2 - Maybe (likely wouldn't buy, might drink), Abbazia delle Tre Fontane, Beer Reviews, Belgian Tripel, Italy

Tre Fontane Tripel

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Brewery: Abbazia delle Tre Fontane
Country: Italy
ABV: 8.5%
Style: Belgian Tripel
Other Notes: Unfiltered ale brewed with eucalyptus grown by the abbey.

Brewer Description: (from bottle) (in Italian) Questa birra, aromatizzata con foglie di eucalipto, rappresenta un prodotto unico nato da un’antica ricetta dell’Abbazia delle Tre Fontane. Dal 1873 l’eucalipto caratterizza I prodotti di questa Comunità di Monaci Trappisti.

My rating: 2
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.24
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.1

Intro: A 330ml bottle with a best before date of June 2016 and poured into a Chimay goblet glass.
Appearance: It poured a cloudy dark orange golden colour with a two finger off white head that dissipates to a nice puffy layer and leaves nice curtain lacing.
Aroma: Eucalyptus, orange, honey, lemon, light olive oil, rosemary, sage and peppery spice. Very interesting.
Taste: Starts like the aroma with sweet eucalyptus, honey, sage and lemon followed by banana, clove and cinnamon. The finish is like bread, olive oil and balsamic vinegar with a hint of pepper.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with mid to high carbonation.
Overall: A very interesting beer. Quite a mix of sweet and savoury. Its like eucalyptus and honey with bread, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Good flavours for food, but just ok for beer.

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2 - Maybe (likely wouldn't buy, might drink), Beer Reviews, Garage Project, Herbed / Spiced Beer, New Zealand

Garage Project La Calavera Catrina

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Brewery: Garage Project
Country: New Zealand
ABV: 6.9%
Style: Herbed / Spiced Beer
Other Notes: Brewed with maize, habanero chili, watermelon and rose water.

Brewer Description: (from can) The elegant skull, may be a blonde lager, but don’t be fooled, she’s no lightweight. Brewed with maize, an ingredient you’d normally associate with much blander lager offerings, La Catrina is fired up with an assertive chili heat from a generous addition of habaneros, and spiked with rose water and yes – watermelon. The result is cheeky, complex and fiery – what more could you want in the lady of death?

My rating: 2
My beeradvocate.com rating: 2.65
My ratebeer.com rating: 2.5

Intro: A 330ml can with a best before date of 21st July 2016 and poured into a d’Achouffe tulip glass.
Appearance: It poured a clear golden blonde colour with a one finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly but leaves some sparse lacing.
Aroma: Pale malts and corn along with some orange and lemon citrus plus a hint of rose water.
Taste: Spicy! Chili heat at the beginning and chili heat on the finish. In the middle of it all there’s some sweet honey and apple maybe. But really, it seems all about the chili which is a bit overpowering.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with light carbonation and tingly chili spice.
Overall: I enjoy chili and eat a lot of spicy food, but I’m not sure this really worked. In this case, I thought that the chili really overpowered everything else, such that the other flavours you get in the middle, were pretty much negated. I feel that if putting chili in beer, then perhaps it would go better with the normally bolder flavours of an imperial stout or imperial porter, which would provide more balance.

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3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Hong Kong, Moonzen Brewery, Stout

Moonzen Moon Goddess Chocolate Stout

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Brewery: Moonzen Brewery
Country: Hong Kong
ABV: 5%
Style: American Stout
Other Notes: Brewed with chocolate and vanilla

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Creamy, dreamy, and velvety smooth. This stout contains real chocolate and vanilla. One sip of this elixir of life and you might also fly to the moon! Pairs well with rich spicy food, Sichuan dishes, and chocolate.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.31
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.2

Intro: A 330ml bottle, bottle numbered 114, with a best before date of 1st June 2016. Poured into a Moonzen teku glass.
Appearance: It poured a deep dark brown, near black colour with a three finger beige head that dissipates slowly to a thin foam cap and leaves some nice streaky lacing.
Aroma: First thing I get is coke, followed by chocolate, coffee, hint of lemon and some kind of berry (maybe cranberry).
Taste: Strong sweetish malts followed by chocolate, roasty vanilla and light coffee. The finish has a light fruity berry-ness.
Mouthfeel: Light bodied with medium prickly carbonation.
Overall: This tasted quite nice but was way too light bodied for my preferred stout style.

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4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Garage Project, New Zealand, Stout

Garage Project Aro Noir

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Brewery: Garage Project
Country: New Zealand
ABV: 7%
Style: American Stout
Other Notes: Brewed with roasted barley. Hops – Columbus and Summit.

Brewer Description: (from can) Aro Noir is a pitch blak and full flavoured stout. At its heart is a blend of four malts, with Columbus and Summit hops, creating a citric bitterness and aroma that marries nicely with the roast malt character. Yes, it is inspired by the darkness of a Wellington winter in Aro Valley, but truly it is a stout for all seasons. Join us on the dark side.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.07
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.9

Intro: A 330ml can with a best before date of 10th August 2016 and poured into a Moonzen teku glass.
Appearance: It poured a pitch black colour with a big almost three finger dark tan head that stuck around for a while and left nice streaky lacing.
Aroma: Roasted malts, coffee, light char and bittersweet chocolate.
Taste: Starts with a light roast, coffee and light char followed by a bitter espresso and citric finish.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with medium to high carbonation.
Overall: This was good with nice coffee flavours mixed in with some smoky char and a bitter fruit finish. Light enough to be a stout for all seasons.

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4 - Good (buy), American IPA, Beer Reviews, Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, USA

Sierra Nevada Beer Camp (2016): Tropical IPA

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Brewery: Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 6.7%
Style: American IPA
Other Notes: Beer Camp is the perfect way for us to experiment with new flavor directions in beer. Each spring, we feature our favorite collaboration from camp. This year’s selection blends intensely aromatic hop varietals to create an IPA filled with fruit aromas of mango and papaya.

Brewer Description: (from bottle) This new equatorial IPA features intense hop varietals bursting with aromas reminiscent of island fruit, including notes of mango, papaya and bitter orange, for a tropical take on the IPA.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.77
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.6

Intro: A 12 fl oz bottle with a packaged on date of 13th January 2016 and poured into a Spiegelau IPA glass.
Appearance: It poured a clear copper orange colour with a tall fluffy three finger+ off white head with good retention and lots of sticky lacing.
Aroma: Orange candy sweetness with citrus lemon, lime and pine with maybe a hint of pineapple and bready malts.
Taste: Starts sweet-ish pineapple, before turning bitter orange peel, mandarin, lemon and grapefruit pith. I suppose there is a hint of mango there in the aftertaste, but its really lingering far in the background.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with medium carbonation.
Overall: This was pretty good. The lasting lingering bitterness is nice. However if I’m thinking Tropical IPA, this is completely not what I would think of. Yes there was pineapple and some mango here and there but they were mostly in the background. It’s an IPA for sure, but I don’t think it’s a Tropical IPA. Having said that, I’d give this another go.

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