Category Archives: Style

West Coast Full Hop Alchemist v.32

Brewery: West Coast Brewing
Country: Japan
ABV: 8.5%
Style: IPA – New England / Hazy Double
Other Notes: Hazy Double IPA. Hops – Enigma, Sultana & Sultana Lupulin

Brewer Description: (from website) Word on the street is that our Alchemist just sits in his hop closet juggling massive bags of Big Boi IPA hops all day—not (entirely) accurate. The combos gon’ get real Hop Dudes. V32 is about to hit taps and shelves (and your squeaky clean glass… fingers crossed) and is a bold blend of two hops that are not as familiar to modern IPA savants—Enigma and Sultana. Full disclosure: it’s a little sweeter than most of our FHA offerings, and a touch out of balance (missed the mark just a touch?), likely due to a lighter body and slightly warmer mash temp (the jury is out, but adjustments are in order). It is however also absolutely delicious, loaded with fantastic FLAVORS of the lychee / white grape and overripe mango persuasions, with a subtle yet solid strawberry candy-like component. In a word V32 is very tropical, but brings all kinds of fascinating sensory in a hazy quite unlike anything we have cooked up to date.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.94
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.8

Intro: A 500ml can, canned on 6th November 2023. Poured into a winebar glass.
Appearance: A hazy darkish orange colour with a two finger white head that had good retention and left nice lacing.
Aroma: Grassy, orange rind, citrus zest, mango, and a touch dank.
Taste: Sweet, maybe on the verge of being too much for me. Mango, mandarin, candied grapefruit zest, and notes of citrus bitterness that helps with the sweetness a bit.
Mouthfeel: Sticky, medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Generally, it was on the overly sweet side for me, but luckily there was some citrus rind and zesty bits that helped balance the sweetness.

3 Fonteinen Vlierbloesem

Brewery: Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6.2%
Style: Lambic – Fruit
Other Notes: Blend°79, Season 21/22

Brewer Description: (from bottle) For this Vlier, we macerated freshly picked blossoming elderflowers on two-year old lambik. For this blend, we did not backblend. The weighted average age of this Vlier still amounts to more than 29 months upon the day of bottling. Of the grains that we used during brewing, more than two thirds were sourced in our cereal collective, mostly in Pajottenland. The hops were, on average, 18 years old while brewing. 100% 3 Fonteinen. Bottle count: 528.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.38
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, blend°79, season 21/22, bottled on 3rd June 2022. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A hazy dark orange colour with a two finger white head that had great retention and left lots of nice lacing.
Aroma: Elderflower, earthy, grass, oak, damp wood, funk, with light notes of grapefruit zest.
Taste: Sour, tart, floral, elderflower, grass, hay, oak, light funk, lemon zest, grapefruit.
Mouthfeel: Medium to light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Enjoyable with good balance between the floral, citrus and funky elements. The key for me is that it’s not overly floral.

Bofkont Howling at the Moon

Brewery: Bofkont
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6%
Style: Lambic – Fruit

Brewer Description: (from bottle) 1,2 and 3 years old lambic with apricots from Ardeche in France, blended together with Riesling grapes (2020) from the Mosel in Germany and Italian muscat grapes (2021).

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.25
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 750ml corked and capped bottle, 2022 vintage, bottled on 31st October 2022. Poured into a Tilquin stemmed glass.
Appearance: A hazy yellow orange colour with a one finger white head that had good retention and left some nice lacing.
Aroma: Tart, apricots, wood, orange zest, muscat, musty, damp wood, funk.
Taste: Sour, tart, apricots, lemon, with light oaky notes.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Absolutely loved the aroma which I could just keep on smelling. The flavour on the other hand, was a bit too sour, which might have covered up a lot of the fruit and even the musty funky notes I was getting in the aroma.

Bofkont Honeymoon

Brewery: Bofkont
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6%
Style: Lambic – Fruit

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Blend of 1, 2 and 3 years old lambic with locally picked elderflower. The elderflower is a mix of 7 different varieties.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.86
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.8

Intro: A 750ml corked and capped bottle, 2022 vintage, bottled on 20th August 2022. Poured into a Tilquin stemmed glass.
Appearance: A mostly clear golden orange colour with a one finger white head that had good retention and left some nice lacing.
Aroma: Lightly tart, grape gummy candy, floral, elderflower, grass, dry hay, with hints of dill.
Taste: Sour, tart, floral, elderflower, perfumy, lemon juice, with light notes of dill and pickle juice.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Enjoyed the aroma, but the perfumy notes in the flavour wasn’t really my thing, and it was a touch too acidic on the finish.

Métaphore Those Who Dance

Brewery: Métaphore
Country: Czech Republic
ABV: 5.3%
Style: Pilsner – Czech
Other Notes: “Those who dance are considered mad by those who can’t hear the music”

Brewer Description: (from can) This is my quest for a dream everyday lager beer with a touch of magic, deeply rooted in Czech brewing traditions and the local environment around us. A little nod to the olden days when time had a different meaning. This humble yet charming beer was brewed with only organic local ingredients and a very generous amount of raw spelt, then lagered to perfection for over a season. It’s a beer that I am proud to share with you, one that gently exudes a portrait of a local terroir with a sprinkling of magic (for those who can hear it). Na zdravi! Jiří.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.14
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 500ml can with a best before date of 28th October 2023. Poured into a winebar glass.
Appearance: A very nice clear golden colour with a one finger white head that had good retention and left nice lacing.
Aroma: Melon, grains, a touch grassy.
Taste: Lightly sweet, grassy, dry hay, with a nice lasting bitterness on the finish.
Mouthfeel: Crisp, light bodied, with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Clean, crisp, super easy drinking, and everything a pilsner should be.