Tag Archives: ba

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

Against The Grain Jackyale

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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

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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

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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.

5 - Excellent (must buy), Beer Reviews, Bottle Logic Brewing, Stout - Imperial, USA

Bottle Logic Fundamental Observation

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Brewery: Bottle Logic Brewing
Country: USA
ABV: 13.6%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Imperial vanilla stout aged in Buffalo Trace, Four Roses, Rebel Yell and W.L. Weller bourbon barrels

Brewer Description: (from website) Eureka! You have just discovered an Imperial Stout full of vanilla’s fundamental flavor. This stout was aged in four different types of bourbon barrels, and blended with Madagascar vanilla beans. Sit back, relax, and observe the world around you.

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.62
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.5

Intro: On tap at Bottle Logic Brewing, Anaheim. A 6 oz pour into a Bottle Logic snifter.
Appearance: It was black in colour with minimal brown head and minimal lacing.
Aroma: Vanilla, sweet milk chocolate, oak and bourbon.
Taste: Very nice sweetish milk chocolate, oak, bourbon and vanilla.
Mouthfeel: Full bodied, low carbonation and a light alcohol burn.
Overall: Excellent! This was just really nice, complex and a great sipper. Really happy to be able to try this on tap at the brewery!

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Firestone Walker Brewing Co., Stout - Russian Imperial, USA

Firestone Walker Parabola

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Brewery: Firestone Walker Brewing Co.
Country: USA
ABV: 14.5%
Style: Russian Imperial Stout
Other Notes: 69 IBUs. Malts – Crisp Maris Otter Pale, Munich, Cara-hell, Carafa, Dark & Light Crystal, Chocolate, Oats and Roasted Barley. Hops – (Bittering) Zeus and (Late Kettle) Hallertau

Brewer Description: (from 2017 vintage box) The 2017 Parabola comes with a twist, as you may have noticed that this label bears the mark of “Kansas City, Missouri” in addition to our hometown of Paso Robles, California. Indeed, this iteration was brewed, barrel-aged and bottled by our friends at Boulevard Brewing under my close supervision. The recipe, ingredients, barrel selection and duration of aging were all the same as previous vintages of Parabola, but perhaps this vintage’s unique provenance will somehow reveal itself in the glass to you. So what is the story behind this one-time collaboration? Last year, we unexpectedly exceeded our brewing capacity in Paso Robles, and so rather than deny you a Parabola in 2017, we turned to our trusted friends for help while we worked on expanding our own brewhouse. As anticipated, they did Parabola proud. May you enjoy this rare occasion!

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.3
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: On tap at Firestone Walker The Propagator, Venice. A 6 oz pour into a Firestone Walker tulip glass.
Appearance: It was a black to dark dark brown in colour with a one finger creamy tanned head that had good retention and left nice lacing.
Aroma: Sweet bourbon barrels, nutty chocolate, vanilla, banana cake, pretty much like dessert.
Taste: Like the aroma, there was bitter dark chocolate, cherry, vanilla, banana, nutty, sweet bourbon, oak and booze.
Mouthfeel: Full bodied with low carbonation.
Overall: A little bit too boozy and on the sweet side, but this doesn’t put me off, and it was still very nice. Great for late night sipping.