, coffee, caramel, dried dark fruit, prunes, raisins, with some nice boozy whisky notes, although surprisingly only lightly peaty.
Taste: Roasty, chocolate, coffee, dark fruit, fig, raisin, licorice, whisky, light char, a touch peaty, with light leather notes.
Mouthfeel: Smooth, creamy, full bodied, with soft carbonation.
Overall: There was surprisingly less peat than expected. It was actually strange in that the peat was noticeably strongest while the beer was colder, whereas when it warmed, this peatiness was somewhat tamed. Also 18.1% ABV? If the ABV was this high, it certainly did not feel like it as it drank easy and smooth. Even easier than some of the lesser ABV Black Damnations. Despite these two comments, the beer did have good aroma and flavours, and drank surprisingly well.