Owl and Pussycat Bottle Shop
Goose Island Sofie
Evil Twin Femme Fatale Brett
Evil Twin Femme Fatale Blanc
New Belgium La Folie 2016
New Belgium Transatlantique Kriek 2016
Ballast Point Victory at Sea
Ballast Point Watermelon Dorado
Jack’s Abby Hopstitution XPL #3 Calyptra
Brewery: Jack’s Abby Brewing
Country: USA
ABV: 5.5%
Style: American IPL
Other Notes: Hops – Calypso and Citra
Brewer Description: (from bottle) The hardest part about making new and exciting hoppy beers is sourcing the hops you need. Most hops are bought under contracts which are signed two or three years in advance. We occasionally get opportunities to acquire small quantities of specialty hops that are enough for one batch of beer, but no more. “Hopstitution” allows us to feature hops that we would otherwise not be able to make use of.
My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.2
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1
Intro: A 16.9 fl oz. bottle with no bottled on or best by date, poured into a Moonzen teku glass.
Appearance: It poured a cloudy golden colour with a slightly less than two finger white head that had good retention and left nice lacing.
Aroma: Citrus orange, mandarin and a bit of peel with hints of mango.
Taste: Juicy with orange, melon and mango dominating. There are also some light herbal and floral notes, a hint of lemon zest and is lightly bitter.
Mouthfeel: Light bodied and highly carbonated.
Overall: Another great lager from Jack’s Abby. Much like Hoponius Union, it is light tasty and easy to drink.
Mikkeller Deception Session IPA
Brewery: Mikkeller ApS
Country: Denmark
ABV: 5%
Style: American IPA
Other Notes: Brewed and bottled by Mikkeller at De Proef Brouwerij
Brewer Description: (from website) At 5%, this IPA is packed with fresh hop notes on both the nose and in the palate. The flavor is full bitter notes from the combination of hops mixed with a hint of floral flavors and a nice citrus edge. Finish is bone dry.
My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.16
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.1
Intro: A 330ml bottle with a best before date of 19th November 2016 and poured into a Spiegelau IPA glass.
Appearance: It poured a cloudy copper orange colour with some tiny suspended sediment and a three finger puffy off white head that had good retention and left nice lacing.
Aroma: A bit mild but there’s mango, sweet tangerine and lemon.
Taste: Sweet juicy tangerine and peach with light bitter orange pith which ended a bit abruptly.
Mouthfeel: Dry, light bodied with moderate spritzy carbonation.
Overall: This was not bad with the exception of the abrupt ending of the taste.
18th Street Deal With The Devil
Brewery: 18th Street Brewery
Country: USA
ABV: 8.5%
Style: American Pale Ale
Other Notes: Unfiltered, sediment may occur
Brewer Description: (from bottle) Brewed as a salute to our brothers at Spiteful Brewing, Deal With The Devil is packed with Citra hops. It is a juicy pale ale that’s low in bitterness and huge in tropical flavors.
My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.21
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1
Intro: A 22 fl oz bomber with no best by or bottled on date. Poured into a Duvel tulip glass.
Appearance: It poured a hazy deep amber orange colour with a one finger cream coloured head with decent retention and nice spotty lacing.
Aroma: Strong citrus notes with orange and grapefruit rind combined with lots of pine and caramel sweetness.
Taste: Orange, approaching candy orange, with a good amount of grapefruit zest, pine and caramel sweetness.
Mouthfeel: Just over medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: For some reason, I had it in my head that this was going to be like pseudoSue or Zombie Dust, but this was completely different and not in a bad way. Deal With The Devil was still a great pale ale with a good balance between citrus fruit and malt.
Brewdog Kingpin
Brewery: BrewDog
Country: Scotland
ABV: 4.7%
Style: Euro Pale Lager
Brewer Description: (from bottle) For years people have been suffering the maddening delusion that lager tasted of nothing. Well, we’ve got some 500 year old news for you – it tastes and then some. Kingpin is on a crusade to put lager back on top. It is lager reborn, a taste sensation for the 21st century. The crowning glory of the Pilsner dream. Brewed with 100% malt and a juggernaut of hops, this cold-conditioned King lies recumbent for a full five weeks. Expect the first wave of robust, full-bodied malt character to hit, then spicy citrus notes charge across the palate and an assertive bitter finish win the day. Kingpin, centuries in the making, moments in the glass. Lager is dead, long live the King.
My rating: 2
My beeradvocate.com rating: 2.68
My ratebeer.com rating: 2.5
Intro: A 330ml bottle with a best before date of 14th May 2017 and poured into a Mikkeller pint glass.
Appearance: It poured a clear golden colour with a one finger white head that settled to an extremely thin cap and leaves some decent lacing.
Aroma: Grain, grass, some corn and a hint of lemon.
Taste: Bready, grain, corn sweetness and grass.
Mouthfeel: Light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Ahhh, no, I don’t get it. This was not a 21st century lager for me. Lager is not dead, Jack’s Abby makes great 21st century lager. And there are other great lagers around; this was just not one of them…
words of another dreamy traveller 