Category Archives: Style

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, English Golden Ale, Garage Project, New Zealand

Garage Project Hāpi Daze

Saturday, 26 March 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Garage Project
Country: New Zealand
ABV: 4.6%
Style: English Golden Ale
Other Notes: Hops – Motueka, Wai-iti, Riwaka and Nelson Sauvin.

Brewer Description: (from can) Hāpi the Maori word for hop, inspires this truly Pacific pale ale. Brewed with New Zealand barley and the best of the Kiwi hop harvest, Motueka, Wai-iti, Riwaka and Nelson Sauvin. Assertively hoppy – exceptionally drinkable.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.87
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.7

Intro: A 330ml can with a best before date of 30th October 2016 and poured into a Duvel tulip glass.
Appearance: It poured a clear dark golden slightly copper colour with a two finger off white head that doesn’t stick around much but left nice stringy lacing.
Aroma: Strong tropical fruits of mango, pineapple, kiwi, guava, papaya and honeydew melon.
Taste: Bitter start with some stone fruit mango followed by a light bready grainy malt.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with medium carbonation.
Overall: A nice refreshing light beer with interesting tropical notes. However unfortunately the taste doesn’t follow the impressive aroma as I prefer less malt character and I think a higher carbonation will go well with the lightness.

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

Prairie Okie

Thursday, 24 March 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Prairie Artisan Ales
Country: USA
ABV: 12%
Style: Brown Ale – Imperial
Other Notes: 50 IBUs. Brewed and bottled by Krebs Brewing Co., Krebs, Oklahoma.

Brewer Description: (from website) Okie is an imperial brown ale aged in whiskey barrels. Notes of toffee and brown sugar are infused with sweet notes of bourbon, vanilla, oak and molasses.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.45
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.3

Intro: A 12 fl oz bottle with a Julian bottled on date of 15215, meaning it was bottled on 1st June 2015. It was poured into a Moonzen teku glass.
Appearance: It poured a cloudy dark reddish brown colour with a less than one finger tanned head that dissipated quickly and left some sparse lacing.
Aroma: Rich bourbon, oak, caramel, toffee, vanilla and roasted malt.
Taste: Much like the aroma, sweet toffee, caramel and vanilla with a hit of bourbon and oak. There was also a hint of dark fruits, plum, raisin and fig on the finish.
Mouthfeel: Mid to full bodied but leaning more towards full with low carbonation.
Overall: A very nice brown ale as the bourbon, oak and sweet notes of toffee and caramel went well together. The 12% is not felt at all and goes down easy. Brown ale is not a style that has a great name, but this brew definitely redeems it.

4 - Good (buy), American Double IPA, Beer Reviews, Bell’s Brewery Inc., USA

Bell’s Hopslam Ale

Wednesday, 23 March 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Bell’s Brewery Inc.
Country: USA
ABV: 10%
Style: American Double IPA
Other Notes: Ale brewed with honey.

Brewer Description: (from website) Starting with six different hop varietals added to the brew kettle & culminating with a massive dry-hop addition of Simcoe hops, Bell’s Hopslam Ale possesses the most complex hopping schedule in the Bell’s repertoire. Selected specifically because of their aromatic qualities, these Pacific Northwest varieties contribute a pungent blend of grapefruit, stone fruit, and floral notes. A generous malt bill and a solid dollop of honey provide just enough body to keep the balance in check, resulting in a remarkably drinkable rendition of the Double India Pale Ale style.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.98
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.9

Intro: A 12 fl oz can with a canned on date of 15th January 2016 (at least as best as I can tell since the dating machine misprinted onto the lip of the bottom of the can). Poured into a Duvel tulip glass.
Appearance: It poured a hazy copper orange colour with an one finger off white head that sticks around for a bit and leaves nice spotty lacing.
Aroma: Crisp candied orange and caramel with some light tropical pineapple, apricot and pine.
Taste: Its quite a sweet DIPA but that should have been expected with ale brewed with honey. I get a quick hit of bitterness to start before it turns sweet with caramel, honey, pineapple and orange. The finish is bitter again with grapefruit mixed in with some honey.
Mouthfeel: Mid to full bodied with light carbonation.
Overall: This was nice, but maybe my expectations were too high and it was perhaps just a bit too sweet for me. Having said that, the 10% is completely hidden and it goes down easy.

4 - Good (buy), American IPA, Beer Reviews, Denmark, Mikkeller ApS

Mikkeller Koppi Coffee IPA Citra x Santa Barbara

Wednesday, 23 March 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Mikkeller ApS
Country: Denmark
ABV: 7.2%
Style: American IPA
Other Notes: Brewed and bottled by Mikkeller at De Proef Brouwerij. Citra hops and Santa Barbara coffee beans.

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Ale brewed with coffee (1.5%).

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

Intro: A 330ml bottle with best before date of 14th October 2017 and poured into a Spiegelau IPA glass.
Appearance: It poured a clear copper colour with a big three finger off white head that had good retention and lots of nice sticky lacing.
Aroma: Extremely tropical with a lot of fruit like mango, peach, apricot, pineapple with hints of grapefruit and pine. Coffee is there, but its far and away in the background.
Taste: The coffee comes out in the taste and the result is like that of light fruity and floral hand drip coffee with light caramel and a nice grapefruit and pine bitter finish.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with medium carbonation.
Overall: Very interesting. My first coffee IPA and it was tasty. Will be on the look out for the other variations.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Farmhouse Saison, Prairie Artisan Ales, USA

Prairie Standard

Monday, 21 March 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Prairie Artisan Ales
Country: USA
ABV: 5.6%
Style: Belgian Saison
Other Notes: 25 IBUs. Brewed and bottled by Krebs Brewing Co., Krebs, Oklahoma.

Brewer Description: (from website) Prairie Standard is our everyday beer. It’s a light, crisp saison with a hoppy finish. This beer is dry hopped 1lb per bbl with Motueka hops. A lovely New Zealand hop with a spicy lime like flavor and aroma.

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

Intro: A 12 fl oz bottle with a Julian bottled on date of 15415, meaning it was bottled on 3rd June 2015. It was poured into a Duvel tulip glass.
Appearance: It poured a clear golden colour with a two finger puffy white head with good retention and decent stringy lacing.
Aroma: Strong tropical mango followed by some tangy citrus lemon, fresh orange juice, coriander, honeydew, cantaloupe.
Taste: Lemon, lime, orange, light barnyard, white pepper spice and slight grass hop finish.
Mouthfeel: Crisp, medium bodied with mid to high carbonation.
Overall: There was less barnyard funk than I expected, but the light sourness, crispness and strong fruitiness made it very easy and nice to drink.

words of another dreamy traveller