Category Archives: Style

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Sante Adairius Rustic Ales, USA, Wild Ale

Sante Adairius Four Legs Good

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Brewery: Sante Adairius Rustic Ales
Country: USA
ABV: 9.9%
Style: American Wild Ale

Brewer Description: (from bottle) What do a three-legged dog, a made-up beer style, and a giant oak cask have to do with each other? One great beer. Four Legs Good, our Blond Quad, belies its sweet nature with a dry, full finish and sneaky strength. Fermented first in puncheons with extensive aging in oak foudres, Four Legs Good doesn’t care what you call it as long as she is along for the ride. Four Legs Good, three legs better. Sante!

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.45
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.3

Intro: A 750ml bottle with no clear bottled on or best before date. Poured into a Chimay goblet glass.
Appearance: A hazy darkish orange colour with a half finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly to a thin fluffy and replenishing cap, while leaving some nice lacing.
Aroma: Tart, redcurrants, apple, oak, funky, peach skin.
Taste: Sour, tart, plum, prunes, apricot, redcurrant, and oak, with funky notes.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, smooth, medium to full bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Blond Quad? What’s that? Well, it is self described as a made up style. Before pouring, I thought it was a Quad, so I poured it into a goblet glass, but I’m going to call it a Wild Ale, and whatever you call it, this is still very good. Great sour, tart, fruity and barrel aging flavours, combined with a well hidden abv, just makes this extremely enjoyable.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgian Quadrupel, Belgium, Brouwerij De Halve Maan

Straffe Hendrik Heritage 2015 Armagnac Oak Aged Ale

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Brewery: Brouwerij De Halve Maan
Country: Belgium
ABV: 11%
Style: Belgain Quadrupel
Other Notes: Armagnac Oak Aged Ale

Brewer Description: (from bottle) This quadruple is a heavy and dark beer, brewed in the unique family brewery “De Halve Maan”, which has been located since 1856 in the historical centre of Bruges. This quadruple is matured for more than one year in oak casks in the ancient cellars of the brewery. It gives this beer a complex flavour and rich aroma. The beer is re-fermented in the bottle, and has a longer shelf life, during which the taste evolves still further. The tannins and the complex malt flavours ripen into a harmonious balance over the time.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.38
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.3

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, bottle no. 22214, 2015 vintage, and with a best before date of end of 2026. Poured into a Chimay goblet glass.
Appearance: A hazy dark amber brown colour with an almost two finger creamy beige head that dissipated fairly quickly but settled to a rapidly replenishing thin layer over the top while leaving some nice lacing.
Aroma: Plum, prunes, apple, oak, with notes of cherry, red berries, and brandy.
Taste: Dark fruit, plum, prunes, oak, boozy, brandy, caramel, toffee, apple, with notes of red berries.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, medium to full bodied, light to moderate carbonation, and a warming finish.
Overall: Very nice complex flavours and the Armagnac barrel matched well with this Quad. I haven’t tried many barrel aged Quads, but this definitely makes me want to try more.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Carbon Brews, Hong Kong, IPA - New England / Hazy

Carbon Brews Little Rich Lupulins v.6

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Brewery: Carbon Brews
Country: Hong Kong
ABV: 6%
Style: New England / Hazy IPA
Other Notes: 22 IBUs. Malts – Pilsner, Oats, Vienna and Carahell. Hops – HBC 630, Sabro and Nelson Sauvin. Yeast – London III. Experience – Fresh, juicy

Brewer Description: (from postcard) Some of our favourite hops right now are HBC630, Nelson Sauvin and Sabro, so we piled them into the dry hop resulting in a juicy beer packed full of flavour. Initial burst of pineapple, lime and candied cherry followed by a subtle coconut and white grape character.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.86
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.7

Intro: A 330ml can, with a best before date of 12th February 2021, so should be less than two weeks in the can. Poured into a Holy Mountain tulip glass.
Appearance: A hazy but murky orange colour with an almost two fingered white head that had decent retention and left some nice lacing.
Aroma: Pineapple juice, lime, orange pith, citrus zest, with notes of mango.
Taste: Light to moderate bitterness, citrus pith, lemon zest, lime, grapefruit, melon, with a hint of coconut here and there on the finish.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Personally I preferred the original version more as the stone fruit flavours were more my thing. I believe the change was partly due to not being able to source certain hops in the current environment, which is fine as I enjoy trying different beers. In addition, there was also the mention of candied cherry in its description, and I love candied cherries a lot, but I don’t even get a hint of that here in the aroma or flavour. All that being said, this was still fresh and enjoyable with citrus pithy and melon flavours coming through strongest.

2 - Maybe (likely wouldn't buy, might drink), Beer Reviews, Stout - Imperial, The Bruery, USA

The Bruery Share This: Mint Chip

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Brewery: The Bruery
Country: USA
ABV: 10.5%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Imperial Stout with mint and cacao nibs. We donate $1 for every bottle we produce in our Share This series. This release, inspired by mint chip flavors, supports the mission of Food Forward, which donates fresh produce to hunger relief agencies across Southern California.

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Share This is a series of beers that spotlights unique ingredients and important causes. This imperial stout is inspired by mint chip flavors, recreated by adding spearmint leaves and cacao nibs to a rich base. It supports the efforts of Food Forward, who is chipping away at hunger relief across Southern California, reaching over 100,000 people a month with recovered fresh produce.

My rating: 2
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.46
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.1

Intro: A 750ml bottle, 2017 edition. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Black in colour with a one finger brown head that had good retention and left lots of spotty lacing.
Aroma: Light roast, chocolate, and strong mint, maybe too overpowering.
Taste: Spearmint, light roast, and only a hint of chocolate.
Mouthfeel: Medium to light bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: So I like a good mint chocolate any day, but the mint really overpowers anything else in this beer and there’s just not enough chocolate and roast to support the mint. The body is also lacking and feels too thin. You have to really like liquid mint for this.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Stout - Imperial, The Bruery, USA

The Bruery Share This: O.C.

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Brewery: The Bruery
Country: USA
ABV: 11%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Imperial Stout with orange zest, cacao nibs and vanilla beans. We donate $1 for each bottle we produce in our Share This series. This orange chocolate release supports the mission of Food Forward, which donates fresh produce to hunger relief agencies in Southern California, including Orange County.

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Share This is a series of beers that spotlights unique ingredients and important causes. This rich imperial stout is inspired by orange and chocolate flavors. It’s a profile we’re quite fond of, given the abundance of orange trees in our own backyard. Food Forward takes it one step further – reaching over 100,000 people a month with recovered fresh produce.

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

Intro: A 750ml bottle, 2017 edition. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Black in colour with a one finger brown head that had decent retention and left lots of spotty lacing.
Aroma: Roasty, dark chocolate, cacao, coffee, with notes of vanilla and citrus zest.
Taste: Much like the aroma, roasted malts, dark chocolate, cacao, coffee, vanilla, and orange notes.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, medium to full bodied, with soft carbonation.
Overall: An excellent Imperial Stout with great roast and chocolate flavours. The orange citrus notes also complement the chocolate well. I do wonder whether due to the age of the bottle (three years), any of the adjuncts have toned down a bit, but the chocolate to citrus proportion is great right now.