Category Archives: Beer Reviews

Mikkeller Chill Pils Yuzu

Brewery: Mikkeller ApS
Country: Denmark
ABV: 4.7%
Style: Fruit Beer
Other Notes: Brewed and bottled by Mikkeller at De Proef Brouwerij

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Pilsner-style beer brewed with yuzu.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.77
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.7

Intro: A 330ml bottle with a best before date of 7th April 2017. Poured into a Mikkeller pint glass.
Appearance: A slightly hazy golden orange colour with a two finger foamy white head that had good retention and nice curtain lacing.
Aroma: Juicy mango, orange and mandarin with only a touch of yuzu.
Taste: Yuzu finally comes out in the taste along with mandarin, orange and a hint of bready toasty malt.
Mouthfeel: Light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: It’s pretty simple, but still very easy to drink, and even better on a hot summer day.

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OWA Yuzu Lambic

Brewery: OWA Brewery SPRL
Country: Belgium
ABV: 5.5%
Style: Belgian Lambic (Fruit)
Other Notes: Brewed at Brouwerij De Troch. Yuzu is from Wakayama Japan

Brewer Description: (from website) A very good choice for those who are not keen on a typical beer taste. Very easy to drink and very refreshing. Yuzu is a Japanese lemon. During brewing, only the peel is used to steep inside the Lambic.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.49
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.3

Intro: A 375ml corked, capped and paper wrapped bottle, 2015 vintage, with a best before end date of January 2020. Poured into a Cantillon ballon glass.
Appearance: It poured a clear golden copper colour with no head and no lacing.
Aroma: Funk, wood and mineral with lots of citrus orange, sour yuzu and lemon.
Taste: Tart and very sour yuzu plus lemon peel, with a hint of wood and vinegar.
Mouthfeel: Acidic, light to medium bodied with light to no carbonation.
Overall: It started out kind of rough for me, but definitely got better the more I drank it and tasted better than its aroma. Its worth a try if you enjoy sour and/or lambic beer. Love the artwork though!

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Deschutes Obsidian Stout

Brewery: Deschutes Brewery
Country: USA
ABV: 6.4%
Style: American Stout
Other Notes: 55 IBUs. Malts – Pale, Crystal, Carapils, Munich, Black Barley, Roasted Barley and Wheat. Hops – Nugget, Bravo, Delta and Northern Brewer

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Notes of espresso and dark chocolate with a roasty finish.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.17
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.9

Intro: A 355ml bottle with a best before date of 30th January 2017, poured into a Spiegelau Stout glass.
Appearance: Black in colour with a big frothy three fingered mocha brown head with pretty good retention and great lacing.
Aroma: Light roasty, milk chocolate, coffee and a hint of raspberries.
Taste: Sweet-ish milk chocolate, a touch of dark fruit with a bitter roast coffee bean and espresso finish.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, medium to light bodied with mild carbonation.
Overall: An easy to drink Stout with nice chocolate and coffee notes.

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Avery Vanilla Bean Stout

Brewery: Avery Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 11.5%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Stout with Vanilla Beans added, Aged in Bourbon Barrels

Brewer Description: (from bottle) A double dose of vanilla derived from both fresh Bourbon barrels and the trio of Tongan, Ugandan and Mexican whole vanilla beans is complemented by essences of chocolate, caramel and molasses to round out this luxuriously silky stout.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.46
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.3

Intro: A 22 fl oz foiled bomber, bottled on 29th April 2016. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: A dark dark brown to black colour with a less than one finger tanned head that dissipated fairly quickly while leaving some sparse lacing.
Aroma: Nice strong sweet vanilla, cocoa, oak, bourbon and perhaps some light char.
Taste: Sweet vanilla, cocoa, molasses and toffee, a good hit of bourbon with a touch of dark fruit and oak.
Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied with moderate to light carbonation.
Overall: Other than its body being lighter than I prefer for an Imperial Stout, this beer has everything else going for it. Great aromas and taste make it a great sipper on a cool night.

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Pirate Life IPA

Brewery: Pirate Life Brewing
Country: Australia
ABV: 6.8%
Style: American IPA
Other Notes: Malts – Pale Malt, Munich and Crystal. Hops – Centennial, Riwaka and Simcoe

Brewer Description: (from website blog) Up until now if you wanted to step up from our Pale Ale you would have to reach for a trusty tall boy of our IIPA. While we would baulk at the suggestion that this is ever a bad thing, there are times where one wants to drink at least four beers without feeling like they have just gone round for round with Boony on a plane trip back from London. So we are happy to announce we have finally bridged the ABV gap with the release of our fourth core range beer: The Pirate Life IPA. Sitting nicely between our Pale Ale and IIPA at 6.8% ABV the IPA has a gentle orange hue and a round, full bodied malt character care of Pale Malt, Munich and Crystal. With our Pale Ale and IIPA having withdrawn most of our funds from the dank bank we thought it was time to make a beer that brought something a little different to the table. Chock full of Centennial, Riwaka and Simcoe our IPA is bright, fruity and full of liquid fun.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.97
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.7

Intro: A 355ml can with a best before date of 21st June 2017. Poured into a Spiegelau IPA glass.
Appearance: A slightly hazy amber orange colour with a big three finger cream coloured head that had decent retention and left some light lacing.
Aroma: Piney, citrus grapefruit with a hint of tropical mango.
Taste: Bitter citrus grapefruit and orange, a touch of pine and toasty biscuit malt.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: A nice refreshing IPA with great aromas.

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