Category Archives: Style

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Bière de Garde, England, Mills Brewing

Mills Bière de Garde

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Brewery: Mills Brewing
Country: England
ABV: 5.8%
Style: Farmhouse Bière de Garde
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) Bière de Garde was made from a blend of three contrasting brews produced in January, July and October 2018. The blend produced an easy drinking, dry, malt-forward taste with balancing bitterness and funk. The beer was lagered in bottle at ambient temperature over winter, before completing maturation in the summer months of 2020.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.88
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.8

Intro: A 750ml corked and capped bottle, bottled in November 2019, with a best before date of November 2029. Poured into a Holy Mountain tulip glass.
Appearance: It was a slightly hazy golden orange colour with an almost three finger frothy white head that had decent retention, and eventually settled to a thin cap, while leaving some lacing.
Aroma: Tart, fruity, citrusy, orange zest, lemon sherbet, apple peel, slightly vinous, oak, hay, funky, musty wet wood.
Taste: Lightly sour, tart, grape skin, slightly vinous, lemon zest, green apple, oak, funky, musty wet wood.
Mouthfeel: Dry, medium bodied, with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Not so much opportunity to try many Bière de Garde’s, but this was enjoyable and easy to drink.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Netherlands, Tommie Sjef Wild Ales, Wild Ale

Tommie Sjef Cuvée (Chardonnay)

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Brewery: Tommie Sjef Wild Ales
Country: Netherlands
ABV: 7.8%
Style: Wild Ale

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Beer fermented and aged in wooden barrels with wine grapes (Chardonnay).

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

Intro: A 750ml corked and capped bottle with a best before date of 17th March 2028 (10 years). Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A slightly hazy golden colour with a one finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly to a ring around the glass, while leaving only some sparse lacing.
Aroma: Light tartness, white grape, vinous, oak, slight funk, citrus, lemon peel, juicy apple.
Taste: Tart, white grape, vinous, white wine, hay, dried grass, light funk, oak, citrus, lime.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Aroma was great, and while flavour was nice, it wasn’t as complex as I’d hoped for, but you know, if it’s good, then it’s good.

5 - Excellent (must buy), Beer Reviews, Netherlands, Tommie Sjef Wild Ales, Wild Ale

Tommie Sjef Druif (Kekfrankos)

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Brewery: Tommie Sjef Wild Ales
Country: Netherlands
ABV: 7.5%
Style: Wild Ale

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Beer fermented and aged in wooden barrels with wine grapes (Kekfrankos).

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.48
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.4

Intro: A 750ml corked and capped bottle, with a best before date of 13th April 2028 (10 years). Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A slightly hazy reddish purple colour with a one finger pinkish head that had decent retention and eventually settled to a thin cap while leaving some lacing.
Aroma: Cherry, grape skin, vinious, red wine, hay, oak, with light herbal and funky notes.
Taste: Lightly tart, grape skin, vinous, red wine, oak, hay, cherry, blackberry, with light tannins.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate to soft carbonation.
Overall: Only my fourth bottle from Tommie Sjef, but this was easily my favourite so far. Wonderful aroma and flavours with lots of grape, vinous and oak notes. Very enjoyable.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen, Lambic - Fruit

3 Fonteinen Oude Kriek + Schaarbeekse

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Brewery: Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6.6%
Style: Belgian Lambic (Fruit)

Brewer Description: (from bottle in French) Chez Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen, beaucoup de choses se passent de manière spontanée. Par erreur, mais avec un résultat surprenant, ous avons assemblé deux fûts de Kriek lambic et Schaarbeekse Kriek lambic plutôt que de les assembler séparément. Un pétit accident, mais avec un résultat raffiné. Et comme toujours du fruit naturel, sans jus, sirops ou sucres ajoutés. Non-filtré et non-pasteurisé.

(and also from bottle in Dutch) Voor de zes maanden durende maceratie van deze specifieke Oude Kriek + Schaarbeekse werden eikenhouten vaten gebruikt. De finale fruitintensiteit bedraagt 460 gram krieken per liter (waarvan 40% Schaarbeekse krieken). Aantal flessen: 880

(translated to English) At Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen, a lot of things happen spontaneously. By mistake, but with surprising results, we assembled two barrels of Kriek lambic and Schaarbeekse Kriek lambic and put them together rather than separately. A small accident, but with a refined result. And as always, natural fruit, without juice, syrups or added sugars. Unfiltered and unpasteurized.

Oak barrels were used for the six-month maceration of this specific Oude Kriek + Schaerbeekse. The final fruit intensity is 460 grams of cherries per liter (of which 40% was Schaerbeek cherries). Number of bottles: 880

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

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, blend n°18, season 17/18, bottled on 24th January 2018, with a best before date of 26th October 2038. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A slightly hazy deep ruby red colour with pretty much no head and no lacing.
Aroma: Lightly tart, sweet and sour, cherry, marzipan, wood, and light funk.
Taste: Sour, tart, cherry, almond, oak, with light funk and slight apple cider vinegar notes.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with soft carbonation (almost still).
Overall: It was enjoyable especially the aroma, but I do prefer some carbonation. I know the blend was accidental, but I prefer the regular Schaarbeekse Kriek and Oude Kriek separately as opposed to this blend.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Netherlands, Tommie Sjef Wild Ales, Wild Ale

Tommie Sjef Voór

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Brewery: Tommie Sjef Wild Ales
Country: Netherlands
ABV: 6%
Style: Wild Ale

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Beer fermented and aged in wooden barrels with plums.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.24
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 750ml corked and capped bottle with a best before date of 9th November 2029 (10 years). Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A hazy golden orange colour with a one finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly to a thin cap, while leaving some lacing.
Aroma: Funky, oak, with notes of peach and plum.
Taste: Sour, tart, funk, oak, stone fruit, peach, apricot, lemon, plum.
Mouthfeel: Medium to light bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Good complexity with a nice balance of funk and fruit.