Category Archives: Beer Reviews

2 - Maybe (likely wouldn't buy, might drink), Beer Reviews, Boston Beer Company, USA, Wild Ale

Samuel Adams (Barrel Room Collection) Stony Brook Red

Friday, 30 December 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Boston Beer Company
Country: USA
ABV: 9%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: A unique Belgian Style Red with a hint of tart, fruit and toasted oak character

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Distinctive and enticing, this unique and utterly complex brew builds from the inspiration of Flemish reds. It begins with an earthy sourness and hints of dark fruit but the tartness gives way to a rich maltiness and touch of toasted oak. These flavors are rounded and deepened by the barrel aging for a layered & alluring brew. One of our brewers’ favorite places to experiment is in the barrel room at our Boston Brewery. It’s here that each of our Samuel Adams Barrel Room Collection brews was born.

My rating: 2
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.5
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.2

Intro: A 1pt 9.4 fl oz corked and caged bottle with a best before date of 1st October 2017. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: A dark ruby reddish brown colour with a big three finger light tanned head that had decent retention and left only sparse lacing.
Aroma: Fruity tart cherry, red berries, grape, plum, caramel and a touch of vinegar.
Taste: Much less fruit than the aroma, sour, tart, cherry, plum, oak, alcohol and vinegar.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied and highly (overly) carbonated.
Overall: Taste was decent but I think its fruitiness was definitely affected by the harshness of the carbonation, which I felt mellowed it, when compared to the aroma. For me, the problem all stemmed from the harshness of the carbonation when swallowing, which I thought was way more than even any soda that I’ve drank before. If toned down a bit, I think that I would have enjoyed it a lot more.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Harviestoun Brewery, Old Ale, Scotland

Harviestoun Ola Dubh Special Reserve 21

Friday, 30 December 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Harviestoun Brewery
Country: Scotland
ABV: 8%
Style: English Old Ale
Other Notes: Aged in Highland Park 21 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky casks.

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Aged in selected oak casks, formerly used to mature Highland Park’s beautifully balanced 21 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky.

(from tag) Ola Dubh (or ‘Black Oil’) is so named because it is gloopy and viscous. This limited release has been matured in casks from Orkney’s award-winning Highland Park distillery to add complementary whisky notes to what is already an amazing brew. It is chocolatey with a roasty, bittersweet aftertaste.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.94
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.8

Intro: A 330ml foiled and capped bottle, bottle no. 00214, bottled in April 2014, and best before end of May 2017. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: A clear dark brown colour with pretty much no head and only very sparse spotted lacing.
Aroma: Chocolate, whisky, wood and vanilla with maybe a touch of coffee.
Taste: Dark chocolate, roasty malts and coffee bean, whisky and vanilla with a hint of sweet dark fruit, raisin, plum and prunes on the finish.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with low carbonation.
Overall: Nice roastiness and vanilla with subtle but clear whisky notes makes this go down easy. Definitely on the lookout for the other years now.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, German Rauchbier, Germany, Schlenkerla (Heller-Bräu)

Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Märzen

Thursday, 29 December 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Schlenkerla (Heller-Bräu)
Country: Germany
ABV: 5.1%
Style: German Rauchbier
Other Notes: 30 IBUs

Brewer Description: (from website) Bamberg’s speciality, a dark, bottom fermented smokebeer, brewed with Original Schlenkerla Smokemalt from the Schlenkerla maltings and tapped according to old tradition directly from the gravity-fed oakwood cask in the historical brewery tavern.

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

Intro: A 500ml bottle with a best before date of May 2017. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: A clear dark amber colour with a two fingered tanned head that had decent retention and left nice lacing.
Aroma: Smokey, bacon, ham and toast.
Taste: Smoked meats especially ham and charcoal-ly upfront before giving way to sweet-ish caramel malts and a touch of fruit.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, medium bodied with moderate to low carbonation.
Overall: A very nice smoked beer with lovely smoked ham aromas and taste balanced with a touch of sweetness.

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

Avery Tweak

Wednesday, 28 December 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Avery Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 17.5%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Batch No.2. Stout with Coffee added, aged in Bourbon Barrels

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Our very own Parker, of the cartoon and cat loving variety, created this cult classic character back in our 17th season. Appearing in several episodes under another stage name that was deemed inappropriate, our executive producers and editors decided that a name change and further character development – a 4-month hiatus in bourbon barrels – were necessary to satisfy our most ardent and demanding viewers.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.34
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 12 fl oz bottle, Batch #2, bottled on 25th January 2016. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: A dark brown to black colour with a one finger mocha head that had decent retention and left sparse spotty lacing.
Aroma: Very nice cocoa, chocolate fudge, espresso coffee, vanilla, raisin, cherry and bourbon.
Taste: Sweet plum, prunes, raisin, bittersweet chocolate, vanilla, molasses, coffee and strong but not overpowering bourbon.
Mouthfeel: A little bit thin at medium to full bodied, with low carbonation. Definitely some boozy heat, but its not overdone.
Overall: A very nice Coffee BA Imperial Stout that’s not overly sweet and has great aromas and taste. At 17.5% ABV, you get the boozy heat, but it’s still a very nice sipper.

1 - Poor (never again), American IPA, Beer Reviews, England, The Wild Beer Co.

Wild Beer Evolver IPA

Saturday, 24 December 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: The Wild Beer Co.
Country: England
ABV: 5.8%
Style: American IPA
Other Notes: Hops + Brettanomyces + Hops

Brewer Description: (from bottle) We believe exceptional brewing stems from imagination and passion, it’s not just a process. By embracing our love of wild yeast strains and not being confined by rules, tradition or ingredients, we can add a Wild 5th ingredient or process to our beers. We want to give you a truly memorable drinking experience, altering your perceptions and thrilling your taste buds. Drink Wildly Different.
The exploration of yeast strains and the different results we can achieve are beautifully exemplified in Evolver, a pale ale with a difference. 100% fermented with brettanomyces, a naturally occurring wild yeast. For the first 3 months the beer tastes the same as a fresh pale ale, then the differing flavour compounds start to shine through and after 6 months the brett really takes hold.
The brettanomyces yeast is particularly good at keeping hop flavours fresh for far longer than traditional brewing yeasts. The Evolver takes on a more complex character over time as the yeast and the hops combine to produce a new and exciting beer that will continue to evolve as the yeast slowly matures the beer.
This is a beer that can be drink fresh, as a normal pale ale should be, or left to evolve and mature into a unique and unusual beer.

My rating: 1
My beeradvocate.com rating: 2.91
My ratebeer.com rating: 2.7

Intro: A 330ml bottle with a best before date of 26th June 2017. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: A hazy golden orange with a two finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly but leaves nice lacing.
Aroma: Generally quite light, but what I do get is light funk and brett with some tropical peach and mango and maybe a touch of orange.
Taste: Funky, brett, light pepper spice, moderate bitterness, some lemon and hints of peach.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Nope, I didn’t get this one. Aroma while too light, was nice, but everything else just didn’t really go with each other and just seemed out of sync.

words of another dreamy traveller