Category Archives: Beer Reviews

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), American Pale Ale, Beer Reviews, Denmark, To Øl

To Øl Southern Frontier

Tuesday, 25 August 2015 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: To Øl
Country: Denmark
ABV: 6%
Style: American Pale Ale
Other Notes: Hops – Simcoe, Centennial, Columbus. Brewed at De Proef Brouwerij, Belgium.

Brewer Description: (from bottle) A real American inspired south state pale ale packed with hops and maize. Brewed in collaboration with Bishops Arms Gustav as a tribute to the long lived peace between Danes and Swedes.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.74
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.6

Intro: A 330ml bottle with a best before date of 8th January 2016 and poured into a pint glass.
Appearance: It poured a slightly hazy amber copper colour with a two finger slightly off white coloured head that slowly dissipated into a thin foamy layer with stringy lacing.
Aroma: Starts with citrus orange and grapefruit followed by a light hit of tropical pineapple and finishes with a somewhat caramelly note.
Taste: Strong caramel malts at the beginning but finishes bitter. The aftertaste bitterness lasts long and is largely citrus grapefruit with hints of pine and lychee.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with medium carbonation.
Overall: This was quite nice but personally due to the strong hop bitterness, it feels more like an IPA than an APA. Having said that, Southern Frontier is still nice to drink and goes down easy.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgian Witbier, Brasseries Kronenbourg, France

Kronenbourg 1664 Blanc

Sunday, 23 August 2015 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Brasseries Kronenbourg
Country: France
ABV: 5%
Style: Belgian Witbier

Brewer Description: (from website) Brewed with a hint of citrus and coriander spice, Blanc has an inimitable sweet and refreshing flavor that makes it special amongst all the other wheat beers (white beers).

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.13
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.8

Intro: A 330ml blue bottle with a best before date of April 2016 and poured into a pint glass.
Appearance: Poured a hazy straw yellow with a slightly more than one finger white head that dissipates within a minute leaving stringy lacing.
Aroma: Fruity aromas of orange, banana and peach with honey floating about and a light citrusy lemon wheat backbone.
Taste: Flavours are mainly peachy with hints of fruity lemon, banana and apricot.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with medium carbonation.
Overall: Light, crisp and very easy to drink. It is refreshing on a hot summers day with the nice peachy flavours.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Anderson Valley Brewing Company, Beer Reviews, English Extra Special Bitter, USA

Anderson Valley Belk’s ESB

Friday, 21 August 2015 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Anderson Valley Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 6.8%
Style: English Extra Special Bitter
Other Notes: Formerly known as Boont’s ESB. BUT I’ve also heard that this has recently been discontinued… (and I can barely find any info on the Anderson Valley website)

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Burnished gold hue with a persistent, rocky white head. Floral, spicy aroma redolent of lilacs, white pepper and Bartlett pears with undertones of blueberry honey and roses. A pleasant balance of crisp bitterness with a clean malt profile adorned spicy, herbal hop flavors lasting into a dry, refreshing finish.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.46
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.5

Intro: A 12 fl oz bottle with no visible best by or bottled date and poured into a pint glass.
Appearance: Poured a slightly hazy orangey copper colour with a one finger off white head that dissipates within a minute leaving some stringy lacing.
Aroma: A bit weak but what little I do get is caramel malts, some fruitiness like plum, pear, apple sauce and orange plus hints of mineral notes.
Taste: Strong caramel sweetness beginning and citrus grapefruit bitterness finish with hints of pine, grass and pepper in between.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with low carbonation and dry finish.
Overall: This was decent but nothing special. I think I may prefer it more if it had a little less of the caramel sweetness.

2 - Maybe (likely wouldn't buy, might drink), Almanac Beer Co., Beer Reviews, Gose - Fruit, USA

Almanac Golden Gate Gose

Thursday, 20 August 2015 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Almanac Beer Co.
Country: USA
ABV: 5%
Style: Gose – Fruit
Other Notes: Tart wheat beer brewed with local coriander, lemon verbana and San Francisco Bay sea salt.

Brewer Description: (from website) Our Golden Gate Gose is inspired by the classic wheat beer hailing from Leipzig, Germany. Traditionally brewed with salt and coriander, our tart California-inspried version is brewed with San Francisco Bay sea salt, lemon verbena from Eatwell Farm in Dixon, and coriander grown and dried especially for us by Dirty Girl Produce in Santa Cruz, California. Fermented with our house saison yeast, this delicate and tart beer is a perfect summer refresher. Pair with fresh seafood and sunshine.

My rating: 2
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.23
My ratebeer.com rating: 3

Intro: A 22 fl oz bomber poured into a pint glass. There is a batch number or date or something, but that’s been rubbed off such that unfortunately, its not legible.
Appearance: The beer poured a clear golden colour with a two finger white head that dissipates quickly leaving only some light lacing. NOTE – actually that was until I poured the final 1/8 of the bottle into the glass later on after which it turned a milky haziness which to be honest did not look too good at all.
Aroma: Tart lemon and honey stands out, also some hints of coriander. But occasionally, there was some in my opinion slightly unpleasant smell I can only describe as dank. I can’t really put my finger on why, and it was only occasional, but it was there.
Taste: Much better than the smell, the taste begins tart and sour, mainly crisp apple and lemon. This is followed by some sweetness of honey and vanilla. Then finishes with a nice long lasting salt aftertaste.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with medium carbonation.
Overall: Actually, the taste is quite good and I enjoyed it, but the milky haziness look wasn’t too nice and the occasional dankness smell that appears brings it down a bit for me.

5 - Excellent (must buy), American IPA, Ballast Point Brewing Company, Beer Reviews, USA

Ballast Point Sculpin IPA

Tuesday, 18 August 2015 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Ballast Point Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 7%
Style: American IPA
Other Notes: 70 IBUs

Brewer Description: (from bottle) A trophy beer that’s a testament to our homebrew roots. Our Sculpin IPA is a great example of what got us into brewing in the first place. After years of experimenting, we knew hopping an ale at five separate stages would produce something special. The result ended up being this gold medal-winning IPA, whose inspired use of hops creates hints of apricot, peach, mango and lemon flavors, but still pack a bit of a sting. Just like a Sculpin.

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.77
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.6

Intro: A 22 fl oz bomber with a bottled code date of 15063 which means 4th March 2015, and poured into a Spiegelau IPA glass.
Appearance: The beer poured a very nice clear golden orange colour with a two and a half finger white head that dissipates slowly leaving a thin foamy layer and thick lacing.
Aroma: Nice strong aromas with tropical mango and peach strongest followed by apricot, citrus orange and some pine.
Taste: Starts with citrus grapefruit and some light bready malts, followed by tropical fruits mainly mango, apricot and pineapple, hints of pine and finishes with bitter grapefruit once more.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with medium carbonation and very refreshing
Overall: Stunning and absolutely loved it. One of the best IPA’s out there in my opinion. A definite must buy for me. And now I just need to try an even fresher version.

words of another dreamy traveller