Category Archives: Style

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Prairie Artisan Ales, Stout - Imperial, USA

Prairie Vanilla Noir

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Brewery: Prairie Artisan Ales
Country: USA
ABV: 11%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Brewed and bottled by Krebs Brewing Co., Krebs, Oklahoma

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Imperial Stout aged in oak whiskey barrels with vanilla beans.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.3
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 12 fl. oz. bottle with a Julian bottled on date of 32117, meaning that it was bottled on 17th November 2017. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Black in colour with a thin mocha brown head that dissipated quickly to a ring around the glass while leaving some sparse lacing.
Aroma: Chocolate fudge, vanilla, marshmallow, whisky, brown sugar and caramel.
Taste: Chocolate, whisky, quite boozy (but not in a bad way), vanilla, marshmallow and caramel.
Mouthfeel: Smooth, full bodied with low carbonation.
Overall: A nice enjoyable sipper. Vanilla while there, seemed lighter than expected given the name, but not a big problem.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Denmark, Mikkeller ApS, Stout - Imperial

Mikkeller Beer Geek Vanilla Maple Cocoa

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Brewery: Mikkeller ApS
Country: Denmark
ABV: 13%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Brewed by Lervig Aktiebryggeri, Stavanger, Norway

Brewer Description: (from can) Oatmeal Stout brewed with coffee, vanilla, cocoa & maple syrup.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.62
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.5

Intro: A 500ml can with a best before date of 31st October 2027. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: A very dark brown to jet black in colour with a half finger brown head that dissipated fairly quickly and left only sparse to no lacing.
Aroma: Maple, burnt sugar, molasses, cocoa and a touch of vanilla.
Taste: Heavy sweetness, maple syrup, burnt sugar, molasses, honey, cocoa, roasted coffee, toasted malt and some light bitterness from overdone caramel.
Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied with low carbonation.
Overall: Way too sweet for me to fully enjoy. Started off well enough but because of its sweetness, it just got too much after a few sips and finishing the whole 500ml can took a while. The sweetness just needed some balance, perhaps from barrel aging for example, much like the Beer Geek Vanilla Shake BA Bourbon which was just outstanding.

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

Knee Deep Simtra Triple India Pale Ale

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Brewery: Knee Deep Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 11.25%
Style: American Triple IPA
Other Notes: 131 IBUs

Brewer Description: (from website) Simtra Triple IPA delivers a punch in the face with its very danky hop aroma derived from Simcoe and Citra hops. You wanted more hops you got them.

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

Intro: A 22 fl. oz. bomber, bottled on 13th July 2018. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: A clear golden orange colour with an almost three finger white head that had good retention and left lots of nice sticky lacing.
Aroma: Citrusy, grapefruit zest, orange rind, pineapple, dank, pine and a very light floral.
Taste: A mix of light sweet and bitter, dank, pine, citrus rind, grapefruit pith, a touch of alcohol followed by a lasting bitter finish.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: I’m not a huge fan of Triple IPAs, but this was not bad at all. Nice aromas were complimented with some good flavours, although the booze, which does creep in unsurprisingly, took it down a notch or two for me.

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

Knee Deep Breaking Bud

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Brewery: Knee Deep Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 6.5%
Style: American IPA
Other Notes: 50 IBUs

Brewer Description: (from can) This is a true West Coast IPA. A restrained malt profile of American 2-Row, German Wheat and a touch of English Crystal give the beer it’s golden straw color and allows the hops to shine. Mosaic, Simcoe and Columbus hops provide dank aromas and flavors of tropical fruit and pine leading to a refreshing dry finish.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.79
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.6

Intro: A 1 pint can, canned on 20th July 2018. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: A clear golden colour with a just over two finger white head that had good retention and left some nice lacing.
Aroma: Sweet biscuit malt, pineapple, pine, melon, mandarin peel and tea leaves.
Taste: Considering the aroma, tastes seems to be a bit lacking. Biscuit malt, light to moderate bitterness, pine, grass, light tropical fruit.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: This was ok. Aroma was great, but taste just didn’t quite match up to it as some of the nice fruit aromas just didn’t translate.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, De Struise Brouwers, Flanders Oud Bruin

De Struise Aardnon / Earthnun

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Brewery: De Struise Brouwers
Country: Belgium
ABV: 8%
Style: Belgian Flanders Oud Bruin
Other Notes: 17 IBUs. Flemish Sour Ale, FSA blend in barrel, Vlaams Oud Bruin

Brewer Description: (from bottle) First blend was mastered from existing bottles in 2007 at Ebenezers Pub USA by Christopher Lively and our team. This blend occurred in barrel and has aged for seven years on Margaux barrels from Château Haut Breton Larigaudière. Enjoy!

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.47
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.4

Intro: A 330ml bottle, bottled on 18th February 2016, with a best before date of 17th February 2021. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: Deep dark brown in colour with a ruby hue and a one fingered tanned head that had decent retention and faded to a ring but left only sparse to no lacing.
Aroma: Light roast, cherry, chocolate, coffee, lightly tart, grape gummy candy, fig and plum.
Taste: Sweet and tart, plum, cherry, fig, grape, blackcurrant, jammy berries, with hints of vinegar, wood, light roast and chocolate.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate to low carbonation.
Overall: Excellent, great aroma and flavours. Good complexity and extremely balanced.