Category Archives: Beer Reviews

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, England, Sour Ale, Staggeringly Good Brewery

Staggeringly Good Souropod Papaya and Lychee Kettle Sour

Leave a comment

Brewery: Staggeringly Good Brewery
Country: England
ABV: 5.7%
Style: Sour Ale
Other Notes: Papaya and lychee

Brewer Description: (from website) Our latest Souropod with 300Kg of Papaya and 400Kg of Lychee is available now! This is without doubt our most complex sour with vibrant lychee and tropical fruits on the nose followed by flavours of sweetened sherbet, papaya and lychee finished with a light effervescent body.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.78
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.6

Intro: A 440ml can, canned on 11th December 2020, with a best before date of 11th June 2021. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A hazy, slightly murky dark orange colour with a two finger white head that had decent retention but eventually settled to a thin cap, while leaving some nice lacing.
Aroma: Tart, papaya dominates, with mango and lychee notes, and a splash of lemon.
Taste: Sour, tart, sharp citrus, lemon juice, with notes of papaya and lychee.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: The sourness was a bit sharp to be easy drinking, and also hid the papaya and lychee flavours a bit. As a Souropod, I preferred the triple fruited Gose’s.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Brasserie Fantôme, Farmhouse Saison

Fantôme Saison Speciale Amarillo

Leave a comment

Brewery: Brasserie Fantôme
Country: Belgium
ABV: 8%
Style: Belgian Saison
Other Notes: Belgian Ale brewed with spices

Brewer Description: Not much information I could find, but I assume this is Fantôme Saison hopped with Amarillo.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.04
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.9

Intro: A 750ml corked and capped bottle, with a best before date of end of 2022. Poured into a Holy Mountain tulip glass.
Appearance: Surprised that this was not a gusher considering the other two hopped varieties that I tried were slow gushers that just couldn’t stop. It was a hazy golden orange colour with an almost two finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly to a thin cap, while leaving some decent lacing.
Aroma: Grapefruit zest, candied citrus, lime, orange, honey, yeast.
Taste: Sweet, orange, candied citrus, malt, caramel, herbal, bubblegum notes, honey, yeast, with a spicy kick on the finish.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with high carbonation.
Overall: Carbonation was too high to make it easy to drink, but the aroma and flavours were quite nice. I think I preferred the Sorachi version just a little bit more though (despite ratings showing this to be higher due to ‘appearance’).

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Brasserie Fantôme, Farmhouse Saison

Fantôme Saison Sorachi Unic Brewing

Leave a comment

Brewery: Brasserie Fantôme
Country: Belgium
ABV: 7.5%
Style: Belgian Saison
Other Notes: Belgian Ale brewed with spices

Brewer Description: Not much information I could find, but I assume this is Fantôme Saison hopped with Sorachi Ace.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.02
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.8

Intro: A 750ml corked and capped bottle, bottle 260 of 650, with a best before date of end of 2022. Poured into a Holy Mountain tulip glass.
Appearance: Slow to moderate gusher upon popping the cork, it was a hazy golden orange colour, with an almost three finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly, but settled to a thin cap, while leaving only sparse lacing.
Aroma: Grapefruit, citrus zest, lime, candied orange, yeasty, herbal, with a touch of coconut and light funk.
Taste: Sweet and bitter, candied grapefruit, orange, citrus zest, sweet malt, caramel, herbal, coconut notes, and a spicy acidic kick.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with high carbonation.
Overall: The high carbonation was a bit uncomfortable here, but I still found it better than the Simcoe version with it’s enjoyable aroma and flavours.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, England, Gose - Imperial Fruit, Staggeringly Good Brewery

Staggeringly Good Souropod Imperial Triple Fruited Gose – Mango, Raspberry & Vanilla

Leave a comment

Brewery: Staggeringly Good Brewery
Country: England
ABV: 7.4%
Style: Imperial Gose
Other Notes: Mango, raspberry & vanilla

Brewer Description: (from website) Once more the term ‘liquid’ is tested with this triple fruited Gose oozing with Mango, Raspberry and Vanilla. Set your dishwasher to the longest cycle because this thic boi beer is going to make a mark on your life. The ‘Beer/Not Beer’ trolls are sure to have a field day but all we can say is we’re a brewery, we made it, get over it! So whilst they argue over details join us and chill with a cold glass of this indulgent fruited madness.

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

Intro: A 440ml can, canned on 18th November 2020, with a best before date of 18th May 2021. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A thick puree like mango juice orange colour with a one finger orange head that disappeared almost immediately to a replenishing thin cap, with no lacing, but some puree fruity bits on the sides of the glass.
Aroma: Sweet fruit, ripe mango, mango juice, with slight raspberry notes.
Taste: Lightly sweet and sour, mango, mango juice, lemon, with notes of raspberry and vanilla.
Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied, thick, smoothie like, with moderate carbonation.
Overall: It’s a good thing I love mango juice, because mango dominates here in both aroma and flavour. As in their description, I’d still question whether this was ‘beer/not beer’ though. And although I won’t answer this question, I definitely did enjoy this drink.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Sour Ale - Smoothie / Soda / Pastry, The Veil Brewing Co., USA

The Veil Tastee Shibuya Sundae

Leave a comment

Brewery: The Veil Brewing Co.
Country: USA
ABV: 5.5%
Style: Sour Ale – Smoothie

Brewer Description: (from can) Smoothie-style sour ale conditioned on persimmons, yuzu, strawberries, peaches, toasted black sesame seeds, and milk sugar.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.16
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.9

Intro: A 1 pint can with no canned on or best before date. Poured into a Holy Mountain tulip glass.
Appearance: A not so appetising murky brownish orange colour, with a half finger tanned head that dissipated fairly quickly and left fruit like sediment and only sparse to no lacing.
Aroma: Fruity, yuzu, strawberry, vanilla, yoghurt, ice cream smoothie.
Taste: Sour, sweet, fruity, yuzu, strawberry, Sprite, sweetened milk, vanilla.
Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Purely on its appearance, it did not look appetising at all. Luckily, it’s aroma and flavours were many times better and enjoyable with lots of fruit, especially yuzu.