Category Archives: Style

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, De Struise Brouwers, Stout - Russian Imperial

De Struise Black Damnation XXV – Black Nuts

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Brewery: De Struise Brouwers
Country: Belgium
ABV: 13%
Style: Russian Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Bottle 772/2000, 2012 vintage

Brewer Description: (from bottle) A massive stout from Flanders aged in Ardbeg barrels.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.23
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 750ml bottle, number 772/2000, 2012 vintage, bottled on 2nd March 2017. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Black in colour with a very thin brown head that dissipated quickly while leaving only sparse spotty lacing.
Aroma: Leather, peat, roasted malts, chocolate, oak, burnt sugar, boozy.
Taste: Roasted malts, chocolate, black coffee, peat, ashy, smoky, burnt caramel, boozy, whisky, light to moderate bitter finish.
Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: It’s an enjoyable sipper, but for the peated barrels, I preferred both Hollow (Laguvulin) and Octopussy (Octomore) just that little bit more.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Founders Brewing Company, Stout - Imperial, USA

Founders KBS – Cinnamon Vanilla Cocoa

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Brewery: Founders Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 12%
Style: Stout – Imperial
Other Notes: Barrel Aged Series. 2021 release. Imperial Stout with coffee, cinnamon, vanilla extract, and cocoa nibs aged in oak bourbon barrels

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Here’s one for the cocoa lovers: KBS Cinnamon Vanilla Cocoa – the sumptuous, deep coffee and chocolate flavors of KBS rise to the next level with a swirl of cinnamon and a hint of vanilla to create a sweet-but-not-too-sweet barrel-aged drinking experience. It’s a whole new spin on KBS that’s sure to sweeten your spirits.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.35
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 12 fl. oz. bottle, bottled on 3rd September 2021. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Pitch black with a one finger brown head that had good retention and left nice lacing.
Aroma: Cinnamon, vanilla, chocolate, coffee, with notes of raisin and bourbon.
Taste: Light to moderate bitterness, dark chocolate, cocoa nibs, black coffee, some sweet notes, cinnamon, vanilla, dark fruit, raisin, bourbon.
Mouthfeel: Smooth, creamy, velvety, full to medium bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Great aroma, and taste was nice, but the cinnamon was perhaps a bit strong. It was sweet, but there was a good bitterness that balanced it, such that it wasn’t overly sweet. A good variant, however I do prefer the original KBS more.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Het Boerenerf Eylenbosch, Lambic - Fruit

Het Boerenerf Oude Kriek

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Brewery: Het Boerenerf Eylenbosch
Country: Belgium
ABV: 7%
Style: Lambic – Fruit
Other Notes: 2020 harvest

Brewer Description: (from bottle in Dutch) De twee krieken zijn afkomstig van twee Vlaamse fruittelers. Volledig fruit, gegist en gerijpt op eiken vaten. Zorgvuldig gemengd met lambiek gebrouwen van oude lokale graansoorten. Tarwe bijdrage van eigen erf. Wild en spontaan natuurbier. Deze botteling is bereid uit 400g fruit per liter.

(translated to English) The two cherries come from two Flemish fruit growers. Full fruit, fermented and aged in oak barrels. Carefully blended with lambic brewed from ancient local grains. Wheat contribution from own yard. Wild and spontaneous natural beer. This bottling is prepared from 400g of fruit per litre.

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

Intro: A 375ml corked and caged bottle, bottled on 17th January 2021, with a best before date of 9th November 2041. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: It was a very slightly hazy ruby red colour, with an almost two finger pinkish head that had decent retention, while leaving some lacing.
Aroma: Tart, cherries, with notes of almond, marzipan, oak and lemon zest.
Taste: It’s what you’d expect from the aroma, sour, tart, cherries, marzipan, almond, oak, and a splash of lemon flesh, with light funk notes on the finish.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with soft to moderate carbonation.
Overall: A good and enjoyable Oude Kriek. I preferred this over their Oude Schaarbeekse Kriek, and having tried these two Kriek’s, would love to try their other products.

5 - Excellent (must buy), Beer Reviews, England, Mills Brewing, Wild Ale

Mills Picture Pot Blend 3

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Brewery: Mills Brewing
Country: England
ABV: 6%
Style: Wild Ale
Other Notes: Mills Brewing make beer with minimal modern intervention, relying on local wild yeast cultures and the influence of nature to ferment

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Picture Pot was made from a blend of three brews produced in January and November 2019. Fermentation took place in Californian Chardonnay and Herefordshire cider barrels. The resulting blend was dry hopped with whole leaf Loral and Enigma. Drink young for fresh hop aromatics and aged for increased brettanomyces funk.

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.5
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.4

Intro: A 750ml corked and capped bottle, bottled in April 2021, with a best before date of April 2026. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A lightly hazy golden colour with a two finger white head that had pretty good retention and eventually settled to a nice fluffy cap, while leaving some nice lacing.
Aroma: Green apple, grapefruit peel, white wine grapes, vinous, grape gummy candy, light berry notes, oak, citrus zest.
Taste: Light to moderate tart and sourness, white wine grapes, grape gummy candy, light oak, citrus zest, and a touch of funk.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate to soft carbonation.
Overall: Really nice aroma and flavours, and just so easy and enjoyable to drink. This is great to drink right now, but I wish I had another bottle to age since I do enjoy funk, and it would have been interesting to see how this ages.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, England, Mills Brewing, Wild Ale

Mills Okay

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Brewery: Mills Brewing
Country: England
ABV: 6%
Style: Wild Ale
Other Notes: Mills Brewing make beer with minimal modern intervention, relying on local wild yeast cultures and the influence of nature to ferment

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Okay was made from a blend of two golden worts produced in April and August 2019. Fermentation took place in two ex Ross cider barrels and two white Burgundy barrels. Raw Scottish heather honey was added just prior to bottling. This provided sugar for conditioning as well as trapping the delicate earthy aromatics in the bottle. The resulting beer is relatively full-bodied with a surprisingly fluffy mouthfeel.

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

Intro: A 750ml corked and capped bottle, bottled in November 2020, with a best before date of November 2025. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A slightly hazy golden orange colour with a big almost three finger white head that had good retention and left some nice lacing.
Aroma: Dusty, funky, white grape, apple cider, oak, hay, dried leaves with a twang of lemon zest.
Taste: Tart, lightly sour, juicy, white wine vinous, grapefruit, minerals.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Not sure I get the honey, but this was just refreshing and enjoyable.