Category Archives: Beer Reviews

4 - Good (buy), Almanac Beer Co., Beer Reviews, Farmhouse Saison, USA

Almanac Saison de Brettaville

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Brewery: Almanac Beer Co.
Country: USA
ABV: 7.2%
Style: Belgian Saison
Other Notes: Farm to barrel. Brettanomyces ale aged in white wine barrels

Brewer Description: (from bottle) We love brettanomyces! This wild yeast, better known as “brett,” brings out a wide range of flavors and aromas in beer, from exotic fruits to earthy funk. We added a dozen different brett strains to our dry-hopped Saison Dolores, then aged it in white wine barrels for many months. The result is an intricate farmhouse ale with the kind of nuance and depth that only brett can create.

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

Intro: A 375ml bottle, bottled in September 2015. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku.
Appearance: A nice hazy golden colour with a two finger white head that had pretty good retention and nice lacing.
Aroma: Flowers and orange zest with hints of grapefruit, oak, pine and brett funk.
Taste: White wine with hints of oak, mango, candied pineapple, lemon and funk.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: This was nice and easy to drink. Only a little sour, but well balanced and still good after almost 19 months.

4 - Good (buy), Almanac Beer Co., Beer Reviews, USA, Wild Ale

Almanac Citra Sour

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Brewery: Almanac Beer Co.
Country: USA
ABV: 7%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: Farm to barrel. AKA Almanac Hoppy Sour: Citra

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Sour Blonde Ale aged in wine barrels & dry hopped with Citra.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.34
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 375ml bottle, bottled in July 2015. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku.
Appearance: A nice hazy golden orange colour with a two finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly while leaving some nice sticky lacing.
Aroma: Tropical fruit, mango and pineapple followed by citrusy mandarin, orange rind and grapefruit with hints of funkiness.
Taste: Similar to the aroma as its funky, tart, sour, tropical, mango, passionfruit and apricot, followed by citrusy mandarin and orange rind with light oak.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate to high carbonation.
Overall: Very nice and refreshing tropical and citrus aromas and flavours with matching funk. The barrel notes were a bit weak, but I’m perfectly fine with that in this case.

5 - Excellent (must buy), Beer Reviews, Belgian Pale Ale, Belgium, Brasserie D’Orval S.A.

Orval

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Brewery: Brasserie D’Orval S.A.
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6.2%
Style: Belgian Pale Ale

Brewer Description: (from website) The distinctive fruity and bitter taste of Orval beer means it has become a genuine reference in the exclusive world of authentic Trappist beers. Orval beer is a high fermentation beer. The ageing process adds a fruity note, which strikes a subtle balance between the beer’s full-bodied yet complex flavour and bitterness. The beer was first brewed in 1931 and owes its unparalleled taste to the quality of the water, the hops and the yeast used. The brewery has selected very aromatic and unique hop varieties, which hark back to the first brewmaster of Orval, who hailed from Bavaria. The beer’s aromas are very pronounced while maintaining the right level of bitterness thanks to the English method of dry hopping. The various stages of fermentation – combined fermentation with the original yeast and with wild yeast, followed by fermentation in the bottle – mean the beer must age for some time and requires numerous quality controls.

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.56
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.3

Intro: A 330ml bottle, bottled on 3rd February 2016, best before 3rd February 2021, and poured into a Chimay goblet.
Appearance: A clear copper colour with an almost two finger white head that had great retention and left nice sticky lacing.
Aroma: Very fruity berries, grape, apple and pear with hints of coriander and brett.
Taste: Nice gentle fruitiness, berries, grape, bubblegum and plum with a light tartness, light peppery spice, brett, funk and a hint of banana.
Mouthfeel: Dry-ish, medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Very nice and very well balanced beer, and a must buy beer in my book.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Belgian Pale Ale, Denmark, Mikkeller ApS

Mikkeller Årh Hvad?!

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Brewery: Mikkeller ApS
Country: Denmark
ABV: 6.8%
Style: Belgian Pale Ale
Other Notes: Brewed & bottled by Mikkeller at De Proef Brouwerij

Brewer Description: (from Mikkeller blog) Originally created as a tribute to one of Mikkeller’s favourite beers, Årh Hvad is a great accompaniment to cheeses. A Belgian Ale with cloudy amber colour and white head. The taste is a combination of pepper, malt and hops. Årh Hvad finishes with notes of strawberries and nutty malt and a light hopped grapefruit finish.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.62
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.5

Intro: A 330ml bottle with a best before date of 23rd October 2023. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: A hazy dark orange, copper, amber colour with a huge two finger fluffy off white head that kept growing out the glass with great retention and lots of sticky lacing.
Aroma: Tart berries, brett, funky, grape with hints of white wine and citrusy mandarin, orange on the back end.
Taste: Lightly sour to start with berries, plum, orange, pine, pepper spice and florally with a lightly bitter finish.
Mouthfeel: Medium to light bodied with low to moderate carbonation.
Overall: This was interesting as it was created as a tribute to Orval, and while there are some similarities, I still preferred Orval (which I had side by side) and which I felt had a smoother and better flavour profile.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Scotch Ale / Wee Heavy, Scotland, Tempest Brewing Co.

Tempest Old Parochial

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Brewery: Tempest Brewing Co.
Country: Scotland
ABV: 10%
Style: Scotch Ale
Other Notes: Barrel aged Imperial Scotch ale. Hops – Waimea

Brewer Description: (from website) Nostalgia and Celebration in a bottle. Raise a glass to the art of barrel aging with this rich, complex imperial scotch ale aged in Craigellachie barrels. Smoke, stone fruit, and caramel blend together on the palate with warming hum of whisky.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.64
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.4

Intro: A 330ml bottle with a best before date of 28th December 2018. Poured into a snifter.
Appearance: A cloudy brown colour with quite a bit of small to tiny sediment, a thin tanned head that dissipated quickly and some sparse spotty lacing.
Aroma: Sweet, malty, caramel, dark dried fruit, wood with some light smoke and alcohol.
Taste: Roasted malts, caramel, wood, vanilla and smoke. There is some whisky character, and light sweet dark dried fruit, mostly prunes and raisins.
Mouthfeel: Full bodied with light carbonation.
Overall: I find that not many beers taste better than its aroma, but this beer falls in that category. The sweetness coming from the aroma kind of put me off a bit. But this was not the case when I tasted it as the barrel character was clearly the main attraction (smoke, vanilla, wood) and it was a good thing (for me), that the sweetness of the dried fruit was only in the background.