Category Archives: Style

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Jester King Brewery, Lambic - Fruit, USA

Jester King SPON Blueberry & Pitaya

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Brewery: Jester King Brewery
Country: USA
ABV: 5.7%
Style: Belgian Lambic (Fruit)
Other Notes: 2017 vintage

Brewer Description: (from bottle) 2017 SPON – Blueberry & Pitaya is a blend of two year old 100% spontaneously fermented beer, refermented with blueberries & pitayas. Jester King SPON is inspired by the Belgian tradition of authentic Lambic and Gueuze. Wort from a turbid mash of well water, Texas malted barley, and Texas raw wheat was boiled with aged hops from our barn, cooled overnight in our coolship, spontaneously fermented in oak barrels for two years, and refermented for months in bottles resting on their side.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.22
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 12.7 fl. oz. bottle, 2017 vintage, blended on 2nd February 2017. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A ruby red colour with a purple hue, and a two finger pinkish head that dissipated fairly quickly and left only sparse to no lacing.
Aroma: Strong oak, moderate funk, light vanilla, tart, sour, blueberry.
Taste: Sour, tart, oak, funk, blueberry and grape with some interesting spice at the end.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation and a dry finish.
Overall: Nice aroma and flavours. I learnt today that pitaya is actually dragon fruit. But the aroma and flavours of dragon fruit are not really coming through, which really isn’t too much of a surprise as it is quite a subtle fruit. Fruitier aroma than taste, but still very enjoyable on the whole.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), American Pale Ale, Beer Reviews, Fort Point Beer Company, USA

Fort Point Galaxy Park

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Brewery: Fort Point Beer Company
Country: USA
ABV: 4.7%
Style: American Pale Ale
Other Notes: 19 IBUs. Single hop Pale Ale series. Malts – Bohemian Pilsner, Pale Wheat, Oats and Acidulated. Hops – Galaxy

Brewer Description: (from website) Bold, spirited and intensely aromatic, Galaxy Park is a single hop pale ale that’s full of surprises. Galaxy hops from Australia work with our unique house yeast to create a complex and layered flavor profile, going beyond Galaxy’s initial burst of pineapple, passionfruit and citrus, to wry hints of riesling and fresh cannabis. This is a beer for adventures—great for cooling off after a crosstown bike ride or a meandering hike in the redwoods.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.69
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.5

Intro: A 12 fl. oz. can, canned on 31st July 2018, ‘taste like space’. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: Light haze, golden straw yellow colour with an almost two finger soapy white head that dissipated fairly quickly but left lots of nice lacing.
Aroma: Light sweetness, pineapple, pear, lemon zest, grass and biscuit.
Taste: Light gentle bitterness, pineapple, lemon zest, pine, grass, and lightly floral.
Mouthfeel: Crisp, light bodied with moderate to high carbonation.
Overall: Great feel to it, with some nice pineapple and pear aroma and flavours.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Lager - Märzen / Oktoberfest, Sierra Nevada x Bayerische Staatsbrauerei Weihenstephan, USA

Sierra Nevada x Weihenstephaner Oktoberfest 2018

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Brewery: Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. x Bayerische Staatsbrauerei Weihenstephan
Country: USA
ABV: 6%
Style: German Oktoberfest / Märzen
Other Notes: 20 IBUs. Fall seasonal. Malts – Two-row Pale, Steffi, Pilsner and Munich. Hops – Sterling, Spalter and Record

Brewer Description: (from bottle) We’ve partnered with Bavaria’s Weihenstephan, the world’s oldest brewery, for this American take on the classic German Oktoberfest. A malt backbone is balanced by subtle hop character in this crisp, clean, and drinkable crowd-pleaser – nothing captures the spirit of celebration like a beer among friends.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.51
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.4

Intro: A 12 fl. oz. bottle, packaged on 27th July 2018, and poured into a Holy Mountain tulip glass.
Appearance: A very nice clear copper colour with a two finger white head that had good retention, while leaving only some sparse lacing.
Aroma: Sweet malt, pear, honey, bread, light floral.
Taste: Sweet, toffee apple, bread, honey, brown sugar, with a light bitterness to the finish.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate to high carbonation.
Overall: The light bitterness helps, but on the whole, it was probably too sweet for me.

4 - Good (buy), American Brut IPA, Beer Reviews, Hong Kong, Young Master Brewery x Heroes Beer Co.

Young Master x Heroes Dom Houblon

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Brewery: Young Master Brewery x Heroes Beer Co.
Country: Hong Kong
ABV: 6.6%
Style: American Brut IPA
Other Notes: Vintage 2018. Bière Houblonnée Brut. Brut, citronné, soigné

Brewer Description: (From YM webshop) Dom Houblon is a one-of-a-kind collaboration between Young Master and Heroes Beer Co., two of the highest rated craft breweries in Hong Kong. It is an extra-dry Brut IPA that has a finishing gravity of under 1 plato (under 10g/L of residual sugar). With minimal bitterness and a heavy dry hop featuring Loral, Mosaic and Ekuanot hops, the brew is dry, lemony, fruity and thirst-quenching.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.09
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 330ml can with a best before date of 11th May 2019. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: A mostly clear golden colour with a one finger white head that had decent retention but left only sparse lacing.
Aroma: Strong melon and citrusy pith, light grain, biscuit and a sweet cantaloupe-y finish.
Taste: Sweet malts, light bitterness, lots of melon, grapefruit, lemon zest, a touch grainy, grass and a long melon finish.
Mouthfeel: Dry, crisp, light bodied with moderate to high carbonation.
Overall: Started off pretty good already, but it definitely grew on me the more I drank it as the melon and citrus really came through.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Hong Kong, International Sour Ale, Young Master Brewery

Young Master Galactic Hops

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Brewery: Young Master Brewery
Country: Hong Kong
ABV: 5.7%
Style: International Sour Ale
Other Notes: 10 IBUs. Fruity, sour, dank

Brewer Description: (from can) Hoppy sour.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.81
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.6

Intro: A 330ml can with a best before date of 7th April 2019. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: A very lightly cloudy golden orange colour with a one finger white head that had decent retention and left some nice lacing
Aroma: Light tartness, passionfruit, lightly floral, biscuit malt with hints of lemon.
Taste: Sour, tart, passionfruit, biscuit, grainy, lemon and a touch tangy.
Mouthfeel: A bit watery, light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Nice tart passionfruit aromas, but despite some nice sour and passionfruit flavours coming through, it was on the whole, a little watery on the palate, causing the flavours to be a little light, which I thought took away from it a bit.