Tag Archives: ba

4 - Good (buy), Almanac Beer Co., Beer Reviews, USA, Wild Ale

Almanac Valley Of The Heart’s Delight

Leave a comment

Brewery: Almanac Beer Co.
Country: USA
ABV: 7%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: Farm to barrel

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Sour blonde ale aged in wine barrels with apricots & strawberries

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.28
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 375ml bottle, released in February 2017. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: A hazy golden yellow orange colour with a one finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly to a ring around the glass that lingers and left some sparse lacing.
Aroma: Oak, strawberry, apricot, peach, tart mixed berries, with some funk, leather, straw and white wine.
Taste: Tart and tangy lemon, apricot and strawberry, followed by a touch of oak, vanilla, funk and leather.
Mouthfeel: Medium to light bodied with moderate prickly carbonation.
Overall: It was very tasty and complex. I’m not usually too fond of wine barrel aging, but the addition of apricots and strawberries matched it well, and probably took it up a notch. Very enjoyable.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Against The Grain Brewery x Cervesa del Montseny Artesana, Beer Reviews, Brown Ale - Imperial, USA

Against The Grain x Montseny Jorge Castaña

Leave a comment

Brewery: Against The Grain Brewery x Cervesa del Montseny Artesana
Country: USA
ABV: 8%
Style: Brown Ale – Imperial
Other Notes: Imperial Brown Ale with roasted chestnuts. A beer about nothing. It’s not a lie, if you believe it

Brewer Description: (from bottle) The world’s are colliding. We did this for no reason. So under no circumstance are you to expect anything. Except, a rich chocolaty and nutty, barrel aged brown ale. Jorge pours dark and roasty, so don’t be alarmed when you ask for another. Its not you, its Jorge.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.96
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.8

Intro: A 750ml bottle with no bottled on or best before date. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: A dark brown colour with a one finger beige head that dissipated fairly quickly and left sparse to no lacing.
Aroma: Sweet, raisin, caramel, vanilla and oak with a light nut roastiness.
Taste: Quite similar to the aroma as its sweet with raisin, caramel, chocolate, toffee, vanilla, nuts, whiskey and oak with some booze and alcohol warmth.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Nice aroma and flavours but perhaps a bit too sweet. This sweetness and the booziness make it a sipper for me, even though it is only 8% ABV.

4 - Good (buy), Against The Grain Brewery, Beer Reviews, Brown Ale - Imperial, USA

Against The Grain Jackyale

Leave a comment

Brewery: Against The Grain Brewery
Country: USA
ABV: 9.5%
Style: Brown Ale – Imperial
Other Notes: 35 IBUs. Stave It For Later Barrel Series. Bourbon barrel aged Imperial Brown Ale

Brewer Description: (from website) Double brown ale aged in bourbon barrels in honor of the greatest rock and roll band on this or any other time: JACKYL. Drinking this fine beer will make you feel like the sun is shining down on you, and the heat of love’s flames, down on you. You’ll love the thought of me coming… down on you. This is only weird if you make it that way. PS. We won’t make any beers about pussy rock ballads, I promise!

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.16
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 750ml bottle with no bottled on or best before date that I could see. Poured into a snifter.
Appearance: A clear dark brown colour with a half finger beige head that dissipated fairly quickly but settled to a ring around the glass. There is only sparse to no lacing.
Aroma: Coffee beans, chocolate, caramel, vanilla and oak with only a hint of bourbon.
Taste: Sweet and roasty. Caramel, molasses, vanilla, oak and bourbon with hints of milk chocolate.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate prickly carbonation.
Overall: Perhaps a little bit too sweet for me, but the nice bourbon and oak flavours do make up for that minor flaw.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project, USA, Wild Ale

Crooked Stave Petite Sour Raspberry

Leave a comment

Brewery: Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project
Country: USA
ABV: 4.5%
Style: American Wild Ale

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Wild ale aged in oak with raspberries.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.06
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.9

Intro: A 375ml bottle with surprisingly no bottled on date (not sure when they removed the date from the back label). Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: A very nice ruby candy red colour with a two finger pinkish head that dissipated fairly quickly and left sparse to no lacing.
Aroma: Tart and candy raspberry with hints of grape and oak.
Taste: Tart, lightly sour raspberry, raspberry jam and apple cider with a hint of oak. It’s not as fruity as expected as the base wild ale is quite noticeable.
Mouthfeel: Medium to light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: This looked great and as I poured it out, I had high expectations. However it’s taste fell a bit flat and one dimensional compared to other sour and wild ales with raspberries. It’s still quite good, but just not as complex as it could be.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Lambic - Fruit, pFriem Family Brewers, USA

pFriem Oude Kriek

Leave a comment

Brewery: pFriem Family Brewers
Country: USA
ABV: 5.6%
Style: Belgian Lambic (Fruit)
Other Notes: 2017 vintage. Oude Kriek barrel aged ale

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Adding fresh, Mosier cherries to our barrel aged Lambic inspired ale is thrilling, but ten months later, flavors of cherry pie and the dry, tangy finish are even more satisfying.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.67
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.6

Intro: A corked and caged 375ml bottle, 2017 vintage. Poured into a Holy Mountain tulip glass.
Appearance: A nice ruby red colour with a thin pinkish head that dissipates fairly quickly while leaving sparse lacing.
Aroma: Tart, sweetish cherries, oak and hints of balsamic.
Taste: Tart, lightly sour, cherries, hints of oak, but lacking the funk complexity, almost like its missing something.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with moderate to high carbonation.
Overall: Aroma and first sip was pretty good, but midway through and the finish, it just felt like it was missing something. Lacking the complexity of top Lambic brews.