Category Archives: Style

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Brouwerij ‘t Verzet, Flanders Oud Bruin

Verzet Oud Bruin Raspberry

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Brewery: Brouwerij ‘t Verzet
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6%
Style: Belgian Flanders Oud Bruin
Other Notes: Harvest 2016

Brewer Description: (from neck tag) Oud Bruin Raspberry is created by adding raspberries to beer that has already aged on oak barrels for at least one year. At the end of July last year, we met a bunch of little raspberries. They were looking at a sad future because they were already too ripe for the market! The 300kg of dark red fruits would have been left on the bush and would have died a lonesome death. We refused to let that happen, so we decided to adopt the little guys. We baptized the boys from Ternat with our West-Flemish holy water. The little fruits give a pleasant fruitiness to the Oud Bruin. This is a nice counterweight for the sour base beer. The ideal thirst quencher for a beautiful summer evening.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.11
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A corked and caged 750ml bottle, harvest 2016, and with a best before date of February 2027. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A clear amber red colour with a thin beige head that dissipated quickly and left only sparse to no lacing.
Aroma: Lightly tart, raspberry, sweet jammy, notes of mixed berries.
Taste: Sour, tart, raspberry, acidic, lemon juice, and vinegar.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Like other versions of this Oud Bruin, the sweet jammy fruity aroma was great, while taste is the opposite with strong sourness and acidity. Despite this, the raspberry does come through nicely and still makes this enjoyable.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Brouwerij ‘t Verzet, Flanders Oud Bruin

Verzet Oud Bruin Strawberry

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Brewery: Brouwerij ‘t Verzet
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6%
Style: Belgian Flanders Oud Bruin
Other Notes: Harvest 2018

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Oud Bruin Strawberry is created by adding whole strawberries to beer, aged on oak barrels for at least one year. This Elsanta variety is carefully grown by a family business in Olsene, Zulte. Due to the extreme sunny weather the little fruits were ripe very fast this year. To avoid an oversupply, Verzet came to the rescue. We used 300kg to put on the beer. The result is a fruity and sour beer, missing the stickiness you experience when eating the fruits. The mellow sourness makes it an ideal summer beer. Strawberry daiquiri is so passé, t’ Verzet Strawberry is here to stay!

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.61
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.4

Intro: A 330ml bottle with an expiry date that was mostly rubbed off, but from the 2018 harvest. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A clear amber orange copper colour with a thin off white head that dissipated quickly while leaving sparse lacing.
Aroma: Lightly tart, strawberry, sweet jammy, and a touch of oak.
Taste: Sour, tart, acidic, strawberry, oak, and vinegar.
Mouthfeel: Acidic, dry, light bodied, with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Aroma and taste seem like opposites as the aroma was nice with lots of sweet jammy strawberry, while on the other hand, taste was acidic with a sharp sourness mixed with vinegar that overpowered much of the strawberry. As it warmed, the sharpness mellowed a bit and the strawberry made a better showing.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Brouwerij ‘t Verzet, Flanders Oud Bruin

Verzet Oud Bruin

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Brewery: Brouwerij ‘t Verzet
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6%
Style: Belgian Flanders Oud Bruin
Other Notes: Editie 2014

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Flemish Red Brown Ale.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.43
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.3

Intro: A 12.7 fl. oz. bottle with an expiry date of 19th December 2025. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A clear amber orange copper colour with a nice two finger beige head, that had good retention and eventually settled to a thin replenishing cap, while leaving nice lacing.
Aroma: Sour, strawberry, balsamic vinegar, cherry, and light oak.
Taste: Tart, sour, balsamic vinegar, oak, with fruity notes of strawberry, cherry and blackberry.
Mouthfeel: Dry, medium to light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: The balsamic notes were strong, and along with wood notes, overpowered the berry fruitiness that I prefer.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Brouwerij ‘t Verzet, Flanders Oud Bruin

Verzet Super Boil

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Brewery: Brouwerij ‘t Verzet
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6%
Style: Belgian Flanders Oud Bruin
Other Notes: Super Boil 2016. Boiled on 16 December 2016

Brewer Description: (from bottle in Dutch) Deze speciale editie van onze Oud Bruin wordt 16 uur gekookt, ipv de gangbare 1,5 uur. De Maillard-reactie die daardoor ontstaat geeft het zure bier een zachter karakter, leerden we uit oude brouwersgeschriften. Het bier verbleef exact 324 dagen in houten vaten. De Super Boil is beduidend donkerder van kleur dan de conventionele versie en heeft een ronder karakter, iets volmondiger. De geur en het aroma hebben iets vineus met hints van hout en vanille.

(Translated from Dutch to English) This special edition of our Oud Bruin is cooked for 16 hours, instead of the usual 1.5 hours. The Maillard reaction that arises gives the sour beer a softer character, we learned from old brewer’s writings. The beer spent exactly 324 days in wooden barrels. The Super Boil is considerably darker in color than the conventional version and has a rounder character, slightly more full-bodied. The scent and the aroma have something vinous with hints of wood and vanilla.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.02
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 375ml corked and caged bottle with the normal impossible to pull out Verzet cork, and an expiry date of 20th November 2027. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: Brown in colour with an orange hue, and a one and a half finger beige head that had good retention and left some nice lacing.
Aroma: Tart, grape skin, dark berries, cherry, oak, with a splash of vinegar and acetone.
Taste: Sour, tart, grape skin, cherry, red wine vinegar, oak, light caramel, slightly vinous, with hints of vanilla.
Mouthfeel: Moderate acidity, medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Although vinegary acidity may be on the borderline, it was still an enjoyable Oud Bruin.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, German Eisbock, H.K. Lovecraft, Hong Kong

H.K. Lovecraft Eisbock

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Brewery: H.K. Lovecraft
Country: Hong Kong
ABV: 9%
Style: German Eisbock
Other Notes: 25 IBUs

Brewer Description: (from H.K. Lovecraft Facebook post) Our Eisbock is made by freeze distillation. It’s full bodied, along with touches of cake. Outstanding sweet aroma of caramel malt and forward. High alcohol content without rising to the level of booziness. Take a sip and indulge in this amber beer.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.13
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 330ml wrapped bottle, with no clear bottled on or best before date (despite it stating ‘see the label’ multiple times). Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: A nice clear amber copper colour with a one finger off white head that settles to a thin layer and leaves nice spotty lacing.
Aroma: Sweet malt, honey, caramel, with notes of plum, bubblegum and booze.
Taste: Sweet malt, honey sweetness, caramel and plum.
Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied with moderate to soft carbonation.
Overall: Lots of sweet and malty characteristics, but nicely balanced in that it’s not overly sweet or cloying, with a nice mix of honey, caramel and plum notes. Alcohol is also well hidden.