Category Archives: Style

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Brasserie de Blaugies, Farmhouse Saison

Blaugies Cerises

Leave a comment

Brewery: Brasserie de Blaugies
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6%
Style: Belgian Saison
Other Notes: 2020 BXL BeerFest beer pack

Brewer Description: (from BXLBeerFest FB page) Saison with sweet cherry juice added.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.24
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.1

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle from the 2020 BXL beer pack, with a best before date of end of 2024. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A hazy orange amber colour with a big three finger off white head that had excellent retention and left lots of nice lacing.
Aroma: Floral, cherry blossom, saison yeasty, pepper spice, citrusy, orange peel, with light cherry notes.
Taste: Cherry candy, cough medicine, lightly tart, yeasty, bready, wheat, saison like, peppery spice, citrus zest, bitter finish.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: The cherry appears at the very beginning as candy like cough medicine, which I am actually fine with, but it disappears almost immediately to a yeasty, bready, saison with peppery spice, before finishing with a lasting bitterness. It was this middle and end flavour profile that was too yeasty, bitter, and a little weird. And sadly, the cherry just didn’t last very long.

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

Boon Oude Schaarbeekse Kriek

Leave a comment

Brewery: Brouwerij Boon
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6%
Style: Belgian Lambic (Fruit)

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Oude Kriek Boon with 250g/l “Schaarbeekse cherries” is a unique taste experience. These powerful cherries of Belgian origin, harvested in 2018, support the mellow and soft sourish flavour of the lambic with a very powerful, but balanced cherry expression.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.31
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 375ml corked and caged bottle, 2018 vintage, with a best before date of 3rd April 2039. Poured into a Boon stemmed glass.
Appearance: A nice hazy ruby red colour with a slightly more than two fingered pink head that had decent retention and eventually settled to a thin cap, while leaving some nice lacing.
Aroma: Sweet and sour, cherry, lightly tart and some floral notes.
Taste: Good balance of sweet and sour cherry, tart, oak, and light funk.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate to high carbonation.
Overall: While the amount of funk is low, there is a good amount of cherry and a nice balance between sweet and sour flavours. Enjoyable, worth trying again.

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

Boon Kriek Mariage Parfait

Leave a comment

Brewery: Brouwerij Boon
Country: Belgium
ABV: 8%
Style: Belgian Lambic (Fruit)
Other Notes: Oude Kriek – Kriek à l’Ancienne

Brewer Description: (from website) Kriek Mariage Parfait is an “Old Style Kriek” of exceptional excellence, brewed in Lembeek, the village that gave Lambic its name. It is unsweetened, unfiltered, unpasteurised and has no artificial flavours, preservatives or colourings added. “Old Style Kriek” or “Oude Kriek” is a protected E.U. appellation. 400 g of wild cherries per litre are fermented together with a strong Lambic of spontaneous fermentation and aged on 6,200 litre oak foeders (large wooden casks) for 6 to 8 months. Kriek Mariage Parfait is naturally clarified and referments in the bottle. After a maturation of 6 months in the bottle it is ready for tasting. The alcohol content of this Lambic beer is 8% by vol. Kriek Mariage Parfait has a high ageing potential, keep it by preference for more than two years in a cool and dark place. Pour slowly in 2 dry flute glasses without disturbing the yeast sediment in the bottle and enjoy this epitome of traditional Lambic brewing. Kriek Mariage Parfait has a clear deep reddish color lambic with a nice large pink head with good retention and some lacing. Aroma: tart cherry notes with some mild lambic funk, winy, well supported by its alcohol content. Taste: dominated by loads of fresh tart cherry notes with some mild barnyard and some vanilla notes, balanced against a backdrop of musky roasted oak. Body is full with good carbonation. Serve this beer with magret of duck, roast goose, seared foie gras, foie gras terrine, gamy pâtés, aged goat cheeses.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.04
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 375ml corked and caged bottle, 2018 vintage, with a best before date of 24th June 2039. Poured into a Boon stemmed glass.
Appearance: A cloudy cherry red colour, with a two fingered pinkish head that dissipated fairly quickly but settled to a thin cap, while leaving some nice lacing.
Aroma: Cherry, oak, apple, and a touch vinous and funky.
Taste: Light sour, tart, cherry, dried cherry, vanilla, oak, funk, with some vinous notes.
Mouthfeel: Dry, light to medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Good cherry aroma and flavours with an interesting mix of oak, vanilla and funk.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Jester King Brewery, USA, Wild Ale

Jester King Nocturn Chrysalis

Leave a comment

Brewery: Jester King Brewery
Country: USA
ABV: 5.1%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: Barrel-aged sour beer refermented with blackberries

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Marion blackberries were added to mature barrel-aged sour beer and refermented to dryness. Unfiltered, unpasteurized, and 100% naturally conditioned.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.35
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 1 pint 0.9 fl. oz. bottle, blend five, bottled in August 2017. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen Zenne stemmed glass.
Appearance: A clear ruby red with a purple tinge colour, and a one finger pinkish head that had decent retention, while leaving some spotty lacing.
Aroma: Jammy, blackberry, woody oak, light musty funk, grapes.
Taste: Tart, lightly sour, blackberry, lemonade, oak.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Very nice blackberry aroma and flavours are front and centre with good lemonade notes to complement it. A very enjoyable wild ale.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Farmhouse Saison, Holy Mountain Brewing Company, USA

Holy Mountain Choir of the Sun

Leave a comment

Brewery: Holy Mountain Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 5.2%
Style: Belgian Saison
Other Notes: Ale aged in oak barrels

Brewer Description: (from bottle) A Saison fermented and aged in oak puncheons for 5 months. Choir of the Sun was hopped with Styrian Goldings, fermented with a blend of Saison strains, and aged with brettanomyces. Refermented in the bottle with brettanomyces.

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

Intro: A 750ml bottle with no bottled on or best before date, but I think this has been cellared from the summer of 2017. Poured into a Holy Mountain tulip glass.
Appearance: It was a slightly hazy orange golden colour with a two finger white head that had decent retention while leaving only sparse lacing.
Aroma: Funky, musty, brett, strong barrel, oak, lemon, citrusy, and cream soda.
Taste: Light sour, tart, oak, funky, musty, brett, with fruity apricot and citrus flavours.
Mouthfeel: Medium to light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Cellared for longer than intended, but still very enjoyable. Good mix of funk, brett, barrel and fruit, plus the lightness, just makes it very easy to drink.