Category Archives: Beer Reviews

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Equilibrium Brewery, IPA - New England / Hazy Triple, USA

Equilibrium Super Fractal Julia Set

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Brewery: Equilibrium Brewery
Country: USA
ABV: 10.5%
Style: New England / Hazy Triple IPA

Brewer Description: (from untappd) The Julia Set is named after the French mathematician Gaston Julia. This complex set exists as a by-product of the Mandelbrot set and was devised while studying complex dynamics during the early 20th century. This set of complex numbers can cause drastic changes in the sequence of iterated functions.

Tying this into the newest beer of our series, we scaled up from Fractal using a super simple grain bill of 2-Row and our specific fractal fermentation profile before intensely hoping it with a Mosaic and El Dorado whirlpool and a dry hop of Citra, Mosaic, Strata and El Dorado.

Super Fractal Julia Set pours a vivid hazy yellow with an aroma of tropical citrus, ripe red berries, and candied lemon peel. Big flavors of navel orange, mango, stone fruit, currants, and berry come alive in a dangerously drinkable and smooth #EQjuice finish. The quest to have you seeing spirals and weird shapes continues.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.28
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 1 pint can, canned on 21st April 2022, poured into a winebar glass.
Appearance: A hazy orange colour with a big three finger beige head that had good retention and left lots of nice lacing.
Aroma: Tropical and citrus notes, pineapple, guava, orange juice, lime zest.
Taste: Juicy, tropical and citrus fruits, mango, pineapple, guava, orange, lemon zest, with notes of melon. Nice bitterness on the finish with ever so slight booziness.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, medium to full bodied with soft to moderate carbonation.
Overall: A very easy to drink NE Triple IPA that’s very juicy and has a nice bitterness to it, and doesn’t feel like 10.5% ABV at all.

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

Founders KBS – Espresso

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Brewery: Founders Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 12%
Style: Stout – Imperial
Other Notes: Barrel Aged Series. 2021 release. Ale brewed with chocolate and coffee aged in oak bourbon barrels

Brewer Description: (from bottle) KBS gets its coffee fix in the very first variant to come from our beloved bourbon barrel-aged stout. Yes, KBS may already be brewed with coffee, but it gets some extra oomph when it’s aged on espresso beans after being removed from barrels. The result is a fresh and snappy coffee twist on our classic barrel-aged beer. Who says you can’t start your day with a barrel-aged stout?

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.33
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 12 fl. oz. bottle, bottled on 10th September 2021. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Pitch black with a one finger tanned brown head that had good retention and left some nice lacing.
Aroma: Lightly sweet, roasted malts, chocolate, coffee, chocolate milk, vanilla, bourbon, with oaky notes.
Taste: Lightly sweet, moderately bitter, roasty, coffee, dark chocolate, oak, vanilla, bourbon, and a nice long bitter finish.
Mouthfeel: Smooth, medium to full bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Another interesting KBS variant, with lots of coffee and a nice bitter finish, but again, I still prefer the original KBS more.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen, Flanders Oud Bruin

3 Fonteinen Nocturne

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Brewery: Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen
Country: Belgium
ABV: 7.1%
Style: Flanders Oud Bruin
Other Notes: Blend°2, Season 19/20. Number of bottles – 604

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Nocturne is a blend of 3 Fonteinen brewed dark full malt beers and traditional lambic. Spontaneously fermented. Matured in oak barrels. Extended bottle ageing. Unfiltered. Unpasteurised.

On the 30th of March 2018, we brewed a fully barley malt beer wort, with pilsner, pale ale, cara and roasted chocolate malt. We left this beer to age for almost two years on oak barrels. Prior to bottling, we blended the beer with some young lambik. Nocturne is our take on a Vlaams Oud Bruin – a Vlaams-Brabants Oud Bruin if you will. This beer is fully spontaneously fermented and all-natural without any addition of caramel sweetener or colouring. (yet, #notlambic). 100% 3 Fonteinen. # of bottles: 604.

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

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, blend°2, season 19/20, bottled on 6th November 2019, and with a best before date of 26th October 2039. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed Zenne glass.
Appearance: A dark amber dark brown colour with a one finger beige head that had good retention and left some nice lacing.
Aroma: Tart, red berries, cherry, cranberry, malty, light roast, with a hint of caramel, vinegar and lemon juice.
Taste: Sour, tart, red berries, cranberry, cherry, plum, oak, dark malt, light roast, light funk, and light vinegar notes.
Mouthfeel: Dry, medium bodied, with moderate carbonation.
Overall: A rare not lambic from 3 Fonteinen, but it was good. It’s a well made Oud Bruin that was really enjoyable on a hot spring night.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, De Struise Brouwers, Stout - Russian Imperial

De Struise Black Damnation XXII – Willy

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Brewery: De Struise Brouwers
Country: Belgium
ABV: 13%
Style: Russian Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Bottle 1184/2000, 2012 vintage

Brewer Description: (from bottle) A massive stout from Flanders aged in Clynelish Wilson & Morgan barrel.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.18
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 750ml bottle, number 1184/2000, 2012 vintage, bottled on 24th March 2017. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Black in colour with a slightly less than one finger brown head that had decent retention and left some nice spotty lacing.
Aroma: Roasted malts, boozy, whiskey, chocolate, licorice with notes of dried dark fruit, prunes.
Taste: Roasty, chocolate, whiskey, boozy, licorice, dark fruit, raisins, prunes.
Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: It’s quite boozy, but the roasty and whiskey flavours work well together, and it was an enjoyable sipper.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Belgium, De Struise Brouwers, Stout - Russian Imperial

De Struise Black Damnation XXI – Black Mes Senior

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Brewery: De Struise Brouwers
Country: Belgium
ABV: 13%
Style: Russian Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Bottle 1313/2000, 2012 vintage

Brewer Description: (from bottle) A massive stout from Flanders, matured in Caol Ila and Lagavulin barrels.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.85
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.6

Intro: A 750ml bottle, number 1313/2000, 2012 vintage, bottled on 25th March 2017. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Black in colour with a very thin brown head that dissipated quickly while leaving only sparse spotty lacing.
Aroma: Roasted malts, dark chocolate, chocolate cake, whisky, light peaty notes, brown sugar, molasses, and prunes.
Taste: Bitter, roasty, dark chocolate, burnt brown sugar, whisky.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: This was surprisingly thin compared to all the other Black Damnation that I’ve tried, and considering the Lagavulin barrel, there was a lot less peat than expected, especially in the flavour. It just didn’t work as well as the other variations in my opinion.