Category Archives: Beer Reviews

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Against The Grain Brewery x Moonzen Brewery, American Amber / Red Ale, Beer Reviews, USA

Against The Grain x Moonzen Cock Of The Wok

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Brewery: Against The Grain Brewery x Moonzen Brewery
Country: USA
ABV: 5.9%
Style: American Amber Ale
Other Notes: Collaboration brewed and bottle at Against The Grain

Brewer Description: (from bottle) A collaboration. Ancient Chinese proverb states: “Man with hole in pocket feels cocky all day.” So true… as true and righteous as this auspicious red ale brewed with Hibiscus and Bai Jiguan Oolong tea. Against the Grain and Moonzen collaborate to celebrate the Year of the Fire Rooster. Tso good you’ll frip out!

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.75
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.6

Intro: A 650ml bottle with no bottled on or best before date. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: A clear copper amber colour with a slightly less than two finger off white head that dissipated fairly quickly and left only sparse lacing.
Aroma: Tea, sweet lychee, flowery with hints of biscuit malt (note: I do not know what hibiscus or Bai Jiguan tea smells or tastes like).
Taste: Sweet fruity like raspberry, light floral tea with a hint of biscuit malt and bitterness.
Mouthfeel: Light bodied with light carbonation.
Overall: Taste was a nice mix of fruity and floral. Carbonation was on the light side though which made it a bit tea like/watery. But still, it’s easy to drink and good on a hot day.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Against The Grain Brewery, Beer Reviews, Farmhouse Saison, USA

Against The Grain Fruitus The Farmer Beescake

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Brewery: Against The Grain Brewery
Country: USA
ABV: 8%
Style: Belgian Saison
Other Notes: All Funked Up Wild Series

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Melon and honey Saison finished with Brettanomyces.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.84
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.6

Intro: A 750ml bottle with no bottled on or best before date that I could see. A slow gusher when opened. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: A slightly hazy golden orange colour with a two finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly to a settled thin layer and sparse lacing.
Aroma: Light peppery spice, hints of mustiness, some tropical peach and orange juice with an interesting melon-y honeydew and cantaloupe in the background.
Taste: Quite sweet honey, cantaloupe, honeydew, blood orange with hints of funk and pepper spice.
Mouthfeel: Medium to light bodied with moderate prickly carbonation.
Overall: This was nice and interestingly different with the melon aroma and flavours. It’s actually great for summers, but I would have preferred it in a small bottle as it is quite sweet.

2 - Maybe (likely wouldn't buy, might drink), Beer Reviews, Beerbliotek, German Berliner Weisse, Sweden

Beerbliotek Nah… Just Had Some Ice Cream

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Brewery: Beerbliotek
Country: Sweden
ABV: 3.5%
Style: German Berliner Weisse
Other Notes: 330ml of 2800L. Blueberry & Lactose Berliner

Brewer Description: (from can) In this Berliner, which is our eighth in this series, we mixed a blend of Blueberries, Lactose and Vanilla to create a wonderfully colourful, semi-sour, low ABV beer. Perfect for winter, as it will remind you of summer.

My rating: 2
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.25
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.1

Intro: A 330ml can with a best before date of 20th December 2017. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: A nice clear ruby red colour with a purplish hue and a one finger pink head that dissipated fairly quickly while leaving only sparse lacing.
Aroma: Berry fruit, vanilla, ice cream and yoghurt.
Taste: It was like watered down mixed berry juice with hints of vanilla, lactose and yoghurt. The taste disappears to nothing quite fast.
Mouthfeel: Light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Tastes too watered down for me to enjoy it fully and on top of that, the taste disappears really fast from your mouth and just leaves you with nothingness.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Beerbliotek, German Berliner Weisse, Sweden

Beerbliotek What’s Better Than Eating A Mandarin?

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Brewery: Beerbliotek
Country: Sweden
ABV: 3.5%
Style: German Berliner Weisse
Other Notes: 330ml of 2000L. Mandarin, Mango & Ginger Berliner

Brewer Description: (from can) For answers to riddles like this one and more, please have a look at the joke book on your uncle’s bookshelf or maybe just Ask Jeeves.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.55
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.3

Intro: A 330ml can with a best before date of xx October 2017 (xx was rubbed off). Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: A hazy straw yellow colour with a one finger white head that dissipated to nothing almost immediately and no lacing.
Aroma: Mango, orange, mandarin with a dash of lemon, lightly tart, but not getting much ginger.
Taste: Sour unripe mango, ginger ale, orange, lemon and wheatiness on the back end.
Mouthfeel: Light bodied with moderate to high carbonation.
Overall: Was not great with my first sip, but I must say that it grew on me and got somewhat better. I think it was the ginger that threw me off at first.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), American Double IPA, Beer Reviews, Green Flash Brewing Co., USA

Green Flash Palate Wrecker

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Brewery: Green Flash Brewing Co.
Country: USA
ABV: 9.5%
Style: American Double IPA
Other Notes: 100+ IBUs. 6lbs of hops per barrel. Hops – Centennial, Columbus and Simcoe

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Our heavy hitter. Weighing in at six pounds of hops per barrel, Palate Wrecker stands up to the hoppiest heavyweight in the ring. A complex double-brewing process of mashing and sparging with hopped wort and special hop layering techniques used during a hop crisis define this champion. An abundance of Centennial, Columbus and Simcoe hops challenge and stun hop heads with an aggressive hop-forward attack. Your palate will recover, but you will remember that last round forever.

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

Intro: A 12 fl oz bottle with a best before date of 8th August 2017. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: A very nice clear copper amber colour with a two finger off white head that had great retention and left lots of nice sticky lacing.
Aroma: Earthy, piney with citrus mandarin, sweet candied orange and hints of caramel malt.
Taste: Strong bitterness, lots of citrus rind, and whenever they can get through the bitterness, there’s some pine, orange, grapefruit, citrus peel with hints of bready malt and caramel.
Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: It was nice but this definitely was a palate wrecker. A whole lot of bitterness, which I can certainly enjoy every now and then, but not too often.