Category Archives: Style

4 - Good (buy), American Double IPA, Beer Reviews, Cloudburst Brewing, USA

Cloudburst Plays Well With Others

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Brewery: Cloudburst Brewing
Country: USA
ABV: 8.7%
Style: American Double IPA
Other Notes: 71 IBUs. “Sharing was caring”

Brewer Description: (from menu) Oh El Dorado. We love you for all that you are – soft and subdued, stonefruity, and herbaceous. A true role player, a supporting actor, a helping hop. Always a bridesmaid, never a bride. Well, this is your time to step up! We teamed you up with some all stars – Citra & Mosaic – plus a similarly complementary hop in Loral. But this DIPA is about YOU, El Dorado. Shine bright like a diamond!

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

Intro: On tap at Cloudburst Brewing, Seattle. A 16oz pour into a pint glass.
Appearance: A lightly hazy golden orange colour, with a one finger white head that had pretty good retention, and left nice lacing.
Aroma: Melon, passion fruit and citrusy orange with maybe hints of mango.
Taste: Bitter, cantaloupe, melon, orange rind and orange juice.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Good aroma and taste. Well worth a try.

4 - Good (buy), American IPA, Beer Reviews, Cloudburst Brewing, USA

Cloudburst Whenever Wherever

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Brewery: Cloudburst Brewing
Country: USA
ABV: 7.2%
Style: American IPA
Other Notes: 58 IBUs. IPA with Cashmere, Citra and El Dorado

Brewer Description: (from menu) Guess what Shakira’s 3 favourite hops are? Cashmere, Citra & El Dorado. She told us that, so we made a beer for her. Luckily their flavors are fruity and herbal, so you don’t confuse them with OJ. But haze will be there and bitterness will be near, and that’s the deal my dear. Honestly, there’s nothing left to fear, if you really feel the way we feel… about IPAs.

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

Intro: On tap at Cloudburst Brewing, Seattle. A 16oz pour into a pint glass.
Appearance: It was a hazy golden straw colour with a one finger white head that had decent retention and left nice lacing.
Aroma: Mango, peach flesh and citrusy mandarin.
Taste: Similar to the aroma with mango and peach plus orange pulp, but bitterness comes through with citrus rind and peel.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Nice and easy to drink but not as ‘juicy’ as other NE IPAs I’ve tried.

4 - Good (buy), American IPA, Bale Breaker Brewing Company, Beer Reviews, USA

Bale Breaker Topcutter IPA

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Brewery: Bale Breaker Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 6.8%
Style: American IPA
Other Notes: 70 IBUs. Fresh off the farm

Brewer Description: (from can) A well-balanced yet aggressive West Coast IPA, name for the tractor unique to the annual hop harvest.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.17
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 12 fl oz can with a packaged on date of June 2017. Poured into a Holy Mountain tulip glass.
Appearance: A clear dark-ish golden orange colour with a one finger white head that had decent retention and left nice lacing.
Aroma: Citrusy grapefruit and orange followed by hints of caramel, grass and pine.
Taste: Grassy, grapefruit and orange with hints of honey, caramel and floral.
Mouthfeel: Crisp, light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Very nice and easy to drink. I feel this could be my everyday IPA if I could find it easily.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Bellwoods Brewery, Canada, Wild Ale

Bellwoods Motley Cru 2017

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Brewery: Bellwoods Brewery
Country: Canada
ABV: 6.3%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: 5th Anniversary release. Wild Ale with Passion Fruit. Blend of 1 and 2 year barrels

Brewer Description: (from website) Motley Cru is our anniversary release, with the only requirement being that the final beer must incorporate a blend of various barrels. This year’s edition is a wild ale with passion fruit blended from two mixed grain ales (containing pale ale barley malt, wheat, oats, and rye). Both new American oak barrels, and old use (wild ale program) barrels from Niagara and Prince Edward County provide an eclectic range of wild and local yeast strains, and several hundred kilos of passion fruit puree create a fantastic balance of old world sour flavours and bright tropical notes. Extra time spent conditioning in the bottle provides a lively carbonation.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.24
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 750ml bottle at the brewery, 2017 vintage, poured into a Bellwoods stemmed wine glass.
Appearance: A mostly clear golden straw colour with a thin white head that dissipated fairly quickly and left only sparse lacing.
Aroma: Sourish and tropical, passionfruit, apricot and pineapple.
Taste: Tart, sour, passionfruit and apricot with hints of lemon.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Light, refreshing and easy to drink.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Bellwoods Brewery, Canada, Stout - Russian Imperial

Bellwoods 3 Minutes To Midnight

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Brewery: Bellwoods Brewery
Country: Canada
ABV: 11%
Style: Russian Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Imperial Stout with Cherry and Cocoa

Brewer Description: (from website) Fruited, barrel-aged Russian Imperial Stout. This rich and complex Imperial Stout gains a character that can only come with age (12 months in barrels), aided by the addition of tart cherries and cocoa nibs. Deep roasted flavours merge with cherries to create a complimentary tartness that marries the fruit and malt beautifully.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.31
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 500ml bottle at the brewery, December 2016 vintage, poured into a Bellwoods tulip glass.
Appearance: It was black in colour with pretty much no head and only sparse lacing, although what was there was mocha in colour.
Aroma: Cherries, prunes, raisins and oak with hints of coffee and chocolate.
Taste: Cherries, oak and raisins with hints of chocolate malt and cocoa.
Mouthfeel: Full bodied with low carbonation.
Overall: Very nice body, tastes great, and a very enjoyable sipper.