Category Archives: Style

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Bière de Champagne / Bière Brut, England, Mills Brewing

Mills Islay Brut

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Brewery: Mills Brewing
Country: England
ABV: 9%
Style: Bière de Champagne / Bière Brut
Other Notes: Mills Brewing make beer with minimal modern intervention, relying on local wild yeast cultures and the influence of nature to ferment.

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Islay Brut is a blend of four barrels from three separate worts produced in March, May, and August 2018. One of the brews fermented in two small Islay whisky barrels, imparting aromas of maritime peat. The blend was refermented with golden caster sugar to produce a strong and dry beer. Finally, it received a large dose of primings to produce a Champagne type carbonation. Serve at fridge temperature.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.4
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.3

Intro: A 750ml corked and capped bottle, bottled in August 2020, with a best before date of August 2030. Poured into a Tilquin stemmed glass.
Appearance: A hazy golden orange colour with a big three finger white head that had good retention and eventually settled to a fluffy cap, while leaving some nice lacing.
Aroma: Grapes, peat, leather, with oak and lemon zest creeping through.
Taste: Light sour, tart, super lemon candies, grape, oak, peat, with light mineral notes.
Mouthfeel: Dry, medium bodied with moderate to high carbonation.
Overall: I think you have to like peat to enjoy this, and luckily I do. It’s really well balanced as the peat is obviously there, but it doesn’t overpower everything else. The champagne like effervescent carbonation was also enjoyable, while the 9% abv was well hidden.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, England, Mills Brewing x Nevel, Wild Ale

Mills x Nevel Dinkum

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Brewery: Mills Brewing x Nevel
Country: England
ABV: 5.5%
Style: Wild Ale
Other Notes: Mills Brewing make beer with minimal modern intervention, relying on local wild yeast cultures and the influence of nature to ferment. Nevel Artisan Ales brew wild beer in Nijmegen with local, organic and foraged ingredients

Brewer Description: (from bottle) In April 2019 we brewed a rich, copper wort with locally picked blackberry leaves in the boil. Both brewery’s mixed cultures were used to ferment the wort in red wine barrels for 12 months. The resulting beer was blended with another reddish beer from August 2018. The beer was then dry hopped with whole leaf Huell Melon, Belma, Cascade and Citra.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.49
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.4

Intro: A 750ml corked and capped bottle, bottled in April 2020, with a best before date of April 2030. Poured into a Tilquin stemmed glass.
Appearance: A lightly hazy copper colour with a big three finger beige head that had good retention and left nice lacing.
Aroma: Lightly tart, grape, unripe berries, leafy, earthy, lemon zest, with notes of caramel.
Taste: Lightly sour, tart, grape, melon and berry notes, leafy, oak, citrusy, lemon zest.
Mouthfeel: Dry, medium to light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Complex and balanced aroma and flavours just made it extremely easy drinking and enjoyable.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Farmhouse Saison - Fruit, Logsdon Farmhouse Ales, USA

Logsdon Peche ‘n Brett

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Brewery: Logsdon Farmhouse Ales
Country: USA
ABV: 10%
Style: Farmhouse Saison – Fruit
Other Notes: Oak aged organic ale brewed with peaches

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Our seasonal oak aged organic peach beer is brewed with local Oregon fruit. Peche ‘n Brett is brewed and refermented with the peaches in our Seizoen Bretta. One and a half pound of peaches are added to each gallon of Bretta to produce a secondary fermentation resulting in complex peach aroma and flavor, hop balance and subtle malt character, followed up with brettanomyces and oak derived fruity dryness. Final refermentation with pear juice provides natural carbonation with added aromas and flavors in the bottle. Enjoy in a proper glass.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.55
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.4

Intro: A 750ml yellow waxed bottle with a best before date of March 2022. Poured into a Tilquin stemmed glass.
Appearance: A cloudy golden orange colour with a two finger white head that had decent retention and eventually settles to thin cap while leaving some lacing.
Aroma: Peach, peach creamsicle, oak, light funk and notes of brett and lemon zest.
Taste: Lightly tart, peach, brett, funk, hay and grapefruit.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: The 10% abv was well hidden and the aroma and flavours were enjoyable and well balanced.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Side Project Brewing, USA, Wild Ale

Side Project Terroir Project: Chambourcin

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Brewery: Side Project Brewing
Country: USA
ABV: 8%
Style: Wild Ale
Other Notes: 2017 vintage

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Missouri wild ale with wine grapes aged in oak.

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

Intro: A 375ml bottle, 2017 vintage, poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A clear dark ruby red colour with a thin pinkish head that dissipated quickly and left no lacing.
Aroma: Light tartness, red wine grapes, vinous, funky, hay, oak, with notes of mixed berry sweetness.
Taste: Light sour and tartness, vinous, red wine grapes, light funk, oak, with notes of cherry and mixed berries.
Mouthfeel: Dry, medium bodied with moderate to soft carbonation.
Overall: Nice complex aroma and flavours. It was more vinous than expected, but the aroma especially was really good and everything was just really balanced.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Side Project Brewing, USA, Wild Ale

Side Project Balaton

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Brewery: Side Project Brewing
Country: USA
ABV: 5%
Style: Wild Ale
Other Notes: Blend #2

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Missouri wild ale aged with Michigan cherries.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.48
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.4

Intro: A 375ml bottle, blend #2, poured into a Tilquin stemmed glass.
Appearance: A dark maroon almost cola colour, with a half finger pinkish tanned head that dissipated quickly to a ring around the glass while leaving only sparse lacing.
Aroma: Sweet dessert, cherry pie, cherry, almond, berry yoghurt, caramel.
Taste: Sweet, sour and tart, cherry, almond, caramel, cinnamon, oak, with acidic notes especially on the finish.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Absolutely wonderful aroma, and while taste was enjoyable, it wasn’t as amazing as the aroma.