Category Archives: Style

2 - Maybe (likely wouldn't buy, might drink), Beer Reviews, Farmhouse Saison, Gweilo Brewery, Hong Kong

Gweilo Blooming Cherry Saison

Leave a comment

Brewery: Gweilo Brewery
Country: Hong Kong
ABV: 4.6%
Style: Belgian Saison
Other Notes: 15 IBUs. Seasonal Range

Brewer Description: (from can) Blooming Cherry Saison is a light, thirst quenching saison. The fruit and spice notes from the saison yeast work in harmony with the sweet and sour notes from the cherry. Combined with a slightly higher level of carbonation, this saison is an extremely well-balanced yet lively and refreshing beer.

My rating: 2
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.34
My ratebeer.com rating: 3

Intro: A 330ml can, with a best before date of 21st September 2019. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A hazy apricot orange pinkish colour with a big two finger white head that dissipated quickly and left only sparse to no lacing.
Aroma: Wheat, Belgian yeast, clove, banana, sugar, with only hint of cherry and spices.
Taste: Lightly sweet and lightly sour, wheat, Belgian yeast, clove, banana, cherry pitt, a touch of lemon and only hints of spice and cherry flesh.
Mouthfeel: Light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Seems more like a Belgian Pale Ale or Witbier than a Saison. Where is the cherry? Despite cherry in its name, there is a distinct lack of any cherry aroma or flavours which were just extremely weak and possibly overpowered by the Belgian yeasty clove and banana notes. There is also a lack of Saison peppery spice. So, while the aroma and taste wasn’t bad or anything, as good as it sounds, the result was not what I expected given its name.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), American Triple IPA, Beer Reviews, Knee Deep Brewing Company, USA

Knee Deep Hop-Trio Triple IPA

Leave a comment

Brewery: Knee Deep Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 11.1%
Style: American Triple IPA
Other Notes: 122 IBUs. Hops – Citra, Mosaic and Amarillo

Brewer Description: (from website) Triple IPA brewed and dry hopped with large amounts of Citra, Mosaic and Amarillo hops that delivers exploding tropical fruit and citrus aromas and flavor. Intense hop aromas that are sure to stimulate your olfactory receptors.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.61
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.6

Intro: A 22 fl. oz. bomber, bottled on 23rd July 2018. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: A clear copper colour with a slightly less than two finger white head that had great retention and left lots of nice fluffy sticky lacing.
Aroma: Resinous pine, grass, grapefruit, citrus rind, orange juice, light caramel and a touch of booze.
Taste: Pine, resiny, light caramel sweetness, citrusy, grapefruit rind, orange peel, orange juice, booze, a touch of stone fruit, and a moderately bitter finish.
Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Not bad at all, but perhaps a bit too boozy. I would have enjoyed it even more if the booze could have been hidden.

4 - Good (buy), American Double IPA, Beer Reviews, Stone Brewing Co., USA

Stone 22nd Anniversary Anni-Matter Double IPA

Leave a comment

Brewery: Stone Brewing Co.
Country: USA
ABV: 9.1%
Style: American Double IPA
Other Notes: 22nd Anniversary. The no haze Double IPA. 81 IBUs. Hops – Columbus, Denali, Hopsteiner #06297, Galaxy, Citra and Amarillo

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Stone 22nd Anniversary Double IPA is a clean, crisp perfectly filtered IPA that reinforces giant, juicy, hop forward IPAs are a bailiwick of ours. Every year we have a special recipe creation challenge with two-person teams from our brewing department we’ve called the Stone Spotlight Competition. This year’s winner “Anti-Matter” was brewed (and named) by Stone brewers Jason Smith and Jose Flores. We felt it was a perfect candidate for our 22nd Anniversary IPA, as it’s not only an amazing IPA, but a perfect way to showcase the deep bench that is our talented and dedicated brewing team. This light amber colored IPA features an incredible mouthfeel from the malted oats. Citrus rides in the forefront, with plenty of fruit character to back it up. All in all, we felt this was the perfect IPA with which to say: Here’s to me, to you and twenty-two too!

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.87
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.8

Intro: A 12 fl. oz. bottle, bottled on 24th July 2018, and with an enjoy by date of 6th November 2018. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: A clear light copper amber colour with an almost two finger white head that had excellent retention and left lots of nice lacing.
Aroma: Light biscuit, caramel malts, citrusy orange peel, grapefruit, citrus rind, hints of tropical melon, pineapple and pine.
Taste: Moderate bitterness, orange peel, mandarin, light caramel, pine and hints of melon.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation and a dry finish.
Overall: A good Stone styled Double IPA with nice aroma and flavours. The 9.1% ABV just drinks really easy.

4 - Good (buy), American Double IPA, Beer Reviews, Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, USA

Sierra Nevada Single Hop Mosaic Double IPA

Leave a comment

Brewery: Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 8%
Style: American Double IPA
Other Notes: 70 IBUs. Single Hop Pack

Brewer Description: (from box) Each hop varietal has its own distinct flavor and aroma, which our brewers use in various combinations to create different flavors in our beers. Sometimes, though, we prefer to strip away those layers and let the bold flavor of an individual hop shine through. Discover the flavors of these unique single hops in this all-new pack of four hop-heavy beers.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.08
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 12 fl. oz. can, packaged on 5th September 2018. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A clear golden orange colour with a big three finger white head that had good retention and left lots of nice sticky lacing.
Aroma: Citrusy mandarin peel, orange rind, pine, melon, pineapple and a touch of papaya.
Taste: Light sweetness, melon, papaya, pineapple, mixed berries, light caramel, citrus rind and a lasting moderate bitterness.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: My favourite of the four from the Single Hop Pack and worth trying if you like Mosaic. A good easy drinking DIPA.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), American IPA, Beer Reviews, Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, USA

Sierra Nevada Single Hop Amarillo IPA

Leave a comment

Brewery: Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 6.7%
Style: American IPA
Other Notes: 55 IBUs. Single Hop Pack

Brewer Description: (from box) Each hop varietal has its own distinct flavor and aroma, which our brewers use in various combinations to create different flavors in our beers. Sometimes, though, we prefer to strip away those layers and let the bold flavor of an individual hop shine through. Discover the flavors of these unique single hops in this all-new pack of four hop-heavy beers.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.72
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.7

Intro: A 12 fl. oz. can, packaged on 5th September 2018. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A clear golden orange colour with a big three finger white head that had good retention and left lots of nice lacing.
Aroma: Citrusy orange, grapefruit and lemon zest with hints of tropical peach, apricot and mango.
Taste: Moderate bitterness, light sweet caramel malt, biscuit, melon, peach, apricot, grass, pine and light herbal.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Quite nice with good bitterness, but the aroma was probably more promising that it tasted.