Category Archives: Style

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Scotland, Sour Ale, Vault City Brewing

Vault City Blueberry Pumpkin Spice Latte

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Brewery: Vault City Brewing
Country: Scotland
ABV: 8.8%
Style: Sour Ale
Other Notes: Modern sour beer

Brewer Description: (from bottle) It’s that time of year, all the knitwear and pumpkin flavoured everything! We’re no exception and have created our own unique take on a ‘pumpkin beer’ but opted for the pumpkin spice approach. Befitting the time of year, and a fruit that we know works wonders in combination with our house mixed-culture, we settled for local blueberries as the base for our Autumn special. Cosy up for a seasonal sensation of tart blueberry, warming spices and sweet vanilla in texture smoother than crema. It’s not a trick, it’s a treat!

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.19
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 375ml bottle with a best before date of 2nd November 2022. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: A deep purple beetroot colour with a big three finger purple head that had good retention and left lots of lacing.
Aroma: Pumpkin spice dominates with cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg, along with notes of tart blueberry and pie crust in the background.
Taste: Tart, lightly sweet and sour, blueberry, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and some vanilla notes.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Balanced and enjoyable as long as you like pumpkin spice.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Scotland, Sour Ale, Vault City Brewing

Vault City Tropical Sour – Mango Coconut Passionfruit

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Brewery: Vault City Brewing
Country: Scotland
ABV: 7.2%
Style: Sour Ale
Other Notes: Modern sour beer

Brewer Description: (from bottle) As winter draws nearer, we look to sunnier climates to bring you a taste of the tropics in your glass. Having ripened in the far-off sunshine we’ve picked a mouth-watering medley to transport you to a world of tropical tartness in this Modern Sour Beer. A sweet mango base and floral passionfruit tartness are unified by the creamy character of coconut, which imparts a hint of woody vanilla. Each element stands apart and together they are complimented by our ester filled house mixed-culture base beer. Sunglasses at the ready!

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.07
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.9

Intro: A 375ml bottle with a best before date of 11th November 2022. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A murky mango juice orange colour with pretty much no head and no lacing.
Aroma: Mango dominates with hints of tart passionfruit and coconut.
Taste: Sour, tart, unripe mango, passionfruit, with only a hint of coconut in the background.
Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Enjoyable, easy to drink, cocktail like, very fruity.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Lambic - Gueuze, Lambiek Fabriek

Lambiek Fabriek Young & Wild Fontan-Elle

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Brewery: Lambiek Fabriek
Country: Belgium
ABV: 5.5%
Style: Lambic – Gueuze

Brewer Description: (from bottle in Dutch) Gelimiteerde blend van zelf gebrouwen lambieken van spontane gisting. Ongefilterde blend van twee jaargangen, niet gepasteuriseerd.

(translated to English) Limited blend of self-brewed lambics of spontaneous fermentation. Unfiltered blend of two year lambics, not pasteurized.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.83
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.7

Intro: A 750ml corked and capped bottle, bottled in May 2018. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen gueuze glass.
Appearance: A slightly hazy golden orange colour with an almost two finger white head that had good retention and eventually settled to a fluffy cap while leaving nice lacing.
Aroma: Funky, oak, lightly tart, apple peel, white grape, brett, musty damp wood, with grapefruit notes.
Taste: Sour, oak, funky, brett, green apple, white wine grape, damp wood, with notes of lemon and grapefruit.
Mouthfeel: Medium to light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Easy drinking, but I prefer the regular Oude Geuze Brett-Elle more.

5 - Excellent (must buy), Beer Reviews, Denmark, Mikkeller Baghaven, Wild Ale

Mikkeller Baghaven Kriek Vanilje

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Brewery: Mikkeller Baghaven
Country: Denmark
ABV: 7%
Style: Wild Ale
Other Notes: Blend 1, aged 18 months

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Oak fermented Danish Wild Ale with cherries, vanilla, and a hint of cinnamon.

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.83
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.7

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, blend 1, with a best before date of July 2024. Poured into a Mikkeller Baghaven Zalto Bordeaux stemmed glass.
Appearance: A hazy deep reddish purple colour with a one finger purple head that had decent retention but eventually settled to a thin cap, while leaving some nice lacing.
Aroma: Tart, cherry, cinnamon, vanilla, and oak.
Taste: Lightly sour, tart, cherry, cinnamon, cherry pit, almond, oak, with hints of vanilla.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with moderate to high carbonation.
Overall: Wow, excellent and really enjoyable aroma and flavours that align to my palate. Must buy in my opinion.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Scotland, Sour Ale, Vault City Brewing

Vault City Pear & Vanilla Sour

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Brewery: Vault City Brewing
Country: Scotland
ABV: 6.8%
Style: Sour Ale
Other Notes: Modern sour beer

Brewer Description: (from bottle) After some heavy hitters we wanted to take a more delicate approach to our next release. Delicate, in season Williams pears piqued our interest as a very different flavour profile to pair with our Modern Sour Beer. Slowing down our mixed-culture for a gentler fermentation and lighter base sour allows you to take notice of the succulent floral pear character. The addition of Madagascan Vanilla rounds this beer out for a creamy, almost sorbet-like mouth-feel and finish. A perfect beer to enjoy in the warmer Autumn evenings whilst you spot signs of the seasons changing.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.41
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.3

Intro: A 375ml bottle with a best before date of 25th September 2022. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A hazy pale orange colour with a one finger white head that dissipated quickly, but settled to a thin cap while leaving some lacing.
Aroma: Lots of pear, cooked pear, and vanilla.
Taste: Sour, tart, sweet, pear, baked/poached pear, with notes of vanilla.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: I wasn’t sure if pear would work in beer, but Vault City did a great job, and this was just so enjoyable and easy to drink.