4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Lagunitas Brewing Company, USA, Wild Ale

Lagunitas Aunt Sally

Monday, 29 August 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Lagunitas Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 5.7%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: 33 IBUs

Brewer Description: (from website) A unique dry-hopped sweet tart sour mash ale. We soured the wort on the Hot Side with Lactobacillus for a few days and then brewed up this smooth and hoppy sour. It tastes like a big bowl of fruity candy or some chewable flavored vitamins, but what’s the difference? It’s sweet, tart, and sassy, just like the tasty cherry pie that your favorite aunt makes. For all the Aunt Sally’s out there, you know who you are…

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.44
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.3

Intro: A 250ml pour on tap at BeerTemple into a Lagunitas mason jar glass.
Appearance: It was a clear golden colour with a less than half finger white head that had pretty good retention and good lacing.
Aroma: Sour grape followed by lots of tropical mango, peach and apricot with hints of honey and funk.
Taste: Sour, tart, mango, apricot, peach with a hint of citrus orange on the finish.
Mouthfeel: Light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: It was very refreshing and easy to drink. Easily a drink all day and anytime type of beer.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, BFM (Brasserie des Franches-Montagnes), Bière de Garde, Switzerland

BFM Abbaye de Saint Bon-Chien 2014

Saturday, 27 August 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: BFM (Brasserie des Franches-Montagnes)
Country: Switzerland
ABV: 11%
Style: Bière de Garde
Other Notes: Ale aged in oak barrels

Brewer Description: (from website) Don’t be afraid of sour beers! Love them! L’Abbaye de Saint Bon-Chien is an antique beer, a strong sour ale with 11% abv, aged in old wine oak barrels during one year. After the aging period, the different casks are blended together in order to obtain complexity and lots of flavours. Saint Bon-Chien is one of the world’s flagship’s sour beers coming from a mixed fermentation. It first ferments with wine yeast, then during the cask’s maturation, lots of microorganisms coming from the casks change the beer’s flavour profile.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.39
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.3

Intro: A 250ml pour on tap of the 2014 vintage at Moeder Lambic Fontainas into a Moeder Lambic snifter glass.
Appearance: It was a slightly hazy dark amber brown colour with a one finger tanned head with good retention and nice lacing.
Aroma: Tart, plum, cherry and oak.
Taste: Sour, tart, balsamic, plum, cherry, oak, lightly medicinal plus hints of grape bubblegum sweetness.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with light carbonation.
Overall: Very nice! A bit boozy and a little sweet but still delicious.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Gueuzerie Tilquin, Lambic - Gueuze

Tilquin Oude (Gueuze Tilquin)² À l’ancienne

Friday, 26 August 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Gueuzerie Tilquin
Country: Belgium
ABV: 7.6%
Style: Belgian Lambic (Gueuze)
Other Notes: Oude (Gueuze Tilquin)² is the result of a batch of regular Oude Gueuze Tilquin overcarbonating in the bottle. Those bottles were poured back into oak barrels for further maturation before being rebottled a second time

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Beer of spontaneous fermentation, the Oude (Gueuze Tilquin)² is made from the blending of 1, 2 and 3 year old lambics aged on oak barrels. Due to oversaturation in the bottle, this beer was put again in oak barrels, and then bottled for a second time. Unfiltered and unpasteurized, this beer is refermented in the bottle.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.57
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.4

Intro: A 375ml bottle at Moeder Lambic Fontainas with a neck label of 2011-2013 and a best before date of 29th January 2024. It was poured into a traditional Tilquin gueuze glass.
Appearance: It poured a slightly hazy golden orange colour with a half finger white head that dissipated almost immediately and left no lacing.
Aroma: Lemon zest, fresh lemons, tart, sour, passionfruit and funkiness.
Taste: Sour, tart, mango, passionfruit and funk.
Mouthfeel: Light bodied with moderate to high spritzy carbonation.
Overall: A very nice and refreshing gueuze with great spritzy carbonation and funk.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Brasserie Dieu du Ciel, Canada, Stout

Dieu du Ciel Aphrodisiaque

Thursday, 25 August 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Brasserie Dieu du Ciel
Country: Canada
ABV: 6.5%
Style: American Stout
Other Notes: Cocoa & Vanilla Stout

Brewer Description: (from website) Aphrodite is a dark ale brewed with cocoa and vanilla beans. Its flavour profile offers dark chocolate, bourbon and roasted malt tones. Gentle sweetness from the vanilla harmonizes alongside the bitterness of cocoa, presenting a subtle and surprisingly balanced finish.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.39
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.3

Intro: A 250ml pour on tap at Moeder Lambic Fontainas into a Moeder Lambic snifter glass.
Appearance: It was a pitch black colour with a just less than two finger tanned head that had great retention and lacing.
Aroma: Dark chocolate, vanilla and coffee bean.
Taste: Dark chocolate truffles with vanilla and a light bitterness.
Mouthfeel: Smooth, medium to light bodied with light carbonation.
Overall: Looks and smells great. Body is a bit on the light side, but it was smooth and well balanced. One of the best stouts out there.

5 - Excellent (must buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen, Lambic - Fruit

3 Fonteinen Oude Kriek van Schaerbeekse Krieken

Wednesday, 24 August 2016 kitch Leave a comment

Brewery: Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen
Country: Belgium
ABV: 5%
Style: Belgian Lambic (Fruit)
Other Notes: 35% refers to the 210 grams per litre of Schaerbeekse cherries added to the 600 litre barrels. I.e. 35% of the 600 litre barrel was Schaerbeekse cherries NOT 35% of the cherries.

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Young lambic with 35% Schaerbeekse cherries added. Unfiltered. Spontaneous refermentation in the bottle. No colours or other additives. Lambic is brewed from 60% malt barley, 40% wheat, hops and water.

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.8
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.7

Intro: A 750ml bottle at Moeder Lambic Fontainas. There were two conflicting bottling dates. The original label has a bottled on date of 28th April 2010 whereas Moeder Lambic added a 2015 bottling label. Whatever research I could muster up shows that there does appear to be a 2015 bottling on 30th January 2015 out there (first since 2011). Poured into a 3 Fonteinen gueuze glass.
Appearance: It poured a cloudy dark ruby red colour with a big three finger light pink head that dissipated fairly quickly, leaving very sparse lacing.
Aroma: Very nice fruity cherry and strawberry with a hint of vanilla.
Taste: Sour, tart, cherry and strawberry with some very light funk.
Mouthfeel: Light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Very nice and refreshing with great aromas. Unfortunately I have not tried the regular Oude Kriek though, so I cannot compare to that yet.

words of another dreamy traveller