Category Archives: Style

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgian Strong Dark Ale, Hong Kong, Moonzen Brewery

Moonzen Harvest Moon (Plum)

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Brewery: Moonzen Brewery
Country: Hong Kong
ABV: 9%
Style: Belgian Strong Dark Ale

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Harvest Moon (Plum) is a silky and full-bodied Belgian Strong Ale fermented with plums and cinnamon. With hints of tawny leaves and withered hedges, all perfectly balanced to enjoy on a cozy day.

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

Intro: A 330ml bottle with no clear bottled on or best before date. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A cloudy brown colour with an orange tint and a big four finger beige head that had excellent retention and left some nice sticky lacing.
Aroma: Cola, dark fruit, plum, raisins, cherry, roasted malt, smoked chocolate, floral, lemon, with hints of cinnamon.
Taste: Moderately sweet, dark fruit, plum, prunes, raisins, cola, cherry, herbal, floral, roasted malts in the middle, caramel, cinnamon, light bitter finish, lemon zest and grass.
Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied with moderate to soft carbonation.
Overall: Loved the aroma, while taste was nice. I easily preferred this plum version more than the cherry version.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Australia, Beer Reviews, Farmhouse Saison, La Sirène Brewing

La Sirène Farmhouse Red

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Brewery: La Sirène Brewing
Country: Australia
ABV: 6.5%
Style: Belgian Saison
Other Notes: Store upright & decant to a wide brimmed glass

Brewer Description: (from bottle) La Sirène Farmhouse Red (Est 2012) is a refreshing Red Ale that has been co-fermented with organic rose flowers to give this acid-forward beer a fresh floral vibe, coupled with nectarine-like yeast characters. Pouring a wonderful red colour & built upon a solid malt backbone, this artisanal ale exhibits vibrant natural acidity courtesy of the indigenous wild bacteria living within our brewery’s walls.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.61
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.5

Intro: A 375ml bottle, with an enjoy before date of August 2019. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed Zenne glass.
Appearance: A slightly hazy reddish brown colour with a big three finger off white head that had good retention and left some nice spotty lacing.
Aroma: Lightly tart, candied cherry, yoghurt with hints of toffee and balsamic vinegar.
Taste: Lightly sour, tart, mild fruit, cherry, plum, mixed berries, almost like watery red fruit juice.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with soft to moderate carbonation.
Overall: Nice aroma but taste didn’t quite match. Sour and tartness was good, but the fruit (red fruit, dark fruit, mixed berries), while there, were rather weak. Carbonation was also softer than I’d hope for.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Farmhouse Saison, Hong Kong, Yardley Brothers Brewing

Yardley Brothers Single Batch Red and Oak

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Brewery: Yardley Brothers Brewing
Country: Hong Kong
ABV: 10%
Style: Belgian Saison
Other Notes: 15 IBUs

Brewer Description: (from facebook post) Six-month Cabernet Sauvignon French oak barrel-aged Saision.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.66
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.6

Intro: A nice looking 640ml black bottle that was capped and waxed. Bottle was one out of a total of 250. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A hazy amber copper orange colour with a big three finger off white head that disappeared almost immediately to nothing other than a fast replenishing ring around the glass while leaving no lacing.
Aroma: Tart, grape, plum, fig, apple and wood.
Taste: Tart, lightly sour, plum skin, prunes, apple juice, wine, whisky, oak and some light spice and booze on the finish.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate fizzy carbonation.
Overall: Self described Saison… well definitely not of the classic type, but perhaps closer to a Belgian Strong Pale Ale. The aroma was nice and made me think of wonderful fruity sours, but taste, while not as fruity, has an interesting light whisky finish.

4 - Good (buy), American Triple IPA, Beer Reviews, Grimm Artisanal Ales, USA

Grimm Tetraplex

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Brewery: Grimm Artisanal Ales
Country: USA
ABV: 10%
Style: American Triple IPA
Other Notes: Hops – Citra, Falconer’s Flight and Mosaic

Brewer Description: (from website) Tetraplex is the amped up Tesseract! At 10% abv, this triple IPA is deceptively easy drinking with even more hops and flavor than Tesseract. It’s bio-hopped and double dry-hopped with mosaic cryo and is exploding with flavors of pineapple, mango, gummy peach rings, mandarin oranges, and melon.

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

Intro: A 1 pint can, canned on 21st January 2019. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: A hazy golden colour with a two finger white head that had good retention and left lots of nice lacing.
Aroma: Pineapple, mango, tea, mandarin, citrus rind, orange peel, grass and maybe a touch of pine.
Taste: Bittersweet, peach, melon, pineapple, underripe mango, orange rind, slight onion and booze.
Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied with moderate to low carbonation.
Overall: I’m not a huge Triple IPA fan, but this was one of the better ones I’ve tried. Perhaps on the borderline of being too sweet for me, the balanced bitterness brought it back in line with my palate. Definitely worth a try.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Omnipollo, Stout - Imperial, Sweden

Omnipollo AON Bourbon Bacon Burger

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Brewery: Omnipollo
Country: Sweden
ABV: 11%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Brewed by Omnipollo at Brouwerij De Molen (Netherlands)

Brewer Description: (from website) Brewed with 50 kg of actual bacon. This imperial stout hits the perfect spot between, salty, smoky and sweet. Not suitable for vegetarians. Amazing for everyone else.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.6
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.6

Intro: A 330ml bottle, bottled on 10th July 2018, and with a best before date of 10th July 2023. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Dark dark brown to black in colour with a half finger mocha brown head that dissipated fairly quickly but left some tiny spotty lacing.
Aroma: Chocolate, fudge, nuttiness (maybe pecan), smoky, tar, slight peat even, and caramel.
Taste: Moderate sweetness, chocolate, roasted malts, smoky, smoked ham, charred wood. Finish was a little weird chemical / plastic-y.
Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Chocolate and roastiness was nice, the smokiness was ok, but somehow the mix brought out a chemical / plastic-y finish, which was not the end of the world, but enough to make me think that perhaps once is enough.