Category Archives: Beer Reviews

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Czech Republic, Farmhouse Saison, Hibernata

Hibernata Festuca

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Brewery: Hibernata
Country: Czech Republic
ABV: 5.5%
Style: Farmhouse Saison

Brewer Description: (from bottle in Czech) Festuca je pivo, které do prostého pláštíku schovává bohatství jemných odstínů chutí a barev tvořících dohromady malý svátek. Farmhouse ale dozrávaný bezmála rok v dubovém sudu s divokými kvasnicemi perlí na suchém obilném těle svěží hořkostí květin a citrusů, aby mohl utišovat žízeň už navždy. Podobně jako když v teplém dni na voňavé suché louce pootevře bránu do bezčasi pohled na travinu tak prostou, jako je kostřava. So much for pathos, na zdraví!

(translated to English) Festuca is a beer that hides a wealth of subtle shades of flavors and colors in a simple shell that together form a small holiday. Farmhouse, however, matured for almost a year in an oak barrel with wild yeast, pearls on a dry grain body with the fresh bitterness of flowers and citrus, so that it can quench your thirst forever. Similar to when on a warm day in a fragrant dry meadow the gate to timelessness is partially opened by the sight of grass as simple as fescue. So much for pathos, cheers!

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.35
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 750ml bottle with a best before date of December 2024. Poured into a Tilquin stemmed glass.
Appearance: A hazy golden straw yellow colour with a big three finger white head that had decent retention and left lots of nice lacing.
Aroma: Juicy, funky, lemon, honey, floral, lemon zest, citrus rind, with light tropical mango notes.
Taste: Lightly sour, funky, and a touch bitter. Lemon, citrus zest, grapefruit rind, honey, a touch peppery, and a dash of wood.
Mouthfeel: Light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Light easy drinking thirst quenching farmhouse ale with good aromas and flavours.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Brouwerij Lindemans, Lambic - Gueuze

Lindemans Oude Gueuze Cuvée René

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Brewery: Brouwerij Lindemans
Country: Belgium
ABV: 5.5%
Style: Lambic – Gueuze

Brewer Description: (from bottle) In Belgium brewing beer is considered as a form of art. In our family this art has been passed down since 1822 from generation to generation. Our traditional Gueuze Cuvée René Grand Cru is brewed with wild yeast from the surrounding air, water, malted barley, wheat and aged hop flowers.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.17
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 750ml gold foil covered and corked bottle, bottled on 14th April 2016. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen gueuze glass.
Appearance: A lightly hazy golden orange colour with a big two finger white head that had pretty good retention and left some nice lacing.
Aroma: Pear, green apple, apple peel, funky, damp wood, with notes of wood shavings.
Taste: Lightly sour, tart, lemon, fruit sweetness, apple peel, apple, pear, white wine grapes, funk, wet wood, with oaky notes.
Mouthfeel: Light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Easy drinking and extremely quaffable.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Bokke, Lambic - Fruit

Bokke Framboos Pjassel

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Brewery: Bokke
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6%
Style: Lambic – Fruit
Other Notes: 2019 vintage

Brewer Description: (from bottle) 1,2 & 3 year old lambic with 3 varieties of raspberries and red vineyard peaches.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.33
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 750ml corked and capped bottle, 2019 vintage, bottled in February 2020. Poured into a Tilquin stemmed glass.
Appearance: A lightly hazy ruby red colour with a big three finger pinkish orange head that had pretty good retention and left some nice lacing.
Aroma: Jammy, raspberry, peach, band aid, oak, tart, lemon zest.
Taste: Sour, tart, raspberries, peach, lemon zest, minerals, oak, light funk, lemon juice, acidity.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate to high carbonation.
Overall: Enjoyable fruit in the aroma and flavour, except that there is some acidity that is on the borderline of being too much, but just stays on the right side of things.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Oskar Blues Brewery, Stout - Imperial, USA

Oskar Blues BA21 Vol.5

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Brewery: Oskar Blues Brewery
Country: USA
ABV: 13.3%
Style: Stout – Imperial
Other Notes: 2021 Barrel Aged Series

Brewer Description: (from can) Imperial Stout aged in Bourbon barrels with coffee beans and vanilla.

My rating: 4+
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.44
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.3

Intro: A 12 fl. oz. can, 2021 barrel aged series, canned on 21st January 2021. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Black in colour, with a near one finger tan brown head that had pretty good retention and left some nice lacing.
Aroma: Roasty, fresh crushed coffee beans, chocolate, vanilla, toffee, bourbon, with dried dark fruit notes, and a touch of nuts.
Taste: Bittersweet, roasty, espresso, dark chocolate, caramel, bourbon, and vanilla.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, full bodied, with soft carbonation.
Overall: A really enjoyable sipper with good balanced aroma and flavours. As good as BBA Ten Fidy.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, IPA - New England / Hazy Double, Japan, West Coast Brewing

West Coast Freestyle Sandbox Vol.5

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Brewery: West Coast Brewing
Country: Japan
ABV: 8.5%
Style: IPA – New England / Hazy Double
Other Notes: Hops – Freestyle Nelson Sauvin, Freestyle Rakau and Freestyle Motueka

Brewer Description: (from website Google translated to English) Run to the sandy beach with excitement! Hop Dude and his friends were allowed to use a gift from New Zealand produced in 2023, and once again they began their creations on the vast Mochimune beach. There is only one rule I have with the Freestyle guys, and that is to only use hops from “Freestyle Hops.” Freely and grandly, it takes trial and error to combine them to your own perfection.

The 5th installment of the series, which continues to have fun no matter if it’s cold or has sand on your face, goes by in the blink of an eye. Recently at WCB, the lot of hops used (Freestyle Hops) was switched to a fresh new inventory of the 2023 edition, which made Hop Dude and others very happy.

Aromas of pineapple, mango, papaya, and tropical fruits. Similar flavors include peach and a hint of orange. A pleasant drink with a mellow sweetness and a slight bitterness.

No matter how cold the winter is, let’s still play! With ideas from Hop Dude and others, new combinations of Hazy will continue to be enshrined in Sunayama.

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

Intro: A 500ml can, canned on 11th December 2023. Poured into a winebar glass.
Appearance: A hazy milky orange colour, with an almost two finger white head that had good retention and left nice lacing.
Aroma: Juicy, citrus peel, orange rind, tropical fruits, papaya, mango, with light melon and grassy notes.
Taste: Juicy, tropical, mango, papaya, citrus pith, orange rind, light melon, and a touch of grass.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Good juicy aroma and flavours. Enjoyed it as much as Freestyle Sandbox Vol.4. Still wish we could get these within 1 month of the canned on dates… 2 months is pushing it, and probably doesn’t do it justice, and also makes me reluctant to buy more than one can, just to give it a try, especially since I feel they’re currently doing some of the better IPAs in Asia.